Note G

Article summary

Note G is a computer algorithm traditionally attributed to Ada Lovelace that was designed to calculate Bernoulli numbers using the hypothetical analytical engine designed by Charles Babbage. The algorithm was the last note in a series labelled "A" to "G", which were employed as visual aids to accompany Lovelace's English translation of Luigi Menabrea's 1842 French transcription of Charles Babbage's only lecture on the analytical engine. Her translation, along with her substantial notes on the possibilities of the analytical engine, were published in 1843. In Babbage's 1864 memoir he discusses the creation of the various notes with Lovelace, including note "G". He provided the mathematical formulas for the calculation of the Bernoulli numbers, which Ada converted into a step-by-step table of instructions for the analytical engine; she also spotted a bug for him : Historians like Allan G. Bromley have noted several dozen sample programs prepared by Babbage between 1837 and 1840 (all substantially predating the illustrative notes), though they were never published and were substantially simpler , which has led to, in popular culture, Note G being generally considered to be the first algorithm specifically for a computer, and Lovelace is considered as the first computer programmer.…

Key claims

1. publication date: 1843 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

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Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369520548