[LINK] Dennis Ritchie op-ed piece

[Jan Whitaker]

For linkers:

Under-appreciated computer whiz left enduring legacy

  Chris Scanlon
  October 25, 2011 - 9:24AM

UNTIL his untimely death, his pioneering innovations revolutionised 
the world of computing. Small, elegant, and yet incredibly powerful, 
his work has burrowed its way deep into every area of modern life. 
His legacy lives on in desktop computers, iDevices, and even Android phones.

I am, of course, referring to Dennis Ritchie, who recently died aged 
70. If you're not a computer nerd then around about now, you're 
probably saying to yourself ''Dennis who? Surely you mean Steve 
Jobs.'' No, I don't, since it was Dennis Ritchie who invented the C 
programming language.

Still underwhelmed?

C is to computer languages what Latin is to European languages. 
Although developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Ritchie 
was employed by AT&T Bell labs in the US, the language - and its 
various extensions - remains one of the most used computer languages 
in the world. For example, Objective-C, the language that's used to 
create apps for the Apple Mac and is used to create many of the apps 
found on iPods, iPhones and iPads is an extension of the C language.
more....
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/underappreciated-computer-whiz-left-enduring-legacy-20111024-1mg9i.html



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

_ __________________ _