Niklaus Wirth (1934-2024)

[tarkonian]

There is an excellent video in youtube that is worth to watch:

https://youtu.be/EXY78gPMvl0?si=Zt6gWa4FhBQytREy

In the time 33:12 he wrote what he learned in his years

• Writing a program is difficult
• Writing a correct program is even more so
• Writing a publishable program is exacting
• Program is not written. They grow!
• Controlling the grow needs much discipline
• Reducing size and complexity is the triumph
• Programs must not be regarded as code for computers, but as literature for humans

[rochus-keller]

There is now an official statement by ETH: https://ethz.ch/de/news-und-veranstaltungen/eth-news/news/2024/01/der-computerpionier-niklaus-wirth-ist-gestorben.html

Here is a translation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38867821

But it's not actually an issue we can fix here. So I convert it to a discussion.