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I've been a big fan of Noam Chomsky for years. I had to implement a recursive descent parser for a project recently and stumbled onto this: https://en.wikiped

I've been a big fan of Noam Chomsky for years. I had to implement a recursive descent parser for a project recently and stumbled onto this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky_hierarchy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky_hierarchy He laid out the classes of formal grammars clear back in 1956. Every time you use a regular expression, compile code or run a script, you're applying concepts that he helped pioneer. I almost couldn't believe it. I have a new appreciation for his work, and a better understanding of why his logical approach to ethics/civics/philosophy always resonated with me.

samatman 13y ago
Chomsky is a critical bridge between the ancient and modern, but credit for generative grammars belongs to Panini: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_grammar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_grammar A good 2500 years prior. Chomsky was in the right place, at the right time, to carry that work forward into computer science. Not to detract, but the point is key: Sanskrt was formally specified 2500 years ago in a way that is recognizably a CFG.
- sinkasapa 13y ago
  Yes, and not mildly context sensitive.