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some scientifi c users left many or all six of the programming stages to
the coders. In order to debug their programs and distinguish hardware
glitches from software errors, they developed an intimate knowledge of
the ENIAC machinery. “Since we knew both the application and the
machine,” claimed ENIAC programmer Betty Jean Jennings, “as a result
we could diagnose troubles almost down to the individual vacuum tube.
Since we knew both the application and the machine, we learned to
diagnose troubles as well as, if not better than, the engineers.”
19
In a few
cases, the local craft knowledge that these female programmers accumu-
lated signifi cantly affected the design of the ENIAC and subsequent
computers. ENIAC programmer Betty Holberton recalled one particu-
larly signifi cant episode:
In the fall of '46 when the new idea of wiring up the ENIAC with sort of semi-
permanent wiring with instruction codes [emerged] . . . a number of us worked
with Dr. von Neumann in setting up this code. . . . We felt we wouldn't need
that many settings for all of the instructions. We sort of worked along for a
while. But to my astonishment, he never mentioned a stop instruction. So I did
coyly say, “Don't we need a stop instruction in this machine?” He said, “No we
don't need a stop instruction. We have all these empty sockets here that just let
it go to bed.” And I went back home and I was really alarmed. After all, we had
debugged the machine day and night for months just trying to get jobs on it.
So the next week when I came up with some alterations in the code, I
approached him again with the same question. He gave me the same answer.
Well I really got red in the face. I was so excited and I really wanted to tell him
off. And I said, “But Dr. von Neumann, we are programmers and we sometimes
make mistakes.” He nodded his head and the stop order went in.
20
The deference with which Holberton proposes her tentative suggestion
and von Neumann's initial patronizing dismissal are indicative of the
status of the programmers relative to that of their scientifi c and engineer-
ing colleagues. Von Neumann's eventual acceptance refl ects his recogni-
tion of the importance of local craft knowledge and an increasing
acceptance of the value of programming expertise. Given that the pro-
grammers “were often able to point out to a technician which individual
vacuum tube needed to be changed,” they were able to interact much
more with the computer engineers and technicians than was probably
originally intended. This had the positive effect of convincing the ENIAC
managers that programmers were essential to the success of the overall
project and that well-informed, technically profi cient, high-quality pro-
grammers were especially indispensable.
Thus, what was supposed to have been a low-level skill, a static activ-
ity, prepared these women coders well for careers as programmers, and
