[Ads-l] Antedating: 'queue' (data structure in computing, OED 1963)

[Daphne Preston-Kendal]

These statements will add the specified entity to the set at the head or tail of the queue respectively, or will remove it from the set.
1962 J. N. Buxton & J. G. Laski ‘Control and simulation language’ in The Computer Journal 5 (3): 195/2.


The main features discussed are the ordering of a queue of jobs awaiting execution
1962 D. J. Howarth, P. D. Jones & M. T. Wyld ‘The Atlas scheduling system’ in The Computer Journal 5 (3): 238/2.


These probably confirm what one might suspect from the sense development, that ‘queue’ as a computer science term, while international today, originated in Britain. (A later article by Laski says he was at Colchester, and a later one by Buxton puts him at the University of London; the Atlas system was developed at the University of Manchester.)


Daphne

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org