Dennis Ritchie, Software Programming Pioneer, Dies at 70
OCTOBER 14, 2011 TAGS:
Forget Steve Jobs, here's the guy who really changed the way computers work for us. Dennis Ritchie was a Bell Labs, Harvard Ph.D. who invented the programming language C, which PC Magazine calls, "perhaps the strongest pillar of application and operating system development today."
He also co-developed the UNIX operating system, which was envisioned as a bare bones interface for programmers and subsequently formed the basis for many widely used computer networking systems and operating systems. The entire Mac OS X series is UNIX-based. Google's Android operating system also runs on UNIX.
Ritchie died on Wednesday at the age of 70.
In addition to co-writing the programming text book that coders often refer to as the "bible of C," titled The C Programming Language, Ritchie did as much anyone to cultivate the hacker spirit, eschewing a 9-to-5 corporate schedule in favor of late night coding sessions.
For his efforts, Ritchie received a bevy of industry awards and science prizes including the U.S. National Medal of Technology in 1999. Farewell software pioneer.
He also co-developed the UNIX operating system, which was envisioned as a bare bones interface for programmers and subsequently formed the basis for many widely used computer networking systems and operating systems. The entire Mac OS X series is UNIX-based. Google's Android operating system also runs on UNIX.Ritchie died on Wednesday at the age of 70.
In addition to co-writing the programming text book that coders often refer to as the "bible of C," titled The C Programming Language, Ritchie did as much anyone to cultivate the hacker spirit, eschewing a 9-to-5 corporate schedule in favor of late night coding sessions.
For his efforts, Ritchie received a bevy of industry awards and science prizes including the U.S. National Medal of Technology in 1999. Farewell software pioneer.
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