The Babbage Coding Language
Programming is writing an algorithm that tells a computer what to do, and the computer executes it. Programmers use a programming language, a form of notational language that allows communication between the programmer and the computer. There are different types of programming languages: low-level, high-level, and middle-level. Low-level language is machine-dependent and is written in direct binary code. Some examples include assembly and machine code. The high-level programming language is made to be user-friendly and easy to read by humans. It is like human language and needs a compiler to convert it into machine language. Python and Java are two examples of this type. The middle-level programming language is in between low-level and high-level language. It is user-friendly and close to both machine and human language.
Babbage
Babbage is a high-level coding language explicitly made for minicomputers (the GEC4000 series) created in the 1970s. Many computers today run using modern languages such as Java, Python, C++, etc. Those languages have continuously been developed and built on top of older programming languages. Like the Pascal and Ada programming languages, the Babbage programming language is one of the pioneer bases for many functions and objects in modern programming today. The Babbage programming language played a critical role in developing the GEC4000 series minicomputers, and I will further explain what these computers are.
History
The GEC4000 Series Minicomputers
The GEC4000 Series was a line of computer series created by an English company called GEC Computers Limited in 1973. It was based in the United Kingdom. The company was previously called Elliot Automation and then Marconi Elliot Computer Systems until it was renamed GEC Computers Limited when it was bought by the General Electric Company (GEC). The General Electric Company is already well known in the UK for its industrial automation efforts and production in World War 1 and World War II.
The minicomputer itself is more complex than it sounds. It is relatively large and bulky, almost as tall as a refrigerator. The main focus of the GEC4000 series was to appeal, garner more attention, and sell to the public market since portable home-use computers were common in regular households during the time. Thus, GEC Computers Limited would bountifully profit and be more well known. The extensivity of its hardware and reparations for this computer allowed for the improvement of new computers in the future.
The Babbage programming language was one of the main high-level languages used to make its software programs and operating system for that series of computers alongside other languages. The GEC4000 series uses an operating system called OS4000, which was proprietary to GEC Computers Limited company in 1977; the OS was written in Babbage and the operating systems before it. Before the OS4000 operating system, the GEC4000 series computers primarily used operating systems called COS and GEC DOS in 1974. The computers were used mainly in universities. The GEC Computers Limited company was very reputable in England and is well known for good maintenance on its computers. The Babbage language was also respectable, making the GEC4000 series minicomputers quite well-known in history.
Why is it called Babbage?
The language was named after Charles Babbage, born in 1791 and died in 1871 in London, England. He was a graduate of Cambridge University who graduated with a specialization in mathematics. He is also a renowned computer pioneer and famous inventor, and he is most notable for creating the first automatic computer called the ‘Babbage Engine,’ more well known as the Difference Engine.
This computer was far from the modern, modular designs available today. The ‘Babbage Engine’ — like many computers back then was enormous. It consisted of 8,000 parts, weighed 5 tons, and was around 11 feet long. During that time, steam power and industrial manufacturing were prominent, hence the steampunk-like design of his analytical machine. The Difference engine is a rudimentary physical design of how programming software looks and operates today. It was fully programmable and automatic. Charles Babbage did not necessarily create the programming language; it was named after him for his considerable feats in computer history.
According to Tony Karp’s article in 1981, designers who created the Babbage programming language were funded by the Department of Sanitation to replace the Ada programming language, which was beginning to become obsolete. Babbage — in comparison to Ada — was highly extensive, and many users were able to customize the size of it.
What Does Babbage Code Look Like?
Babbage uses many familiar, simple structures and statements that people often see today in many other modern languages, such as Python, Java, C++, etc. During that time, simple structures were novel. Some examples of statements that are common today are WHAT IF, OR ELSE, etc. Some statements and loops in the Babbage programming language are uncommonly seen today, which, at first glance, maybe a bit silly. Some such as “DIDN’T DO, CAN’T DO, JUST-IN-CASE, HOPELESS CASE, BASKET CASE, etc.” to name a few.
Comparing Babbage Code to Modern Code
The block-like structure of code in Babbage is also prominent in modern coding. Here is an example statement structure in Babbage by Tim McDonough:
The alignment and nested structure of this code are very similar to many high-level languages such as Python. An example of a simple Python if-else statement would look like this:
This code’s indentation, alignment, and structure are like the Babbage code above.
Is this Language Still Used?
Babbage’s Obsoletion
Unfortunately, like the GEC4000 minicomputers and its obsoletion due to the development of modern technology, Babbage is not used as frequently today as it once was. However, many handbooks and manuals are online to reference with ongoing support for people who still want to maintain a GEC4000 series minicomputer. Modern languages such as Java, Python, and C++ are similar to Babbage’s statement structures and functions. Babbage’s legacy continues to live on through these newer platforms.
High-Level Languages
Referring back to modern high-level languages. Unlike Babbage, which was explicitly limited to the GEC4000 series minicomputers due to its propriety, a variety of modern languages can be used almost anywhere. People are constantly creating new programs used expressly for different things, such as programming video games, developing websites, software, databases, etc. Many of these languages are very similar in structure, as is Babbage. In turn, many programmers learn a variety of high-level languages because of the diversity of these applications of languages in their programs.
The Importance of Babbage
Though unused now, the use of the Babbage programming language and the other several predeceasing languages before it could pioneer the modern coding languages of today. It is essential to appreciate the building blocks of what code is now. Programming is used everywhere and in today’s society, with everyone using the internet and the widespread availability of job openings related to technology. Coding languages are constantly being greatly improved upon. Who knows what awaits in the future?
