4 ms·

this is a smart dude, he invented one of the most popular algorithms of finding a shortest path in a graph.

fernly 8y ago
...to say the very least! From [1], > His fundamental contributions cover diverse areas of computing science, including compiler construction, operating systems, distributed systems, sequential and concurrent programming, programming paradigm and methodology, programming language research, program design, program development, program verification, software engineering principles, graph algorithms, and philosophical foundations of computer programming and computer science. Many of his papers are the source of new research areas. Several concepts and problems that are now standard in computer science were first identified by Dijkstra or bear names coined by him. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra
- AceJohnny2 8y ago
  Did someone say semaphores? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming)
  - TimJYoung 8y ago
    Semaphores are great for creating simple read-write locks.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
skrebbel 8y ago
IMO that's the least spectacular of his contributions. It's not like that algorithm is particularly mindblowing. In fact, I'd wager that any sufficiently experienced engineer with some algorithm work under their belt would arrive at the exact same thing. Actually, I bet there's engineers all over the world who invent it every year, independently, simply because they need it and they didn't go to college or know that there's a thing out there called "Commonly Known Algorithms That Have Names and Wikipedia Pages" so they just worked it out. In fact, I'd wager someone already came up with it somewhere before Dijkstra did, put it in the code (or, well, on the punch card), and quietly went home, happy about a good day's work. Dijkstra just was the first one to publish it :-) His true contributions were, IMO: * Being the first tech blogger[0] (handwritten!) * Teaching people to use while/for instead of goto * Pioneering mathematically verified algorithm derivation He's also the reason Dutch universities have no independent Computer Science departments. They're always paired with Mathematics, even at universities of technology, which makes no sense and which has effectively halved research funding for both disciplines for decades. He was a better programmer than politician. [0] http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/indexChron.html http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/indexChron.html - I'm calling it a blog because both the median length and the frequency of publishing is a lot more like blogging than anything else. I'm not aware of other people doing this as much in that day and age (but I'm probably wrong)
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Being the first tech blogger (handwritten!) It's not a web log (for which “blog” is short) if it's not on the web.
  - EliRivers 8y ago
    I've certainly heard the youngsters describe something as "a blog, but on paper". Son enough, the word 'blog' will transcend its etymology.
ofrzeta 8y ago
Even smarter: "Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability." I wish more people or "the industry" would take this advice. On the other hand what would be left to sell if everything were simple and reliable.

...to say the very least! From [1], > His fundamental contributions cover diverse areas of computing science, including compiler construction, operating systems, distributed systems, sequential and concurrent programming, programming paradigm and methodology, programming language research, program design, program development, program verification, software engineering principles, graph algorithms, and philosophical foundations of computer programming and computer science. Many of his papers are the source of new research areas. Several concepts and problems that are now standard in computer science were first identified by Dijkstra or bear names coined by him. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra

AceJohnny2 8y ago
Did someone say semaphores? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming)
- TimJYoung 8y ago
  Semaphores are great for creating simple read-write locks.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

skrebbel 8y ago

IMO that's the least spectacular of his contributions. It's not like that algorithm is particularly mindblowing. In fact, I'd wager that any sufficiently experienced engineer with some algorithm work under their belt would arrive at the exact same thing. Actually, I bet there's engineers all over the world who invent it every year, independently, simply because they need it and they didn't go to college or know that there's a thing out there called "Commonly Known Algorithms That Have Names and Wikipedia Pages" so they just worked it out. In fact, I'd wager someone already came up with it somewhere before Dijkstra did, put it in the code (or, well, on the punch card), and quietly went home, happy about a good day's work. Dijkstra just was the first one to publish it :-) His true contributions were, IMO: * Being the first tech blogger[0] (handwritten!) * Teaching people to use while/for instead of goto * Pioneering mathematically verified algorithm derivation He's also the reason Dutch universities have no independent Computer Science departments. They're always paired with Mathematics, even at universities of technology, which makes no sense and which has effectively halved research funding for both disciplines for decades. He was a better programmer than politician. [0] http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/indexChron.html http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/indexChron.html - I'm calling it a blog because both the median length and the frequency of publishing is a lot more like blogging than anything else. I'm not aware of other people doing this as much in that day and age (but I'm probably wrong)

dragonwriter 8y ago
> Being the first tech blogger (handwritten!) It's not a web log (for which “blog” is short) if it's not on the web.
- EliRivers 8y ago
  I've certainly heard the youngsters describe something as "a blog, but on paper". Son enough, the word 'blog' will transcend its etymology.

ofrzeta 8y ago

Even smarter: "Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability." I wish more people or "the industry" would take this advice. On the other hand what would be left to sell if everything were simple and reliable.