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Installing Windows might take 5,000 years without it
Installing Windows might take 5,000 years without the compiler, a remarkable innovation which made modern computing possible. Tim Harford tells a compelling story which has at its heart a pioneering woman called Grace Hopper who – along the way – single-handedly invented the idea of open source software too.
The compiler evolved into COBOL – one of the first computer languages – and led to the distinction between hardware and software.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon
(Image: Grace M. Hopper, Credit: Bettman/Getty Images)
Last on
Tue 10 Jan 2017
23:50GMT
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
The stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which helped create the economic world
