Make the claim identifiable.
Each relationship has an edge ID, a defined type, a dated edition and a claim written in plain language.
AN EXPERIMENT IN ACCOUNTABLE HISTORICAL VISUALIZATION 001 / INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
History is not
a straight line.
Explore the people, languages, projects and ideas that shaped software—through interactive relationships you can verify, question and revise.
ENTER THE GRAPH ↘01 / VISUAL EVIDENCEARCHIVE · ANALYZE · CHALLENGESCROLL TO EXPLORE ↓
01 / LIVE EXPLORER
A map with
receipts.
A carefully limited, five-node demonstration—not a complete family tree. Select any connection to read the documented claim and its source. The visualization is illustrative; its assertions come from the listed evidence.
EXPLICIT RELATIONSHIPS ONLYNOT TO SCALE · NOT COMPREHENSIVE
RELATIONSHIP INSPECTORE-004
Simula 67 → C++
DESIGN INFLUENCE / FIRST-PERSON CORROBORATED
Stroustrup credits Simula-style organization and classes as part of C++’s design motivation.
Influence is not the same as source-code descent.
Read designer’s account ↗SELECT A LANGUAGE
OR INSPECT AN EDGE
Method note. The graph records different relation types. An arrow is a research assertion with an identifier, not proof of causality by itself. See Provenance Standards or inspect the underlying JSON dataset ↗.
HOW TO READ THIS GRAPH ↗02 / RESEARCH PATHWAYS
Ten ways to
follow the evidence.
From language family trees to disputed attributions, every section examines a different historical relationship. These are starting dossiers; not all questions have settled answers.
01EXPLORE ↗
Explore the Graph
Connections you can examine, not just admire.
02EXPLORE ↗
Code Family Trees
Genealogy without false parentage.
03EXPLORE ↗
People–Project Networks
Make collaboration visible.
04EXPLORE ↗
Ideas & Influences
Distinguish inspiration from implementation.
05EXPLORE ↗
Timeline Layers
Many histories happened at once.
06EXPLORE ↗
Visualized Sources
Let readers follow the provenance.
07EXPLORE ↗
Disputed Connections
The disagreement is part of the record.
08EXPLORE ↗
Interactive Exhibitions
Explore a question, not a spectacle.
09EXPLORE ↗
Open Datasets
Publish the edges with the footnotes.
10EXPLORE ↗
Explorer Notebook
Research questions, openly versioned.
03 / FROM THE NOTEBOOK
{}FIELD NOTE / 001
2026.10.09
6 REFERENCES
SOURCE-TRACKED INVESTIGATION
Why a language family tree isn't enough.
ALGOL 60, Simula, C and C++ reveal at least three different meanings of “descended from.” A good diagram needs to say which one it means—and show the documentary basis.
READ THE INVESTIGATION ↗04 / OUR EDITORIAL CONTRACT
Public claims.
Public revisions.
We do not claim a correction has been received unless one has. Reader contributions become research leads, are checked against the record, and can result in visible edition changes.
Attach the documentary trail.
A source entry identifies the creator, type and limitations, so the reader can independently inspect the assertion.
Publish consequential changes.
Accepted challenges revise the connection and leave an attributable public version record. Earlier claims aren't silently erased.