Historical Figure
Edsger W. Dijkstra
1930–2002
Dutch computer scientist (1930–2002)
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Biography
Edsger Wybe Dijkstra was a Dutch computer scientist, programmer, mathematician, and science essayist.
In Their Own Words (5)
A convincing demonstration of correctness being impossible as long as the mechanism is regarded as a black box, our only hope lies in not regarding the mechanism as a black box.
Dijkstra (1970) "Notes On Structured Programming" (EWD249), Section 3 ("On The Reliability of Mechanisms"), p. 5. , 1970
Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!
Dijkstra (1970) "Notes On Structured Programming" (EWD249), Section 3 ("On The Reliability of Mechanisms"), corollary at the end. , 1970
Probably I am very naive, but I also think I prefer to remain so, at least for the time being and perhaps for the rest of my life.
(Referring to his conclusion to the Barber paradox or Russell's paradox.) , 1985
Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better.
Dijkstra (1984) On the nature of Computing Science (EWD896). , 1984
I think of the company advertising "Thought Processors" or the college pretending that learning BASIC suffices or at least helps, whereas the teaching of BASIC should be rated as a criminal offence: it mutilates the mind beyond recovery.
Dijkstra (1984) Source: The threats to computing science (EWD898). , 1984
Timeline
The story of Edsger W. Dijkstra, told in moments.
Became the Netherlands' first programmer, hired at the Mathematical Centre in Amsterdam. The field barely existed. He had to invent his job description.
Formulated the shortest path algorithm in about twenty minutes while sitting at a cafe in Amsterdam. The algorithm now bears his name and is used in everything from GPS navigation to network routing.
Published "Go To Statement Considered Harmful." The letter became one of the most cited arguments in computer science. It didn't end the debate, but it won it.
Won the Turing Award for fundamental contributions to programming. He was 42. Continued producing handwritten manuscripts he called EWDs. He wrote over 1,300 of them.
Died of cancer in Nuenen, the Netherlands. The same town where Van Gogh once painted. Dijkstra had spent his last years writing, arguing, and insisting that elegance in software was not optional.
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