New Hampshire Installs First Historical Marker to Honor Computer Programming



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New Hampshire has installed what appears to be the first historic roadmark to follow computer programming, according to the Concord Instructor. The new poster honors BASIC, the versatile beginner symbolic instructional code, a guest programming language at Dartmouth College in 1964.

The sign came after Concord Instructor Journalist David Brooks noted in a chronicle that the state's 255 historical landmarks were honoring things such as bridges and historical figures, but that there had been "few troubling celebrations on technical achievements." and scientists from New Hampshire ". He then asked the state to install a panel for BASIC and Dartmouth's time-sharing system – a forerunner of the Internet. "They count at least as much as a covered bridge," wrote Brooks.

Two mathematicians developed the language: John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz, who wanted to create an easily accessible programming language for students. Brooks notes that BASIC "has probably done more to introduce more people to computer programming than any other element. never created. "

There are other historical markers for computer-related topics – one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, honors the creation of BINAC, "the world's first commercially stored digital electronic program", while another in San Jose concerns IBM's Random Access Method (RAMAC). accounting and control), but this one seems to be the first one specifically for creating a programming language. The state has indicated that it does not have enough space to honor the Dartmouth time-sharing system in the same panel.

The sign itself is located on Route 120 in New Hampshire, a short distance from the college and BASIC creation. Brooks notes that there is a practical reason for this: historical landmarks are reserved for national highways and all roads in and out of Dartmouth are urban streets. Already, Brooks notes that he thinks of other potential signs: the time-sharing system of Dartmouth, a conference where artificial intelligence was invented in 1956, as well as other scientific innovations in the state.

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