COMPUTER HISTORY AND EVOLUTION
DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERS
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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They physically hand-wired the machine
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They designed the hardware for the machine and put it together
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They wrote the software to be used on the machine
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They designed the switches and cables used on the machine
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Detailed explanation-1: -Not only did the women have to translate their calculations into steps that the ENIAC could handle, but they also had to literally wire the machine, said Kathy Kleiman, historian, author, and founder of the ENIAC Programmers Project, in a 2018 TEDx Talk.
Detailed explanation-2: -Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania, the programming of the system fell to a remarkable group of women: Fran Bilas, Betty Jennings, Ruth Lichterman, Kay McNulty, Betty Snyder, and Marlyn Wescoff.
Detailed explanation-3: -The women physically hand-wired the machine, an arduous task using switches, cables, and digit trays to route data and program pulses. After a while, the women earned the trust of the ENIAC engineers and gained the mentorship of John Mauchly.
Detailed explanation-4: -Marlyn Wescoff [left] and Ruth Lichterman were two of the female programmers of ENIAC.