Computing · 1952

A-0 compiler

Grace Hopper's program that writes programs.

Hopper's A-0 System translated symbolic mathematical code into machine code for the UNIVAC. It launched the idea of compilers, followed by her FLOW-MATIC language in 1955.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

UNIVAC I 1951

What it led to 2

FORTRAN 1957
COBOL 1959

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Computation per constant dollar, 1850-2006 Latest: 7.3B million units of computer power per 2006 $ (2003) Source: Nordhaus 2007, Two Centuries of Productivity Growth in Computing, J. Econ. Hist. 67(1), Table 6

Fastest computer in the world Latest: 2.2×10¹⁸ operations per second (2026) Source: Wikipedia: List of fastest computers; Wikipedia: History of supercomputing