its compilers time! digraph { rankdir=LR; graph [bgcolor=transparent]; node [fontcolor=white, color=white]; edge [fontcolor=white, color=white]; program -> compiler -> "binary code"; } a bit of history manual punch cards — slow to write speedcoding 10-20 times slower than hand written assembly interpreter! …nobody used it Fortran I John Backus development time halved performance is close to hand-written assembly (80%!) Key automation: you had to manage the finite number of registers in hand-writing assembly, but Fortran would fix that for you.