GoKawiilBlog post traces origins of 'if-then-else' keyword to early computing history
A writer named Eric examines where the 'else' keyword in programming languages came from, noting that 'else' is not used as a conjunction in ordinary English speech. He traces conditional logic back to 1946 work on the Eniac computer by Haskell Curry and Willa Wyatt, who called the concept 'discrimination' rather than 'else', and follows how conditional jump instructions evolved as computers moved from plugboard wiring to stored-program memory.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The piece suggests that everyday programming vocabulary, often assumed to be natural English, may actually have obscure or even foreign-language origins that have gone undocumented in standard histories of computing. This kind of etymological digging could matter to historians and language researchers trying to understand how technical jargon solidified in early programming languages, though the author acknowledges the exact origin remains unresolved.
- The 'else' keyword in programming is not standard English conjunction usage, prompting investigation into its origins.
- Early computers like the Eniac used concepts like 'discrimination' for conditional branching rather than 'if-then-else' phrasing.
- The transition from plugboard-wired computers to stored-program memory computers introduced conditional jump instructions that evolved into modern conditional syntax.
Source: github.com, 2026-10-25
Published there as: “The 'else' keyword is probably a literal translation from German (2020)”
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