C and Unix pioneer Dennis Ritchie reported dead

[unixman]

Another pioneer has gone to the big computer room in the sky :
The Register
Boing Boing

His contribution to changing the face of IT cannot be under-estimated. Before Unix, you couldn't sit down at any computer and drive it. If cut your teeth on Big Blue (like me) and changed to an ICL firm (which I did), you had to learn to drive all over again. It's all too easy these days, sit down at a box and anybody can drive it.

[mattx]

And you know what ? This won't make the news like Job's death did which is quite shocking.

I have had always had a keen interest in computer history and Ritchie's name crops up time after time after time when reading my books.

[nephilim]

Thing is, if it weren't for Unix and C, most of the IT related things we take for granted we would not have!

[shenley]

Very sad news indeed. Thinking about his impact on the world, I encounter derivatives of his work everyday in one form or another, and you know I don't even notice it. A lot of his work is just part of the fabric of things.

[localzuk]

A big loss, another hugely important individual in the history of computing!

[jdoyle]

#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
printf("Goodbye world\n");
}

[Hightower]

The loss of a visionary. Truly gutting

[nephilim]

#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
printf("Rest in peace, Dennis\n");
}
exit(0);

I told my other half who is a software programmer (she uses Unix and C) and she let her company know, the developers at her company are having a small "wake" tomorrow.

[russdev]

Shame to see another computer pioneer go..

Russ

[sonofsanta]

The BBC news story quotes

On Twitter, developer James Grimmelman said: "Ritchie's influence rivals Jobs's; it's just less visible."

Rivals? Sure, a significant number of people use iOS devices now, hear their music on iPods, make their phone calls on iPhones etc... but everyone reads websites running on Unix servers, on machines running code derived from C.

I really don't want to start any flame wars off again, because this isn't the place, and I had a lot of respect for Jobs and what he did; but Ritchie's influence didn't rival Jobs', it eclipsed it.

[tech_guy]

Without Ritchie none of us would have jobs and we'd all be stacking shelves in Asda....

[SYNACK]

A sad loss of someone who actually built some of the main building blocks and ideas that modern computing is based on. Definatly more than a fashion designer.