Transcode Manual.

Canada's grace hopper. First edition of the only separately published work by computing pioneer Beatrice Worsley (1921-2003) and the founding document of Canadian computer science: the manual for using Worsley's Transcode system for the Feranti Mark I. Rare; we can locate only one other copy, at the University of Toronto, where the text was prepared. This copy is from the library of Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, where Worsley spent the final part of her career.

As a student Worsley excelled at science and earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. Immediately after graduating in 1944 she enlisted in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service, working on ship degaussing and hull corrosion. In 1946 Worsley began graduate studies at MIT, writing an important master's thesis, A Mathematical Survey of Computing Devices, 'a fascinating snapshot of contemporary computing technology' (Campbell, Beatrice Helen Worsley: Canada's Computing Pioneer, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 2003).

Worsley became firmly committed to computing as a career, and in 1948 she joined the new University of Toronto Computation Centre. She was sent to Cambridge to study the new EDSAC, arriving with a colleague to find it 'in a fairly advanced state of construction, and though neither had an engineering background, both helped prepare it for the first run on 6 May 1949' (Campbell). Her report on the initial results was later published in the important 1975 volume The Origins of Digital Computers.

In Cambridge Worsley resumed her graduate studies under Douglas Hartree, and her PhD dissertation, Serial Programming for Real and Idealised Digital Calculating Machines, is believed to be the very first involving modern computers. 'By the time Worsley finished her assignment at Cambridge she was one of the most computer-literate women in the world, with practical and theoretical expertise that few could have matched. She was one of the first female academic computer programmers who wrote all her own programs, a point she strongly emphasised in her dissertation' (Campbell).

At around the time Worsley returned to Toronto the Computation centre was installing its first computer, a Ferranti Mark I which she named the Ferut. It proved difficult to program, particularly for scientists with limited computer experience, and Worsley and a colleague were assigned to create an automatic coding system for it. 'They dubbed their project Transcode and finished writing the compiler within about a year. Transcode was an immediate success. Basic lessons could be taught in two hours, and the calculations could be returned to users in a matter of days, not weeks' (Campbell). One important feature was the ability to input numbers as decimals rather than binary code. The present publication was written as a manual specifically 'for scientists, engineers, and others in Canada to make available to them the use of FERUT... With its aid one can write programs for computations by the machine without having to learn the many intricacies that must be mastered by the professional programmer' (preface).

Despite Worsley's expertise, track record, and core role in the Computing Centre she was not promoted to assistant professor until 1960. 'In comparison to other staff members, the lack of official recognition is conspicuous and is almost certainly because of her gender' (Campbell). In 1965 she left Toronto for Queen's University in Ontario to launch a new Computing Centre and teach undergraduate classes, and this copy of the manual was originally in the Queens University Library. Worsley died unexpectedly during a research sabbatical at age 50 and 'left a fascinating career. Her natural appreciation for what computers were capable of doing was reflected in a lifelong interest in the development of computer libraries and scientific computation. A skilled mathematician and unquestionably Canada's first female computer scientist, she found a successful calling in a profession dominated by men' (Campbell).

First edition; 4to; frontispiece & 4 plates, folding appendix, small illustrations and equations within the text, some light pencilled equations and notes, contents faintly toned; original blue wire-stitched wrappers printed in black; shelf number in black ink to the upper wrapper, bookplate with withdrawn stamps of Queen's University, Ontario, library pocket and bar code on the inside of the rear cover, wrappers lightly rubbed with some creasing, toning, and a few spots at the corners and edges, very good condition; 58pp.