Computer scientist Brian Kernighan joins us to talk about Dennis Ritchie, creator of the C programming language and co-developer of the Unix operating system along with Ken Thompson. Ritchie never sought the limelight, but his impact on the computer world is still visible everywhere from a multitude of operating systems to programming languages, search engines, car engines, and websites. Brian takes us through what made Ritchie's work novel, profound, inspiring, and long lasting. In a wide-ranging conversation, we talk about writing, Bell Labs, office configurations, motivation, and legacy. Brian even quotes a bit of Latin and offers some great takeaways about finding success and happiness at work. A historical and timely episode.Brian's book "Unix: A History and a Memoir" that we discuss:https://bookshop.org/books/unix-a-history-and-a-memoir/9781695978553The Penn & Teller prank we discuss:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxMKuv0A6z4Thoughts? Comments? Potshots? Contact the show at:https://www.discreetguide.com/Follow or like us on podomatic.com (it raises our visibility :)https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/deardiscreetguideSupport us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/discreetguideFollow the host on Twitter:@DiscreetGuideThe host on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferkcrittenden/

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related