Coding History: Why are they called bugs?

DrGlickertDrGlickert Member Posts: 1,135
edited November -1 in Miscellaneous
Anyone know the history as to why they're called "bugs"?

Not sure where that all started from, but it peaked my interest today...

Comments

  • mangaroomangaroo Member Posts: 419
    because the game gets buggered
  • steve86steve86 Member Posts: 806
    Hey Dr.

    I actually know the answer to this one. Back in the day when computers use to fill the entire room. Instead of having modern transistors like we have today. They used Vacuum tubes. they looked like a light bulb. When a computer malfunction one of the main reasons was that this tubes were filled by real bugs. So the engineers needed to "debug" the computer and change the bulbs that were invaded by real bugs.
  • RHRH Member Posts: 1,079
    I remember hearing or reading, I think on Wikipedia, that when one of the first computers broke they couldn't figure out why on earth it had done... until they found a bug in the wiring that had frazzled it.

    Or something along those lines. Then again, it was Wikipedia that I read it on...
  • mangaroomangaroo Member Posts: 419
    yeah i think you two have it right :)

    http://www.stepforth.com/blog/2005/why-are-bugs-called-bugs/
  • ChunkypixelsChunkypixels Member Posts: 1,114
    Yup.. I think Steve is correct... although the terminology actually pre-dates computers, and goes back to earlier mechanical engineering.

    Machines would get various bug/insect infestations that would ruin their framework and gearings, leading to the term "bugged".

    Early aircraft regularly got clogged up with bugs in the engines, causing them to malfunction. The engineers would clean out the engines which left the planes "debugged".

    So the terminology was carried on into cleaning out early computers, and then into the process of finding and fixing errors in later developed code languages.
Sign In or Register to comment.

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2024