Although countless people have impacted the field of computing, few have had the revolutionary vision of Grace Murray Hopper. Beyond her brilliant technical mind, it is her understanding of business and marketing that sets her apart. Grace Hopper realized that the potential of computers could go far beyond what was imagined at the time. She believed that computers could be extremely useful to a much wider audience if only they were simpler to use and understand. These forward-thinking theories are what led Hopper to improve binary code, create the first compiler, and in doing so, change the future of the computer (Borg). Hopper's early work gave her the experience necessary to identify the computer's current limitations, but also for From Harvard, Hopper joined Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation where she worked on UNIVAC I, the first successful electronic computer commercial. It was here at Eckert-Mauchly, which would later be sold to Remington Rand, that Grace Hopper developed the first compiler, the AO or Arithmetic Language, version 0 (Strawn). In order to make the computer more accessible, Hopper came up with the idea that computers should be able to be controlled in a language that people could learn to write and understand. In order to make such a crazy idea a reality, Hopper designed the compiler. Typically, compilers translate mathematical or English-like code that humans could learn and understand into digital code that the computer can process (Laduke). The AO series of compilers were capable of translating mathematical code into machine code; it allowed the user to request information from a certain location stored on the computer and tell the computer what to do with the retrieved information (Borg). Although the AO series allowed some people to control a computer in a much simpler way than before, its operation still required an expert. The mathematical code was still very complex and extensive training in mathematics or computer science would have been essential for languages ​​intended for scientific (Fortran), computer science (Algol), artificial intelligence (Lisp) and commercial (FLOW-MATIC and COMTRAN) applications. have been created (Strawn). However, this growth was unregulated, and while the rise of new programming languages ​​was an exciting advancement, the development of many languages ​​for the same basic purpose made reprogramming as expensive as initial programming and the need to Completely reprogram applications with the purchase of software. new computer. Such complications indicated the need for standardized languages. Despite the varied field of programming, Hopper's main focus remained on the use of computers for business. Therefore, in 1959, Hopper became a technical consultant on a committee composed of industry and government personnel whose goal was to develop a common business-oriented language for computer programming, later known as COBOL. Using FLOW-MATIC as a basic foundation, the first COBOL standard was published by the American National Standards Institute and was widely adopted. In 1997, approximately 200 billion lines of COBOL code existed, running 80% of all commercial programs. Its impressive success may be due to its high degree of standardization (Strawn). For this to happen, Hopper had to convince businesses to adopt this one.