programming, vbl. n.
(ˈprəʊgræmɪŋ)
Also (rare) programing.
[f. program, programme n. or v. + -ing1.]
† 1. The writing of programme notes. Obs. rare.
| 1889 G. B. Shaw London Music in 1888–89 (1937) 243 Sir George patronized everyone in his programming days. |
2. Broadcasting. The choice, arrangement, or broadcasting of radio or television programmes.
| 1940 L. R. Lohr Television Broadcasting p. ix, The first [part] deals with television in relation to the public, that is, the programing of a television service. 1951 Broadcasting 15 Oct. 84/2 ZIV is delighted that NBC has taken this step..because better programming is good for the entire industry. 1958 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. xviii. 226 WNEW, the New York radio station that has proved most adventurous in its programming of popular music. 1960 News Chron. 21 Sept. 6/3 Peak-time programming was reduced to the familiar diet of quizzes. 1964 M. McLuhan Understanding Media (1967) v. 63 TV caused drastic changes in radio programming. 1973 Guardian 16 Mar. 10/1 ‘Complementary programming’, the principle on which BBC-2 now gives you a serious programme while BBC-1 has a light one. 1976 Broadcast 29 Mar. 10/2 The five station types are defined by size and programming capability. |
3. Planning carried out for purposes of control, management, or administration, esp. in economics.
| 1943 Sun (Baltimore) 1 July 14/2 The President transferred from Mr. Jones' RFC to Mr. Wallace's BEW full control over the programming of imported strategic materials. 1959 Listener 21 May 884/2 The design of controls, the programming of production methods, and so forth. 1967 E. Duckworth in Wills & Yearsley Handbk. Managem. Technol. 117 Operational research in general has to do with the programming function in industry and all the methods described will be found to apply to the programming problems. 1975 J. De Bres tr. Mandel's Late Capitalism vii. 237 There is undoubtedly a certain reciprocal effect, of a both technical and economic character between planning of production and accumulation within individual companies and programming of the economy as a whole. |
4. The operation of programming a computer; the writing or preparation of programs; programming language = language n. 1 d.
| 1945 J. P. Eckert et al. Description of ENIAC (PB 86242) (Moore School of Electr. Engin., Univ. of Pennsylvania) b–1 An elementary programming procedure. 1947 Electronic Engin. XIX. 107/1 It remains to show how the automatic sequencing of operations—or programming—is achieved. 1949 Math. Tables & Other Aids to Computation III. 376 The most time-consuming factor occurring in the use of the ENIAC is the ‘programming’ (i.e. setting up the machine for a specific problem). 1954 Sci. News XXXIV. 60 The ‘programming’ of calculations to be done by computors is lengthy and tedious. 1959 Computer Bull. II. 81/1 This committee held three meetings starting on 24 January 1958 and discussed many technical details of programming language. 1962 Lancet 8 Dec. 1215/1 The final stage of programming must therefore consist in the translation of the flow diagram into actual coded orders which the machine can understand. 1967 Economist 8 Apr. 162/1 Programming schools are sprouting up everywhere. 1968 N. Chapin (title) 360 Programing in assembly language. 1977 Sci. Amer. Sept. 236/3 Most of the programming languages in service today were developed as symbolic ways to deal with the hardware-level concepts of the 1950's. |
5. Psychol. and Educ. The preparation and organization of the material necessary to a course of programmed instruction.
| 1954 B. F. Skinner in Harvard Law Rev. XXIV. 96 In addition to the advantages which can be gained from precise reinforcement and careful programming, the device will teach reading at the same time. 1969 [see linear a. 3 b]. 1976 W. B. Kolesnik Learning vi. 124 The method of instruction most closely identified with the concept of learning-as-conditioning is commonly referred to as programming. Ibid. 125 While programming does sometimes involve the use of mechanical or electronic equipment, it need not do so. |