- Guido van Rossum
infobox person
name = Guido van Rossum
birth_date =
image_size = 150px
known_for = Python programming language
birth_place =Netherlands
children =
spouse =
nationality = Dutch
occupation =Programmer ,Author
website = [http://www.python.org/~guido/ www.python.org/~guido/]Guido van Rossum is a Dutch
computer programmer who is best known as the author of the Python programming language. In the Python community, Van Rossum is known as a “Benevolent Dictator for Life ” (BDFL), meaning that he continues to oversee the Python development process, making decisions where necessary. [cite news |url=http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=10 |title=Benevolent dictator for life |date=2005-02-01 |accessdate=2007-11-01 |publisher=Linux Format ] He is currently employed byGoogle , where he spends half his time working on Python development.Biography
Van Rossum was born and grew up in the Netherlands, where he received a masters degree from the
University of Amsterdam in 1982. He later worked for various research institutes, including the DutchNational Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI), Amsterdam, theNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland, and theCorporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), Reston, Virginia.In December 2005, Van Rossum was hired by
Google . [ [http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/8821 Python Creator Guido van Rossum now working at Google - O'Reilly ONLamp Blog ] ] He wrote a web based code review tool for Google in Python [http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2006/11/google-mondrian.html Mondrian] .Van Rossum received the 2001
Award for the Advancement of Free Software from theFree Software Foundation (FSF) at the 2002FOSDEM conference inBrussels ,Belgium . Guido received aNLUUG Award in May 2003. In 2006 he was recognized as a Distinguished Engineer by theAssociation for Computing Machinery .Personal life
Guido van Rossum is the brother of
Just van Rossum , atype designer and also a programmer. Just van Rossum designed the font that is used in the "Python Powered" logo.Work
While working at Stichting Mathematisch Centrum (CWI), Guido van Rossum wrote and contributed the glob() routine to BSD
Unix in 1986. [ [http://www.isc.org/sources/devel/func/glob.txt 'Globbing' library routine] ] [ [http://search.cpan.org/~rgarcia/perl-5.10.0/ext/File/Glob/Glob.pm File::Glob - Perl extension for BSD glob routine - search.cpan.org] ] Van Rossum also worked on the development of theABC programming language .Python
About the origin of Python, Van Rossum wrote in 1996:
Over six years ago, in December 1989, I was looking for a "hobby" programming project that would keep me occupied during the week around Christmas. My office … would be closed, but I had a home computer, and not much else on my hands. I decided to write an interpreter for the new scripting language I had been thinking about lately: a descendant of ABC that would appeal to Unix/C hackers. I chose Python as a working title for the project, being in a slightly irreverent mood (and a big fan of
Monty Python's Flying Circus ). [ [http://www.python.org/doc/essays/foreword/ Foreword for "Programming Python" (1st ed.) ] ]In 2000 he further wrote:
Python's predecessor, ABC, was inspired by
SETL –Lambert Meertens spent a year with the SETL group at NYU before coming up with the final ABC design! [ [http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2000-August/008881.html [Python-Dev SETL (was: Lukewarm about range literals) ] ]Computer Programming for Everybody
In 1999, Van Rossum submitted a funding proposal to
DARPA called "Computer Programming for Everybody", in which he further defined his goals for Python:
* an easy and intuitive language just as powerful as major competitors
*open source , so anyone can contribute to its development
* code that is as understandable as plain English
* suitability for everyday tasks, allowing for short development timesArguably, several of these ambitions have since been realized. Python has grown to become a popular programming language, particularly in the
Internet environment.References
External links
* [http://www.python.org/~guido/ Guido van Rossum's homepage]
* [http://www.artima.com/weblogs/index.jsp?blogger=guido "All Things Pythonic"] (Weblog)
* [http://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e.html "Computer Programming for Everybody"]
* [http://www.twit.tv/floss11 Interview with Guido van Rossum] onFLOSS Weekly
* [http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;66665771 Computerworld Interview with Guido van Rossum on Python]
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