Elaine M. McGraw facts for kids

Elaine M. McGraw was an important American computer programmer. She helped invent a clever way for computers to store and find information quickly. This invention is called "open addressing" for "hash tables." She worked with two other smart people, Arthur Samuel and Gene Amdahl, in 1954.

Who Was Elaine M. McGraw?

Elaine M. McGraw was a pioneering woman in the early days of computers. She played a key role in making computers more efficient. Her work helped shape how computers organize data even today.

Early Career in Computing

Elaine McGraw first studied economics. But soon, she found her passion in computers. In the early 1950s, she started working as a computer programmer. Her first job was at The Prudential Life Insurance Company. There, she used a large computer called a UNIVAC.

Prudential then sent her to IBM to learn about a new computer, the IBM 701. Elaine thought Prudential might not buy this new computer. So, she applied for a job at IBM herself. She was hired there in 1953 by Gene Amdahl. She continued to work at IBM for many years, at least until 1970.

Inventing Hash Tables

In 1954, Elaine McGraw was working on a special project at IBM. She was with Gene Amdahl and Arthur Samuel. They were building an assembler. An assembler is a program that turns human-readable computer instructions into machine code. Machine code is what the computer truly understands.

Part of this project needed a "symbol table". A symbol table helps the computer remember where different parts of a program are located. Elaine was tasked with creating this important part.

What Are Hash Tables?

Imagine you have a big list of names and phone numbers. How do you quickly find someone's number? You could go through the list one by one, but that takes time. A hash table is like a super-fast way to find information. It uses a special "hash function" to quickly figure out where to store or find an item.

A Big Step in Computer Science

Together, Amdahl, McGraw, and Samuel found a brilliant solution for the symbol table. They invented methods called "open addressing" and "linear probing". These methods are still used today in modern hash tables.

While other types of hash tables existed before (like those described by Hans Peter Luhn in 1953), their invention was very important. It was a major contribution to how computers organize and access data. Their work helped make computers faster and more powerful for everyone.