January 1, 2024, marked the passing of Niklaus Wirth, a luminary in the world of computer science, and the creator of Pascal, the programming language that not only transformed many coding journeys but was also my first step into software development.
Niklaus Wirth was born on February 15, 1934, in Winterthur, Switzerland. His journey into computer science began with his education at ETH Zurich, where he later returned as a professor. Wirth’s academic pursuits took him across the globe, including stints at Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley. His career was marked by a commitment to developing programming languages that were efficient, reliable, and easy to use.
Among his many achievements, the creation of Pascal in the 1970s was probably the mayor one. Pascal was more than just a programming language; it was a revolution in the way we understood coding. Designed for teaching students structured programming, Pascal’s clarity, simplicity, and structured approach made it an ideal tool for beginners and seasoned programmers alike. It laid the groundwork for many languages that followed and its principles are still echoed in modern programming practices.
It was a language that prioritized good programming practices, encouraging a generation of programmers to think critically about code structure and design.
For me, Pascal was not only the first programming language I used in Computer Science High School in 1983 (compiling it on a Digital Equipment PDP 11/24), but it was also a gateway to the power and beauty of coding, a revelation that charted the course of my professional journey.
Niklaus Wirth’s contributions extended beyond Pascal, with notable works like Modula-2 and Oberon. Each of his creations embodied his belief in ‘less is more’, emphasizing the importance of simplicity in design. Wirth’s accolades include the prestigious Turing Award, received in 1984 for his development of a series of innovative computer languages.
As a farewell to Niklaus Wirth, I want to remember him not just as a brilliant computer scientist, but as a mentor, and an inspiration. His legacy lives on in the lines of code written in Pascal and its descendant languages and in the hearts and minds of all of us who had the privilege of starting our coding journey under his indirect tutelage.
program Farewell;
var message: string;
begin
message := 'Rest in peace, Professor Wirth. Your code runs eternal.';
writeln(message);
end.
