RIP Dennis Ritchie (co-founder Unix, C language)

[enlytend]

Dennis Ritchie, creator of the C programming language and co-creator of the Unix operating system, passed away today at age 70. Not a household name these days, but truly a pioneer in the industry.

So many operating systems we use today trace their roots (pun intended) back to Unix (all varieties of Linux, Solaris, Mac OS/X and IOS) and most modern programming languages (including Python, PHP, Perl, Java, Javascript, C++, Objective C) were based upon elements of C. With these technologies, Ritchie also pioneered the concept of Open Source/Open Systems.

BTW, he did this just because it was an interest, using equipment he had borrowed for another project - he didn't "sell" C and never had any commercial intent! Dennis wasn't a rockstar, he was a quiet, unassuming genius.

A brief bio here: http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/13/father-of-c-and-unix-dennis-ritchie-passes-away-at-age-70/

 

[liquidcherry]

R.I.P Dennis, he was a true genius....

cheers

liquid

 

[Veronika11]

Rest in peace

 

[alien51]

<include std.io>

void main() {

printf "Goodbye, World!\n";

return;}

 

[Dave_Z]

It was in Unix where I first learned and applied my first DNS command: dig. We used Unix commands to perform domain functions in my ex-registrar days before we created loser-friendly...I mean user-friendly interfaces.

Sleep peacefully, Mr. Ritchie.

 

[NetOctave]

Every penny that I earn, I'm grateful to him. Sad to see the main stream media largely ignoring his death. While most people may not directly realize his importance, his contribution is there in almost any electronics that we use now. Most embedded systems (mobile phones, washing machine etc) all are developed in C or C++...