From: jennyw Date: 2001-05-03T04:47:44+09:00 Subject: [ruby-talk:14549] Grace Hopper (was Ruby mascot) Just an aside ... In 1952, the idea of a human readable computer language was pretty radical. Remember, Hopper had been around since the days they flipped physical switches to program computers (talk about machine language!). Dr. Hopper also started the first compiler standardization project when COBOL first came out. COBOL may be yucky now, but think about how Ruby (as it is today) might be regarded in 50 years. Hopper has also been credited with coining the term 'bug' as it relates to computers: http://www.lewhill.com/firstcomputerbug.html. There are references that say she wasn't the one to remove the actual bug, but her telling of the story probably helped the term enter regular use. Hopper was also known for showing students what a nano-second was by showing them a length of wire that electricity could pass through in a nanosecond. There's a lot of myth and legend surrounding "Amazing Grace". It'd be unfortunate for us to sum up her contribution to computing as "COBOL -- yuck!" (I'm not saying that Furio implied this; it's just that I'd hate for that to be an impression some people go away with). Hopper felt her greatest achievement was teaching. She's also served as inspiration to many programmers, especially women who wanted a role model. There's a conference named for her: http://gracehopper.org/ Jen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Furio R. Filoseta (Tlf.)" To: "ruby-talk ML" Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 7:17 PM Subject: [ruby-talk:14285] Re: Ruby mascot proposal > With no offense intended to Miss Hopper's memory, I don?t think so. She is > mostly responsible for COBOL. yuck ! > > Furio