Approximate string matching algorithms (ASMA) determine if two strings are the same, “close enough”, or are distinct. Spelling error detection and correction were early applications of these algorithms, and today ASMAs (or similar techniques) are used in natural language understanding applications. Hundreds of papers have been written on the subject (1980 survey, 2001 survey), but this post is focused on the subset of algorithms that were considered commercially viable for the field of computer-assisted instruction (CAI), an early hardware/software-as-a-service business.
In 1976, Los Alamos hosted the International History of Computing Conference where the pioneering efforts of computing were discussed, often by the pioneers themselves. The Computer History Museum has posted videos from the talks, which cover important machines, languages, people, institutions, and practices invented in the first 30 years of the craft. Dag Spicer, the senior curator at CHM, has written a blog post giving an overview and background of the event.
The first song composed and played by a computer was The Silver Scale on May 17, 1957. This video discusses the physics and hardware necessary for this
invention, as well as the domain specific language, MUSIC-V, that arose
for efficient programming of sound waves.
Strings are a fundamental data type in programming languages, but their representation, functionality, and suitability for multi-lingual processing have changed over time. This article looks at the major changes in language design over the first fifty years.