Midas

Career

After studies of Theoretical physics, it engaged as of 1955 in the field of the Informatique then incipient of which it was one of the most enlightened pioneers.

Among its contributions is a algorithm of shorter way in the graphs, known under the name of Algorithme of Dijkstra.

Teaching with the Technical University of Eindhoven, it started to be made known as regards systems with The operating system , a system built in successive layers of abstraction, and ideal for teaching (“THE” meaning Technische Hogeschool Eindhoven , polytechnic school). Extremely of the experiment of writing of this system, it formalized the concept, before him diffuses, of semaphore then introduced the concept of section criticizes with two examples become of the traditional ones:

the Problem of the readers and the writers;
the To dine on the philosophers.

Noting the damage caused by the uncontrolled use of the instruction Goto in programming, it off wrote in 1968 for the Communications the ACM an article which it named has box against the GOTO statement . Wanting to quickly publish the article in the form of one letter to the editor, the editor Niklaus Wirth renamed it Go To Statement Considered Harmful . As well the title as the matter of the article became famous in data processing. The titles in the form X considered harmful multiplied, until a Dijkstra considered harmful . Moreover, the instruction goto actually was supplanted by the structured Programmation (containing structures of control like yew then else , C while and repeat until ), each one containing only one entered and only one left. Conditions could be imposed on an entry and characteristics postulated at each exit, which opened the door with conveniences like assert in the future Langage C, and later the Programmation by contract in the language Eiffel.

Dijkstra had a big role in the development of the language Algol at the end of the Années 1950, and developed then “the science and the art of the computer programming languages in general, contributing largely to our comprehension of their structure, their representation and their implementation” (quotation of ACM, Association for Computer Machinery ). However Niklaus Wirth (creative of ALGOL W and Pascal) went further than him in the field by considering from par the structuring of the programs and those from the given .

the speech which he made in 1972 when he accepted the Prix Turing, The Humble To program , remained famous. It is available in French translation ( external bond ).

Anecdotes

Its ambition was to become more famous than Vincent Van Gogh. Among the data processing specialists it is successful, but for the general public it is not certain.

It had a very beautiful manuscript writing and always refused to use a word processing, preferring the photocopied handwritten letter. Luca Cardelli created a Dijkstra cast iron in its honor, it imitates its regular writing. Dijkstra referred all its letters by EWD followed by a number.

It adored BB King.

Aphorisms

Dijkstra was famous for its Aphorisme S.

“To test a program shows the presence of bugs, not their absence”.

“to wonder whether a computer can think, it is as interesting as to wonder whether a submarine can swim. ”

“object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could be born only in California. ”

“progress will not be possible that if we can reflect on the programs without imagining them like pieces of achievable code. ”

“Formerly the physicists repeated the experiments of their colleagues to reassure itself. Today they adhere to FORTRAN and exchange their programs, bugs included. ”

“In connection with the languages: it is impossible to cut a pencil with a blunted axe. It is vain to test, in the place, to do it with ten blunted axes. ”

“data processing is not more science of the computers which astronomy is not that of the telescopes. ”

See too

Autostabilization
Algorithme_de_Dijkstra

References

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