Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The word "DEBUG"

In 1947, Grace Murray Hopper was working on the Harvard University Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator (an old computer).

On the 9th of September, 1947, when the machine was experiencing some problem, an investigation showed that there was a moth trapped between the points of Relay #70, in Panel F.

The operators removed the moth and Grace Hopper affixed it to the log. The entry reads: "First actual case of bug being found."

The word went out that they had "debugged" the machine and the term "debugging a computer program" was born.


Although Grace Hopper was always careful to admit that she was not there when it actually happened, it was one of her favorite stories.

Grace Hopper is sometimes referred to as "Amazing Grace" for the large number of accomplishments to her name.


Though the term "Debugging" in computer terminology is completely attributed to Grace, she did bring the term into popularity. The remains of the moth can be found in the group's log book at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.