Defensive Programming

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Defensive Programming

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736162 More actions · Answer 1

For the humor ones, not necessarily related to SQL, I kind of expect that you'd guess for fun or Google the answer.

TomThomson SSC Guru Points: 104773 More actions · Answer 2

Paul White NZ (4/26/2010)
+1. I didn't even bother to Google - I waited for the correct answer to be mailed to me today 😉

I was surprised by the number of people who had to google, I though people would generaly know a bit about the history of computing to be able to deduce the date. It's pretty clear that this is about a programmable computer rather than a spaghetti-board or any sort of difference engine, so it must be 1940s at the earliest. Noone would have presented a paper to the Royal Society on programming in 1942 - the UK and the US were both at war with Germany and Japan and computing was a sensitive (top-secret ultra-secure) technique, so all the suggested dates earlier than 1950 can be eliminated. The reference to "arithmetic checks included in every calculation" dates it as belonging to the era when all programs were about mathematical calculations (ballistics, code-breaking, and so on) so it antedates the first computer for business/office (as opposed to scientific/engineering) apps (marketing release in 1954, but in operational at JNLyons Ltd from end of 1951) so certainly not later than 1955. That eliminates all the offered dates except 1950.

Whatever possessed Steve to throw six points at this?
Paul

I haven't a clue. I was astounded when I saw six.

Tom

jimo0409 SSC Enthusiast Points: 169 More actions · Answer 3

good question -

in the answer, was "mistakes" intentionally mis-spelled?

"The diagnosis of mstakes in programmes on the EDSAC", by S. Gill, to the Royal Society"

:w00t:

TomThomson SSC Guru Points: 104773 More actions · Answer 4

jogrady0409 (4/29/2010)
good question -
in the answer, was "mistakes" intentionally mis-spelled?
"The diagnosis of mstakes in programmes on the EDSAC", by S. Gill, to the Royal Society"
:w00t:

No, that was a slip of the finger. :blush:

Tom

David Burrows SSC Guru Points: 65142 More actions · Answer 5

Tom Brown (4/23/2010)
EDSAC !
My word - that was ancient history when I started on ICL 1900s

Not that ancient when I started on an Elliott 803 !!

Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
Anon.

TomThomson SSC Guru Points: 104773 More actions · Answer 6

David Burrows (7/6/2010)
Tom Brown (4/23/2010)
EDSAC !
My word - that was ancient history when I started on ICL 1900s
Not that ancient when I started on an Elliott 803 !!

Elliot 803 happened more than 10 years after EDSAC, so EDSAC was already ancient then; in fact 803 happened at the same time as Orion (the first computer I ever worked on, but not the oldest - 15 months after meeting Orion I was using a Deuce, and the Deuce antedated Orion and 803 by 5 years). The first 1900 was the ICT 1904, an English copy of the Canadian FP6000 which was 3 years later than the 803 (the 1904 was another yet another year later). The first ICL (as opposed to ICT) 1900 was much later - ICL didn't exist until 1968 - so I guess that EDSAC was much more ancient then than it was when the 803 debuted.

Tom

David Burrows SSC Guru Points: 65142 More actions · Answer 7

Tom.Thomson (7/6/2010)
David Burrows (7/6/2010)
Tom Brown (4/23/2010)
EDSAC !
My word - that was ancient history when I started on ICL 1900s
Not that ancient when I started on an Elliott 803 !!
Elliot 803 happened more than 10 years after EDSAC, so EDSAC was already ancient then; in fact 803 happened at the same time as Orion (the first computer I ever worked on, but not the oldest - 15 months after meeting Orion I was using a Deuce, and the Deuce antedated Orion and 803 by 5 years). The first 1900 was the ICT 1904, an English copy of the Canadian FP6000 which was 3 years later than the 803 (the 1904 was another yet another year later). The first ICL (as opposed to ICT) 1900 was much later - ICL didn't exist until 1968 - so I guess that EDSAC was much more ancient then than it was when the 803 debuted.

True, I suppose it is a matter of relativity, especially how quick modern computers become ancient 😀

However the first programming language I used was CESIL (the version from the late 1960's) 😎

Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
Anon.

TomThomson SSC Guru Points: 104773 More actions · Answer 8

David Burrows (7/7/2010)
However the first programming language I used was CESIL (the version from the late 1960's) 😎

CESIL? :Wow: Good heavens! And you went into computing after that? :w00t:

That shows either an impressive degree of tolerance for boredom or extremely dogged persistence.:-D

Tom

David Burrows SSC Guru Points: 65142 More actions · Answer 9

Tom.Thomson (7/7/2010)
David Burrows (7/7/2010)
However the first programming language I used was CESIL (the version from the late 1960's) 😎
CESIL? :Wow: Good heavens! And you went into computing after that? :w00t:
That shows either an impressive degree of tolerance for boredom or extremely dogged persistence.:-D

Yep :w00t:

And it taught me a valuable lesson. You can write a program twice, with identical code, compile them, run them and one will produce a different result :pinch:

Thats computers for you 😉

Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
Anon.