#5

Evolution of computer language: UX inspiration from history

Looking into this story made me realize how human experience shapes such a technical discipline as the computer language. How it seems so machine-like, yet it was not even intended for machines and was created from a philosophical standpoint. And creativity that went into the creation of punch cards created the first signs of automation.

Punch Cards

From the history of tech, I feel this is not discussed as much as it should. How the textile industry was moving forward and affecting the creation of computer logic. Firstly, the primitive loom was one of the oldest mechanical inventions. That’s on its own is quite an achievement.

Source: “A history of mechanical inventions” by Usher, Abbott Payson, 1883–1965

Weaving from the beginning as seen on a primitive loom is a binary operation, similar to what we have in computers. Hence, it’s not that surprising for it to influence computer development.

Starting with Basile Bouchon (1725), Jean Baptiste Falcon (1728), and Jacques Vaucanson (1740) automation started to appear in looms with the help of punch cards. This idea was used by Joseph Marie Jacquard in the creation of the Jacquard machine and this idea further grew to be an important part of computing data.

The Jacquard machine used holes to let the machine know which threads are raised for weaving the pattern, that way making it possible to relatively quickly reproduce complex patterns. Those machines were the beginning of interchangeable punch cards that instructed a machine to perform automated tasks.

Jacquard machine and current boolean logic both involve the use of binary code to represent information, and both can be used to perform complex operations.

After that, multiple inventions that use punch cards appeared, which seem to be inspired inspired by the Jacquard machine. One such sample was work done by Semyon Korsakov.