“Pioneering computer scientist Dennis Ritchie has died after a long illness,” BBC News reports.
“Mr Ritchie was one of the creators of the hugely influential Unix operating system and the equally pioneering C programming language,” The Beeb reports. “A vast number of modern technologies depend on the work he and fellow programmers did on Unix and C in the early days of the computer revolution.”
“Those paying respects said he was a ‘titan’ of the industry whose influence was largely unknown,” The Beeb reports. “Along with Ken Thompson, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna, Mr Ritchie was one of the key creators of the Unix operating system at Bell Labs during the 1960s and 70s.”
The Beeb reports, “Unix’s influence has been felt in many ways. It established many software engineering principles that persist until today; it was the OS of choice for the internet; it kicked off the open source movement and has been translated to run on many different types of hardware.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Of course, Apple’s Mac OS X is the world’s most widely used Unix-based system in the desktop computer market (58 million users) and Apple’s iOS, derived from Mac OS X, is the world’s most widely used Unix-based system in the mobile/tablet market. R.I.P., Mr Ritchie.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David Haun” for the heads up.]
Ok!! October has been a sad day for tech. We lost two key individuals that highly influenced the development of technology.
Who’s next? Bill Gates? Hope not.
I for one would not be as broke up as I was for Steve.
BTW, I sent this news to MDN early Thursday morning, but no credit – AGAIN!
Did you need an Atta Boy for your valiant effort?
Here you go…
http://www.anibrands.com/File/View/3926ca7b-d12b-403b-a2d0-e2ccc0fc569b?w=234&h=70
We can also give you a good scratch behind the ears, if you need it.
Atta Boy!!!
lol +1
Since Bill Gates is a dedicated eugenicist – I would not even shed a dead body cell upon learning of his demise.
To mention accolades about Steve Jobs and Dennis Richie and then the mention the antithesis of all that they truly stood for is truly saddening.
1
This is one of the giants on whose shoulders Steven Jobs stood. We owe him a debt of gratitude for the creation that is at the heart of OS X and iOS. RIP.
Agreed. I hope he receives his full due for the enormous contribution he made to computer technology.
Wow, I learned to program C using his book way back in the early 80s. His book still sits on my bookshelf. A sad month for tech, for sure!
RIP
Highly influential book; not just for its content but the way it was writ. Both Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Thompson had dry sense of delicious wit, on top of being visionaries and flat out geniuses. It might be a mistake to compare them to Steve Jobs. Bill Gates, Woz, Linus etc. combined may find it difficult to match these two’s contribution (brain inspirations) during a summer in late 60s. I once followed the creative process of Unix and it felt like a love letter to humanity.
”UNIX is very simple, it just needs a genius to understand its simplicity.”
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language
R.I.P. dmt.
Respect!
Sad month (week…)
and only 70…
guess that would be about right, for whatever reason i figured all the UNIX guys to be a lot older.
Didn’t know the guy, but I do know his work. UNIX/C both.
At least we still have Lionel.
I have a suggestion.
Once a year, on the anniversary of Steve’s birth, they auction for charity one of Steve’s mock turtleneck shirts.
It should work for 30 or more years. I’m sure there are several people that would spend a couple of million for charity.
Nice to see respectful comments from the readers. Tacky response from MDN though. This is about losing another Tech Titan, not Apple market share.
As difficult as it is for me to imagine a world without Apple, it’s just as hard to picture where I’d be without UNIX and C. A world where VMS and some crippled windowing shell atop DOS were my only options for computing would be a dark, dark place.
True, however, speaking from an Apple perspective, neither UNIX or C played a part in the original Apple II or the Macintosh.
UNIX didn’t have a real impact until after it was unchained from Bell Labs / AT&T when BSD was created.
Yeah, sorry, I silently conflated the two: I was tallying up the full impact of no UNIX and no Apple. My entire career has been wrapped up in one or the other.
For me, I suppose the next shoe to drop would be Larry Wall. Perl makes everything mo’ better.
Another great man gone.
And I like the idea of one great man standing on the shoulders of another. That’s how we got here today. And hopefully another will take up Steve’s mantle and stand on his shoulders too (to mix metaphors).
Goodbye, world.
I’ll still never forgive God for taking Steve and leaving us with Ballmer. Just proves He is a selfish God.
Hahahha, I think it would have been even more unfair if both of them had passed away. I think, the general feeling here, we like Mr. Ballmer exactly where he is and how he is for as long as it takes. Long live Steve Ballmer, CEO MS.
Kidding; I’m no longer holding an anti-MS sentiment. Not yet a fan, I’d like to hastily add. But they’ve shown genuine class, after Mr. Jobs’s untimely passing, by lowering their flags on all MS offices worldwide. Good on them. Peace.
Would it not have been just as selfish on your part to want to keep him around?
To appreciate the enormity of Ritchie’s contributions to our modern tech-centred world I’d urge anyone interested to skip the Beeb’s limp offering and check out better informed sources. two you might like:
From Wired
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/tech/innovation/dennis-ritchie-obit-bell-labs/index.html
From The Register (the comments are very informative)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/13/dennis_ritchie/
Very Sad news…!! R.I.P Dennis Ritchie..!! We will miss you…!!