On September 9, 1947, a team of computer scientists and engineers reported the worldâs first computer bug. A bug is a flaw or glitch in a system. Thomas Edison reported âbugsâ in his designs as early as the 1800s, but this was the first bug identified in a computer. Today, software bugs can impact the functioning, safety, and security of computer operating systems. âDebuggingâ and bug management are important parts of the computer science industry.
This bug, however, was literally a bug. âFirst actual case of bug being found,â one of the team members wrote in the logbook. The team at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found that their computer, the Mark II, was delivering consistent errors. When they opened the computerâs hardware, they found … a moth. The trapped insect had disrupted the electronics of the computer.
Among the team who found the first-reported computer bug was computer-language pioneer Dr. Grace Hopper.
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