The Howdy Glossary

The A-0 System is an early programming language and system for UNIVAC I computers. Developed in the late 1950s at Univac by Grace Hopper, it was intended to make computer programming more accessible. The A-0 system introduced a new notation called MATH-MATIC (later known as MATHEMATICAL FORMULA MANIPULATING MACHINE COMPILER), which allowed mathematical expressions to be written similarly to how they would be in standard mathematical notation. This made it easier for scientists and engineers, who were not necessarily trained as professional programmers, to write code by specifying their calculations directly. MATH-MATIC was used to develop solutions for complex scientific problems and served as an inspiration for future high-level programming languages that evolved from its concepts.