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Except, that wasn't at all what we call a compiler; she just used the name compiler for something that clearly was not. Admittedly, she was first to use the nam
by ncmncm 4y ago
Except, that wasn't at all what we call a compiler; she just used the name compiler for something that clearly was not. Admittedly, she was first to use the name, but word coinage is not a thing we recognize as a fundamental achievement. Hal didn't call his thing a "compiler", but it clearly was one, by the modern definition.
(Its output was subroutine calls, but that is a matter for optimization. When your compiler has to fit in 1K machine words, you make compromises.)
- zeckalpha 4y agoI would encourage to update the Wikipedia page accordingly.
- jecel 4y agoIn English "to compile" is defined as "produce (something, especially a list, report, or book) by assembling information collected from other sources." which seems like a good description of what A0 to A2 did. It is a pity that when people started to build translators they didn't use that name but instead kept the now obsolete term "compiler".
- ncmncm 4y agoLook up "etymological fallacy". Words don't have a "true meaning" independent of how they are used.