September 13 was International Programmer’s Day. Computer programmers write, well, programs using computer languages. Today’s world makes extensive use of programming, from basic software to complicated applications. Programming is crucial for the efficient operation of all services, whether they be in the fields of economics, education, or transportation.
Additionally, almost all big businesses require programmers to keep up with their IT infrastructure. They are responsible for telecommunications, security, manufacturing procedures, and even creativity.
As a curious fact, September 13, Programmer’s Day, is the 256th day of the year. Every programmer knows how special this number is. This is a two raised to the power of eight, that is, the number of characters that fit in one byte of computer memory.
Top 5 Most Influential Programmers of All Time
Programming is certainly a great skill. For many it is art and, for others, it is the best way to relieve their stress. Some create solutions to the most complex problems that exist and others develop applications for all of us to entertain ourselves.
No matter how you use programming, it is always useful. That is why we are going to leave you with 5 of the programmers (although there are many more), whose developments were a great contribution to our society.
- Dennis Ritchie: he was an American computer scientist who created the C programming language together with a friend. He is credited with shaping and pioneering the digital era. Today, C programming is used in various software applications, embedded systems development, and operating systems. He’s influenced most modern programming languages.
Richie also created the UNIX operating system. For his work, he received President Clinton’s National Medal of Technology in 1999.
- Tim Berners-Lee: is a British computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is also credited with developing the first successful communication between a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) client and server over the Internet in 1989.
Berners-Lee has received many awards and honors, including Queen Elizabeth II, who knighted him in the 2004 New Year’s Honors “for services to the global development of the Internet.”
- Linus Torvalds: is a Finnish-American software engineer who is the creator and, historically, the main developer of the Linux kernel. He also created Git in 2005 for the development of the Linux kernel (with other developers).
- Bjarne Stroustrup: Danish computer scientist who is credited with the creation and development of the widely used and highly successful C++ programming language. He also single-handedly evolved C++ by writing its first definitions, producing its first implementation, formulating its design criteria…etc.
- James Gosling: is a Canadian computer scientist widely known for his creation of the successful and widely used Java programming language in 1994, as well as its original virtual machine and compiler.
These individuals left their mark on the industry in big ways, but that doesn’t mean all opportunities have been explored yet. As technology continues growing and becoming a more important part of our daily lives, there will always be a place for more strides to be made, and more names to be remembered across history.
