Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[John McCormick]

On December 10, 1815, Anna Isabella (Annabella) Byron, whose husband
was Lord Byron, gave birth to a daughter, Augusta Ada.  Ada's father
was a romantic poet whose fame derived not only from his works but
also from his wild and scandalous behavior.  His marriage to Annabella
was strained from the beginning, and Annabella left Byron just a
little more than a month after Ada was born.  By April of that year,
Annabella and Byron signed separation papers, and Byron left England,
never to return.

Byron's writings show that he greatly regretted that he was unable to
see his daughter. In one poem, for example, he wrote of Ada,

        I see thee not.  I hear thee not.
        But none can be so rapt in thee.

Byron died in Greece at the age of 36, and one of the last things he
said was,

        Oh my poor dear child! My dear Ada! My God, could I but have
seen her!

Meanwhile, Annabella, who was eventually to become a baroness in her
own right, and who was herself educated as both a mathematician and a
poet, carried on with Ada's upbringing and education.  Annabella gave
Ada her first instruction in mathematics, but it soon became clear
that Ada's gift for the subject was such that it required more
extensive tutoring.  Ada received further training in mathematics from
Augustus DeMorgan, who is today famous for one of the basic theorems
of Boolean algebra, which forms the basis for modern computers.  By
the age of eight, Ada also had demonstrated an interest in mechanical
devices and was building detailed model boats.

When she was 18, Ada visited the Mechanics Institute to hear Dr.
Dionysius Lardner's lectures on the "difference engine," a mechanical
calculating machine being built by Charles Babbage.  She became so
interested in the device that she arranged to be introduced to
Babbage.  It was said that, upon seeing Babbage's machine, Ada was the
only person in the room to understand immediately how it worked and to
appreciate its significance.

Ada and Babbage became good friends and she worked with him for the
rest of her life, helping to document his designs, translating
writings about his work, and developing programs to be used on his
machines.  Unfortunately, Babbage never completed construction of any
of his designs.  Even so, today Ada is recognized as being the first
computer programmer in history. That title, however, does not do full
justice to her genius.

Around the time that Babbage met Ada, he began the design for an even
more ambitious machine called the "analytical engine," which we now
recognize was the first programmable computer.  Ada instantly grasped
the implications of the device and foresaw its application in ways
that even Babbage did not imagine.  Ada believed that mathematics
eventually would develop into a system of symbols that could be used
to represent anything in the universe.  From her notes, it is clear
that Ada saw that the analytical engine could go beyond arithmetic
computations and become a general manipulator of symbols, and thus it
would be capable of almost anything.  She even suggested that such a
device could eventually be programmed with rules of harmony and
composition so that it could produce "scientific" music.  In effect,
Ada foresaw the field of artificial intelligence over 150 years ago.

In 1842, Babbage went to Turin, Italy, and gave a series of lectures
on his analytical engine.  One of the attendees was Luigi Menabrea,
who was so impressed that he wrote an account of Babbage's lectures.
At age 27, Ada decided to translate the account into English, with the
intent to add a few of her own notes about the machine.  In the end,
her notes were twice as long as the original material, and the
document, "The Sketch of the Analytical Engine," became the definitive
work on the subject.

It is obvious from Ada's letters that her "notes" were entirely her
own and that Babbage was acting as a sometimes unappreciated editor.
At one point, Ada wrote to him,

"I am much annoyed at your having altered my Note.  You know I am
always willing to make any required alterations myself, but that I
cannot endure another person to meddle with my sentences."

Ada gained the title Countess of Lovelace when she married Lord
William Lovelace.  The couple had three children, but Ada was so
consumed by her love of mathematics that she left their upbringing to
her mother.  For a woman of that day, such behavior was considered
almost as scandalous as some of her father's exploits, but her husband
was actually quite supportive of her work.

In 1852, Ada died from cancer.  Sadly, if she had lived just one year
longer, she would have witnessed the unveiling of a working difference
engine built from one of Babbage's designs by George and Edward
Scheutz in Sweden.  Like her father, Ada lived only until she was 36,
and, even though they led much different lives, she undoubtedly
admired Byron and took inspiration from his unconventional and
rebellious nature.  At the end, Ada asked to be buried beside him at
the family's estate.

---------------------------
Ada Lovelace biography material excerpted from "Programming and
Problem Solving with Ada" by Dale, Weems, and McCormick.  Jones &
Bartlett Publishers, 2000.

The film "To Dream Tomorrow" from Flare Productions, www.flarefilms.org,
tells the story of Ada Lovelace and her contributions to computing.
I recommend it to all comp.lang.ada subscribers.  See if you can find
the error on her tomb.


John

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[JPWoodruff]

On Dec 10, 2:10 pm, John McCormick <mccorm...@cs.uni.edu> wrote:
> On December 10, 1815, Anna Isabella (Annabella) Byron, whose husband
> was Lord Byron, gave birth to a daughter, Augusta Ada.

Thanks for posting birthday regards for our respected progenitor

> At one point, Ada wrote to him,
>
> "I am much annoyed at your having altered my Note.  You know I am
> always willing to make any required alterations myself, but that I
> cannot endure another person to meddle with my sentences."
>

With this quote there can be *no* doubt that Ada was a programmer!

John W

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Ed Falis]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:49:15 -0500, <JPWoodruff@gmail.com> wrote:

>> "I am much annoyed at your having altered my Note.  You know I am
>> always willing to make any required alterations myself, but that I
>> cannot endure another person to meddle with my sentences."
>>
>
> With this quote there can be *no* doubt that Ada was a programmer!
>
> John W

Sounds like she needed to do some pair programming.  ;-)

Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Dirk Craeynest]

Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

Today, December 10 2014, is the 199th birthday of Augusta Ada Byron,
aka Lady Ada Lovelace, recognised by many as the first programmer.

The programming language Ada was named in her honor.

I'd like to remind everyone that a promotional image combining the
historical figure of Ada Lovelace and the programming language Ada
is available at [1].

Useful to know is that an "Ada Mascot Competion" [2] is ongoing.
It would be particularly fitting if some of the proposals would
be based on a modernized Ada Lovelace image.  Not many programming
languages have the name of the first female programmer... ;-)

Finally, remember that deadlines for submissions to several Ada
events are upcoming: the Ada Developers Room [3] at FOSDEM 2015 in
Brussels, and the Ada-Europe 2015 conference [4] in Madrid, Spain.
Share your experience at an Ada event in 2015, the 200th anniversary
year of Ada Lovelace!

Happy birthday, Lady Ada!

Dirk Craeynest
Dirk.Craeynest@cs.kuleuven.be (for Ada-Belgium/Ada-Europe/SIGAda/WG9)

[1] <http://www.cs.kuleuven.be/~dirk/ada-belgium/pictures/ada-strong.html>
[2] <http://www.gnoga.com/rebirth.html>
[3] <http://www.cs.kuleuven.be/~dirk/ada-belgium/events/15/150131-fosdem.html>
[4] <http://www.ada-europe.org/conference2015>

(V20141210.1)

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Austin Obyrne]

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6:48:54 AM UTC, Dirk Craeynest wrote:
> Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace
> 
> Today, December 10 2014, is the 199th birthday of Augusta Ada Byron,
> aka Lady Ada Lovelace, recognised by many as the first programmer.
> 
> The programming language Ada was named in her honor.
> 
> I'd like to remind everyone that a promotional image combining the
> historical figure of Ada Lovelace and the programming language Ada
> is available at [1].
> 
> Useful to know is that an "Ada Mascot Competion" [2] is ongoing.
> It would be particularly fitting if some of the proposals would
> be based on a modernized Ada Lovelace image.  Not many programming
> languages have the name of the first female programmer... ;-)
> 
> Finally, remember that deadlines for submissions to several Ada
> events are upcoming: the Ada Developers Room [3] at FOSDEM 2015 in
> Brussels, and the Ada-Europe 2015 conference [4] in Madrid, Spain.
> Share your experience at an Ada event in 2015, the 200th anniversary
> year of Ada Lovelace!
> 
> Happy birthday, Lady Ada!
> 
> Dirk Craeynest
> Dirk.Craeynest@cs.kuleuven.be (for Ada-Belgium/Ada-Europe/SIGAda/WG9)
> 
> [1] <http://www.cs.kuleuven.be/~dirk/ada-belgium/pictures/ada-strong.html>
> [2] <http://www.gnoga.com/rebirth.html>
> [3] <http://www.cs.kuleuven.be/~dirk/ada-belgium/events/15/150131-fosdem.html>
> [4] <http://www.ada-europe.org/conference2015>
> 
> (V20141210.1)

I understand also that October 15th is set aside as a memorial day to her.?

adacrypt

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Peter Chapin]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2014, Dirk Craeynest wrote:

> Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace
>
> Today, December 10 2014, is the 199th birthday of Augusta Ada Byron,
> aka Lady Ada Lovelace, recognised by many as the first programmer.
>
> The programming language Ada was named in her honor.

Has anyone ever attempted to create a software simulation of the 
Analytical Engine? It would be great if we could actually execute the Lady 
Lovelace's programs, even if only in a virtualized machine. Why do I have 
the feeling she would have appreciated the elegance of that?

Peter

P.S. Of course the Analytical Engine simulation should be written in 
Ada!

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Austin Obyrne]

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 12:33:09 PM UTC, Peter Chapin wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Dec 2014, Dirk Craeynest wrote:
> 
> > Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace
> >
> > Today, December 10 2014, is the 199th birthday of Augusta Ada Byron,
> > aka Lady Ada Lovelace, recognised by many as the first programmer.
> >
> > The programming language Ada was named in her honor.
> 
> Has anyone ever attempted to create a software simulation of the 
> Analytical Engine? It would be great if we could actually execute the Lady 
> Lovelace's programs, even if only in a virtualized machine. Why do I have 
> the feeling she would have appreciated the elegance of that?
> 
> Peter
> 
> P.S. Of course the Analytical Engine simulation should be written in 
> Ada!

Off the top of my head I would envisage a model of say 'n' nested loops that simulate the gear ratios of the actual engine.  I did view the engine proper (I think it may have been the original??)at the South Kensington Science Museum in London - about 20 years ago.

Good luck with any venture.

adacrypt

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[J-P. Rosen]

Le 10/12/2014 13:33, Peter Chapin a écrit :
> Has anyone ever attempted to create a software simulation of the
> Analytical Engine? It would be great if we could actually execute the
> Lady Lovelace's programs, even if only in a virtualized machine. Why do
> I have the feeling she would have appreciated the elegance of that?

 There is an attempt to create a real Analytical Engine, see
http://plan28.org

-- 
J-P. Rosen
Adalog
2 rue du Docteur Lombard, 92441 Issy-les-Moulineaux CEDEX
Tel: +33 1 45 29 21 52, Fax: +33 1 45 29 25 00
http://www.adalog.fr

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Jeffrey Carter]

On 12/09/2014 11:48 PM, Dirk Craeynest wrote:
> Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace
> 
> Today, December 10 2014, is the 199th birthday of Augusta Ada Byron,
> aka Lady Ada Lovelace, recognised by many as the first programmer.

Note this post's date for us in the western US.

Today is also Ada's 34th birthday.

-- 
Jeff Carter
"My brain hurts!"
Monty Python's Flying Circus
21

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Peter Chapin]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2014, J-P. Rosen wrote:

>> Has anyone ever attempted to create a software simulation of the 
>> Analytical Engine? It would be great if we could actually execute the 
>> Lady Lovelace's programs, even if only in a virtualized machine. Why do 
>> I have the feeling she would have appreciated the elegance of that?
>
> There is an attempt to create a real Analytical Engine, see
> http://plan28.org

Cool! Now we need an Ada compiler that targets the Analytical Engine.

Peter

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Peter Chapin]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2014, Austin Obyrne wrote:

>> P.S. Of course the Analytical Engine simulation should be written in
>> Ada!
>
> Off the top of my head I would envisage a model of say 'n' nested loops 
> that simulate the gear ratios of the actual engine.  I did view the 
> engine proper (I think it may have been the original??)at the South 
> Kensington Science Museum in London - about 20 years ago.

I think that was the Difference Engine, not the Analytical Engine.

Peter

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Adam Beneschan]

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 10:55:26 AM UTC-8, Peter Chapin wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Dec 2014, Austin Obyrne wrote:
> 
> >> P.S. Of course the Analytical Engine simulation should be written in
> >> Ada!
> >
> > Off the top of my head I would envisage a model of say 'n' nested loops 
> > that simulate the gear ratios of the actual engine.  I did view the 
> > engine proper (I think it may have been the original??)at the South 
> > Kensington Science Museum in London - about 20 years ago.
> 
> I think that was the Difference Engine, not the Analytical Engine.

The Science Museum in London has both a "Trial model of a part" of the  Analytical Engine, and a Difference Engine built from Babbage's original drawings between 1989-1991.  I believe the Difference Engine actually worked, although it is no longer operated.  Another Difference Engine is at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, and they do demonstrate it working--I had the opportunity to see it this past summer.  Worth checking out if you're in the area.

See also http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/hpb1910.html.  H.P. Babbage was Charles' youngest son.

                              -- Adam

Re: Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Brad Moore]

On 2014-12-10 5:33 AM, Peter Chapin wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Dec 2014, Dirk Craeynest wrote:
>
>> Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace
>>
>> Today, December 10 2014, is the 199th birthday of Augusta Ada Byron,
>> aka Lady Ada Lovelace, recognised by many as the first programmer.
>>
>> The programming language Ada was named in her honor.
>
> Has anyone ever attempted to create a software simulation of the
> Analytical Engine? It would be great if we could actually execute the
> Lady Lovelace's programs, even if only in a virtualized machine. Why do
> I have the feeling she would have appreciated the elegance of that?

There is an online java applet you can try here....

https://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/applet.html

Brad