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Introduction to Computer Scientists

Biography of Computer Scientists

John von Neumann, an American Hungarian computer scientist, is also a physicist and mathematician. He participated in the design of EDVAC, the world's first computer with a memory program function. In 1945, after discussing with several other scientists, he drafted a landmark plan in the history of the computer, which determined the structure of the computer, the storage program used and the binary code(J. A. N. Lee 2007). Today, we still follow his plan. John von Neumann clearly understood how the computer works internally and proposed better improvement methods. He actively promoted bringing the concept of computers into the public domain rather than taking it as his own. John von Neumann likes to share and communicate and is good at integrating and summarizing the ideas of others. He has proved that the strength of the team has an impact on great innovation(Goldstine, Herman H 1990).

Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie, an American computer scientist. In the 1970s, to make early minicomputers popular, he thought he needed to create an operating system to make the interaction between various computers simpler and more efficient, so he and another scientist wrote the Unix system(Ritchie, Dennis M 1974). This system has had an important influence on the history of the computer industry. With the development of Unix, the C language of the programming system that Ritchie participated in writing has also been improved. C language is concise and efficient and has been sought after by computer manufacturers(Ritchie, Dennis M 1979). C language is the foundation of many other modern programming languages. It is widely used in all aspects of life. Most embedded kernel drivers can not be made without C language. There may not be the current Windows system and various smartphones if there is no C language. Ritchie also wrote many books on the C language to help more programmers understand the C language in depth(Manuel Benet 1987). As a computer scientist, I think Ritchie has not only created a new era of programming languages and also extensively promoted the technological progress and productivity of the whole society.

Reference

J. A. N. Lee. (2007) John W. Mauchly and the Development of the ENIAC Computer. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from:https://web.archive.org/web/20070416112324/http://www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/rbm/mauchly/jwm9.html [Accessed: 27th January 2017].

Goldstine, Herman H. (1990) Remembrance of things past. In Nash.

Ritchie, Dennis M. (1974) The Evolution of the Unix Time-sharing System. Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill.

Ritchie, Dennis M. (1984) The Development of the C Language. Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Murray Hill.

Manuel Benet. (1987)Interview With Dennis M. Ritchie. LinuxFocus.org. Archived from:http://www.linuxfocus.org/English/July1999/article79.html [Accessed: 06th July 1999].