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BUG INFORMATION SHEET
The term "bug" is now universally accepted by computer users as
meaning an error or flaw -- either in the machine itself or, perhaps
more commonly, in a program (hence the phrase "debugging a program"). |
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The first official record of the use of the word "bug" in the context
of computing is associated with a relay-based Harvard Mark II computer,
which was in service at the
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It has now become a popular tradition that it was the legendary American
Naval officer and mathematician Grace Murray Hopper who found the offending
insect, but it's also said that she wasn't there when it happened. (Grace was
a pioneer in data processing and is credited with developing the first
compiler, which is a program that translates a high-level human-readable language
into the machine language understood by the computer. In 1983, Grace became
the first woman to achieve the rank of rear admiral in the United States
Navy.) |
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It is also widely believed that this incident was the origin of the term
"bug" itself, but this is also not the case. If you read the
wording of the report carefully, you can see that the writer is really
saying: "Hey,
we actually found a bug that was a real bug!" |
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In fact the word "bug" was already being used in Thomas Edison's
time to imply a glitch, error, or defect in a mechanical system or an
industrial process. Furthermore, "bug" was used as far back
as Shakespearean times meaning a frightful object. |