Behind every website, app, and smart device, a computer programmer speaks the language of computers to turn human ideas into digital reality. The history of computer programming stretches farther back than many people realize, with rapid changes still in progress today. Here are some interesting facts about the people who write code.
9 Computer Programming Facts
1. The first computer program was written for a machine that was never built. (Source)
Ada Lovelace wrote a sequence for calculating Bernoulli numbers in 1843. Computer historians regard this as the first computer program, designed for Charles Babbage’s proposed Analytical Engine. She speculated that the machine could work with things beyond numbers, like musical notes. Unfortunately, this machine was never created during Babbage’s lifetime.
2. Lovelace’s legacy lives in the code we use today. (Source)
In 1979, a century after Lovelace’s time, a programming language was named Ada in her honor. It went on to be used in transportation and military systems around the world.
3. The first computer bug was a literal moth in the system. (Source)
In 1947, students working on Harvard University’s Mark II computer found a moth stuck between the relays. They taped it into a logbook with a note on the effects, and this was the first case of a “bug” in the system.
4. Computer programming is considered a “future-proof” job. (Source)
Computer programming is considered a role vital to supporting a changing economy well into the future. The state with the largest future-proof workforce is Washington.
5. Grace Hopper made code more readable. (Source)
Hopper was one of the first computer programmers and helped develop COBOL, a language closer to English syntax. Nvidia even named a generation of its professional graphics hardware after her.
6. JavaScript is still the most popular language, but Python is catching up. (Source)
Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey showed that JavaScript is still the most-used language at 66%. Python is closely behind at 57.9%, which was a seven-point jump from the previous year, the largest single-year increase in usage a programming language has ever made.
7. Most programmers now work cautiously alongside AI. (Source)
Over 80% of developers use AI tools, yet half of them say they don’t fully trust the results. This gap shows that human judgment and input remain essential to computer programming.
8. TypeScript recently claimed a major title. (Source)
In August 2025, TypeScript surpassed both Python and JavaScript as the most used language on GitHub. TypeScript is a version of JavaScript that adds type checking, which helps catch errors before the code runs. GitHub reported substantial developer growth in India, Brazil, and Indonesia.
9. ENIAC’s first programmers were six women. (Source)
The IEEE Computer Society recognizes Kathleen McNulty, Marlyn Wescoff, Jean Jennings Bartik, Frances Bilas, Betty Holberton, and Ruth Lichtermann as ENIAC’s original programmers. They were working as “human computers,” performing ballistics calculations during World War II. While programming ENIAC, they developed nested subroutines and fundamental programming techniques that were once dismissed as clerical work.
Featured image photo credit: Antonio Batinić
