Dennis Ritchie: The father of UNIX and the C code programming language is dead at 70.

[Sallow]

Frank Pupo
Dennis Ritchie shuffled off the mortal coil today. In case anyone doesn't know who he is, he's one of the Fathers of the UNIX operating system and the C code language. This is one of the real heroes in the computing world. Here's to a life well lived..cheers Dennis!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/technology/dennis-ritchie-programming-trailblazer-dies-at-70.html

Dennis Ritchie, Trailblazer in Digital Era, Dies at 70
By STEVE LOHR
Published: October 13, 2011

Dennis M. Ritchie, who helped shape the modern digital era by creating software tools that power things as diverse as search engines like Google and smartphones, was found dead on Wednesday at his home in Berkeley Heights, N.J. He was 70.

In the late 1960s and early ’70s, working at Bell Labs, Mr. Ritchie made a pair of lasting contributions to computer science. He was the principal designer of the C programming language and co-developer of the Unix operating system, working closely with Ken Thompson, his longtime Bell Labs collaborator.

The C programming language, a shorthand of words, numbers and punctuation, is still widely used today, and successors like C++ and Java build on the ideas, rules and grammar that Mr. Ritchie designed. The Unix operating system has similarly had a rich and enduring impact. Its free, open-source variant, Linux, powers many of the world’s data centers, like those at Google and Amazon, and its technology serves as the foundation of operating systems, like Apple’s iOS, in consumer computing devices.

 

[Sallow]

Oh..and this guy had much more influence on the world of technology then say, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

With people living longer these days, dying at 70 almost seems like you've gotten jipped. It doesn't seem as old as it used to.

 

[Sallow]

With people living longer these days, dying at 70 almost seems like you've gotten jipped. It doesn't seem as old as it used to.

True.

And this was a huge loss to the world of UNIX.

 

[Sallow]

Wow. Am I the only egghead here?