Value Creation
Code refactoring
Software, system, program, application, app... There are many names given to applications, this element of technology that justifies the existence of computers, transforming them into items that go far beyond traditional machines.
If we are currently living in the age of artificial intelligence, we have been witnessing the evolution of software for decades, which has gained momentum in the last 20 years with the advent of smartphones and tablets. If we have small computers in our pockets, we can fill them with applications that help us in virtually every aspect of our lives: from automating bill payments by scheduling accounts in the banking app to testing the quality of your cell phone's Internet connection, thanks to your carrier's app.
The history of software development and computing are intertwined. Beyond their origins, what were the milestones in the process of creating applications? Follow along with us in this article to find out!
Literally speaking, one of the greatest exponents of world literature gave birth to the first programmer in history. Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, wrote in 1843 the first algorithm to be processed by a machine. Ada was a mathematician and collaborated with the research of Charles Babbage, the English mathematician and engineer who created the Analytical Engine, considered the first fully automatic calculating machine. Ada's algorithm was designed to be used in the Machine; however, it was only actually built years after the deaths of both men.
Considering programs as we know them today, those that are stored in memory and executed by the computer, the first was on the Manchester Mark 1 machine , a computer built at the University of Manchester between 1948 and 1949. The program, which had 17 instructions, was designed to find the greatest common factor of 2 to the power of 18. It took 52 minutes to perform approximately 3.5 million operations and return the correct answer.
The Manchester Mark 1 was a computer designed and built to run only its own program. As such, it was written directly in binary code, without a programming language. These were also created in the 1940s, the first high-level language being Plankalkül, developed by German scientist Konrad Zuse. However, it was not immediately implemented, given the hardware limitations of the time. The first widely used programming language was FORTRAN, developed between 1954 and 1957 by John Backus during his time at IBM.
Programming languages are necessary for developing complex programs. However, we commonly refer to software with a graphical interface as "applications." The first GUI, which stands for graphical user interface, was the result of a doctoral thesis by an MIT researcher. In 1963, Ivan Sutherland presented Sketchpad, a software that allowed users to draw directly on the screen using a light pen. It was the first time we were able to interact with computers without command lines. Five years later, a project was started at Xerox that culminated in 1971 with the Xerox Alto, a computer that had an operating system with a graphical interface.
The 1970s were particularly important for the evolution of applications, thanks to advances in the hardware industry. The first half of the decade saw the emergence of the Kenbak-1, the Micral-N, and the Altair 8800, the first microcomputers for personal use. As they became increasingly common tools for work, the demand for applications grew rapidly. It was during the transition from the 1970s to the 1980s that we began to see a scenario similar to what we have today: microcomputers at home and at work, with their operating systems running various programs.
At the beginning of this text, we mentioned that the proliferation of mobile devices has accelerated demand for application development. With this increase, there is necessarily a greater demand for data recording and processing.
In other words, these are the requirements that modern applications need to meet:
To process information quickly, we analyze programming languages from the perspective of their ability to compile data into native code—or at least have optimized runtimes. In addition, we evaluate whether the language performs optimized memory management and whether there is robust native support for concurrency and parallelism, allowing applications to make effective use of the multiple processing cores offered by the hardware.
From the point of view of data processing capacity, languages that easily integrate with different types of databases, whether SQL or NoSQL, are currently used. In addition, priority is given to languages that have robust frameworks, rich in libraries for manipulation, and through which it is possible to provide broad scalability for applications.
Given the need to properly access applications from different operating systems and devices, ensuring they function securely and reliably, we use languages that work across multiple platforms.
Last but not least: testability—or support for testing, regardless of type—is also a key feature when selecting the language we will use to develop applications.
Here at Inmetrics, the way we develop applications is only possible because we strive to innovate and be technically excellent. That is how, by solving relevant problems with our digital experiences, we impact businesses and people. This is the path we have chosen to accelerate our clients' transformation, whether through the modernization of legacy applications or the development of digital products.
Our team works to design solutions that generate value for customers, whether by reducing operational risks, increasing delivery agility, shaping solid databases, or enabling the use of neural networks in the development of applications with artificial intelligence.
If you want to rely on experts who keep up with the speed and demands of your business, talk to us! We have been working in digital product development for a long time and are ready to plan and develop digital solutions that will transform the way your company delivers value to the market. Click here and talk to us!
