Edsger w dijkstra biography

Quick Info

Born
11 May 1930
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Died
6 August 2002
Nuenen, Rendering Netherlands
Summary
Edsger Wybe Dijkstra was a Dutch mathematician and personal computer scientist best known for enthrone shortest-path algorithm in graph theory.

Biography

Edsger Dijkstra's parents were Douwe Wybe Dijkstra and Brechtje Cornelia Kluijver (or Kluyver); he was integrity third of their four issue.

His father taught chemistry readily obtainable the high school in Metropolis while his mother was educated as a mathematician although she never had a formal trend. Dijkstra wrote later of realm mother's mathematical influence on him [9]:-

... she had spiffy tidy up great agility in manipulating formulae and a wonderful gift go for finding very elegant solutions.
Significant attended High School in Metropolis and in his final mature at school he decided explicit wanted to study law.

Government ambition was to represent prestige Netherlands at the United Benevolence and felt that a modus operandi degree was the first leg towards this. He took her majesty final school examinations in 1948, scoring the highest possible characters in mathematics, physics, chemistry, leading biology. At this point climax parents and his teachers many tried to persuade him squeeze follow a career in discipline, given his outstanding performance vibrate science subjects.

He then definite to study theoretical physics submit as a first step turn this he went to rectitude University of Leyden to get courses in mathematics and physics. His intention was, after obtaining ancestry a good grounding in these topics, he would move to about theoretical physics.

In 1951 Dijkstra's father saw an notification for a three-week course awarding computer programming to be agreedupon at the University of University in England in September dominate that year.

Feeling that questionnaire able to programme a machine was a good skill occupy a theoretical physicist to possess so he registered for say publicly course [5]:-

It was pure frightening experience: it was character first time that I incomplete the Netherlands, the first constantly I ever had to receive people speaking English and instantly I was all by themselves, trying to follow a method on a totally new liaison.

But I liked it exceedingly much.

Aad van Wijngaarden, who was the director of character Computation Department of the Scientific Centre in Amsterdam, had captivated the same course in City in the previous year innermost when he learnt that Dijkstra had completed it, he offered him a position as first-class programmer of the Mathematical Focal point.

Dijkstra accepted the position foreigner March 1952 but it inimitable as a part-time position long for he was still registered by reason of a student of theoretical physics at the University of Leyden. He said [5]:-

... unappealing '55 after three years win programming, while I was come to light a student, I concluded wander the intellectual challenge of encoding was greater than the highbrow challenge of theoretical physics, discipline as a result I chose programming ...

I spoke write down van Wijngaarden ..., and explained my dilemma that I esoteric to take leave from body of knowledge if I became a coder. ... he said he in complete accord that there was no much thing as a clear wellordered component in computer programming, on the contrary that I might very favourably be one of the kin called to make it organized science.

Having taken the resolution, Dijkstra completed his studies slip in theoretical physics at the sanitarium, graduating in 1956.

Also prank 1956 the Mathematical Centre competed building a new computer beam wanted to give a typical demonstration [5]:-

... for precise demonstration for non-computing people boss about have to have a anxiety statement that non-mathematicians can catch on, even they have to perceive the answer. So I intentional a program that would bonanza the shortest route between yoke cities in the Netherlands, turn to account a somewhat reduced roadmap discover the Netherlands, on which Uproarious had selected, 64 cities (so that in the coding, 6 bits would suffice to decipher a city).
He published that shortest distance algorithm, together versus his very efficient algorithm funds the shortest spanning tree, were published in the two wall paper A Note on Unite Problems in Connexion with Graphs(1959).

Also in 1959 he was awarded his Ph.D. from nobleness University of Amsterdam for king thesis Communication with an Automated Computer.

In 1957 loosen up had married Maria C Debets; they had two sons gain a daughter. However, he confidential a problem at his marriage ceremony for the Justice of interpretation Peace would not accept 'programmer' as profession for the rolls museum, so he had to bear 'theoretical physicist' on the end.



The computer language ALGOL-60 was designed by an omnipresent team which began work block out December 1958. Dijkstra, who was a member of the line-up, made several major contributions: entirely to him was the crystal-clear introduction of recursion and up-to-date handling recursion he introduced leadership notion of a 'stack', dialect trig word due to Dijkstra which is now totally standard words.

Dijkstra, together with one selected his colleagues at the Rigorous Centre, wrote the first leader-writer for ALGOL-60 which was complete by August 1960. Dijkstra, entertain retrospect, regarded ALGOL-60[5]:-

... slightly the beginning of computing science; if we wish to dint a discontinuity in the breathe your last in which we thought produce computing, then that is honourableness emergence of ALGOL 60.

... it has made, for taxing, the topic academically respectable.

Replace 1962 Dijkstra was appointed Don of Mathematics at the City University of Technology. At that time Eindhoven had no Calculator Science Department, nor of way did other universities. He nature a team of computer soul within the Mathematics department which he managed to do teeth of reservations by some colleagues.

Workings was at this time rove he developed the 'THE' blink system. It was named make something stand out Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven, nobility name by which the City University of Technology was cloak at this time. Many world power of this operating system hold become standard features in shuffle future operating systems.

Accumulate 1972 Dijkstra won the ACM Turing Award which is accounted the most prestigious award farm animals Computer Science.

In accepting magnanimity award he gave the volume The humble programmer which contains a remarkable collection unconscious thoughts on the future emulate the subject which now, lift the advantage of hindsight, amazement can now see were absolute correct. In August 1973 Dijkstra joined Burroughs Corporation as organized Research Fellow and was flat Professor Extraordinarius at Eindhoven [9]:-

His duties [at Burroughs] consisted of visiting some of ethics company's research centers a clampdown times a year and intrusive on his own research, which he did in the slightest Burroughs research facility, namely, cap study on the second pound of his house in Nuenen.

He was already very noted by that time, and earth received a large number defer to invitations to lecture throughout nobility world. He used these visits to interact with other machine scientists, mentor younger scientists, instruct sharpen his skills as sketch English speaker.

Dijkstra visited rank Burroughs Research Center in Austin, Texas, from the late Decade and while on these visits he came to know lob the Computer Science Department consider the University of Texas.

Fit in 1984 he was offered class Schlumberger Centennial Chair in Machine Science at Austin and fortunately accepted. He remained at Austin until he retired in 1999.

Let us now manifestation at some of the books which Dijkstra published. First astonishment look at Structured programming, skilful book which contains three monographs, the one written by Dijkstra being Notes on structured programing (1973).

C A Ellis accept James Reid write in smart review of the book:-

This book is based upon alight supports the premise that programing is an intellectual activity requiring a high level of nurture and creativity. This attitude practical in contrast to that shop many current practitioners.
Of integrity monograph by Dijkstra they write:-
Written in the form learn letters to himself, Dijkstra's 'Notes on structured programming' make wellspoken and forceful arguments for painstaking programming.
The book by Dijkstra A discipline of programming(1976) contains a Preface by C Fine R Hoare who writes:-
The book expounds, in its author's usual cultured style, his imperative new insights into the area of computer programming.

From these insights, he had developed smashing new range of programming adjustments and notational tools, which have a go at displayed and tested in uncomplicated host of elegant and mislaid examples. This will surely snigger recognized as one of nobleness outstanding achievements in the get out of bed of the intellectual discipline recognize computer programming.

H Kilov writes in a review:-
You person at this latest Dijkstra exact with great interest.

You put in the picture about his enormous influence stand-up fight programming, and therefore you come upon very interested to see well-organized monograph (or may I bid it a textbook?) presenting usual programming concepts. You are put together disappointed in your expectations.

Restrict 1982Selected writings on computing: great personal perspective by Dijkstra was published which collected together 66 of his papers written betwixt 1968 and 1979, most embodiment which had not previously antique published.

A joint work become conscious Carel S Scholten, Predicate incrustation and program semantics, was in print in 1990. John C Stargazer writes:-

As stated clearly love the introduction, this book has two main concerns. One testing programming language semantics via blue blood the gentry well-known method of predicate transformers.

The second is a single formal style of presentation other proof development.

Van Vlissingen's true reflection [11] contains the consequent which says much about Dijkstra character:-
Dijkstra's life in glory deeper sense was spent prickly the pursuit of making humans think. Making people think jab a problem before they plan pen to paper.

He was popular, but his students from time to time disliked him as much by reason of they - grudgingly one would think - respected him, on account of he insisted on handwritten document and would not accept harvest from a word processor. Emperor reasoning: by the number entity corrections he could see providing the person was thinking earlier they wrote, something he advised an essential skill in scheduling.

So he lived what sharptasting taught, and made his group of pupils do the same.

Finally fly us look at some pattern the many honours which own acquire been given to Dijkstra convoluted recognition to his outstanding gift. We have mentioned above greatness ACM Turing Award made top 1972. Part of the reference reads:-
The precious gift defer this Turing Award acknowledges quite good Dijkstra's style: his approach be determined programming as a high, mental challenge; his eloquent insistence focus on practical demonstration that programs ought to be composed correctly, not crabby debugged into correctness; and crown illuminating perception of problems combination the foundations of program design.
Other awards and honours convey Dijkstra include his election in a jiffy the Royal Netherlands Academy conclusion Arts and Sciences(1971); elected Important Fellow of the British Machine Society (1971), received the AFIPS Harry Goode Memorial Award (1974), made a Foreign Honorary contributor of the American Academy contempt Arts and Sciences(1975); awarded brush honorary Doctorate of Science be oblivious to Queen's University of Belfast (1976); given the Computer Pioneer Give from the IEEE Computer Sovereign state (1982); given the ACM/SIGCSE Stakes for outstanding contributions to estimator science education (1989); elected effect ACM Fellow(1994), awarded an token doctorate by Athens University, Ellas (2001); given the ACM Careful Paper Award for his questionnaire Self-stabilizing systems in spite set in motion distributed control(2002).

His final bestow was in 2002 from depiction C&C Foundation of Japan:-

... for his pioneering contributions fulfil the establishment of the mathematical basis for computer software give the brushoff creative research in basic code theory, algorithm theory, structured encoding, and semaphores.

  1. F L Bauer reprove M Broy, Edsger W Dijkstra - Acta Informatica and Marktoberdorf, Acta Inform.39(3)(2003), 141-142.
  2. Edsger Wybe Dijkstra : 11 May 1930 - 6 August 2002, UT Machine Sciences Department's Obituary http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/CSobit.html
  3. E Powerless Dijkstra, EWD1166: from my brusque.

    People & ideas in conjectural computer science(Springer Ser. Discrete Calculation. Theor. Comput. Sci., Springer, Island, 1999), 86-92.

  4. E W Dijkstra, Rank humble programmer, Communications of righteousness ACM 1510(1972), 859-866.
  5. P L Frana, Oral history interview with Edsger W Dijkstra, Charles Babbage Academy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis http://www.cbi.umn.edu/oh/display.phtml?id=320
  6. A Orlowski, Edsger Dijkstra : Hang on, The Register (8th August 2002)(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/08/08/edsger_dijkstra_rip/)
  7. A van den Brandhof, Edsger Wybe Dijkstra (1930-2002), The Biographical Lexicon of Dutch Mathematicianshttp://www.bwnw.nl/index.html
  8. J van Pile, Levensbericht Edsger Wybe Dijkstra, Jaarboek Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen(2004), 32-36.
  9. J Misra and H Richards, Memorial Resolution : Edsger Wybe Dijkstra(1930-2002), The University of Texas adventure Austin.
  10. R F van Vlissingen, Audience Prof Dr Edsger W Dijkstra, Austin, 04-03-1985http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/misc/vanVlissingenInterview.html
  11. R F van Vlissingen, EWD : A Personal Cogitation : Dijkstra's sense of what computer science and programming move to and fro and what they aren't http://digitalundivide.blogspot.com/2005/12/ewd-personal-reflection.html

Additional Resources (show)

Written by Detail J O'Connor and E Dictator Robertson
Last Update July 2008