Bjarne Stroustrup

Bjarne Stroustrup is a Danish computer scientist, most renowned for the invention and development of the widely used C++ programming language. He conceived the language, initially called "C with Classes," while working at AT&T Bell Labs in the early 1980s, aiming to add object-oriented programming features to the C language. His work has had a profound and lasting impact on software development, influencing fields from systems programming to finance and video game development.

Early life and education

Born in Aarhus, he attended local schools before enrolling at Aarhus University, where he earned a master's degree in computer science and mathematics. His academic pursuits then took him to the University of Cambridge, where he completed a PhD in computer science under the supervision of David Wheeler at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. His doctoral research focused on distributed system design, an experience that informed his later thinking about efficient and flexible software construction.

Career and C++ development

In 1979, he joined the famed AT&T Bell Labs in New Jersey, where he began the work that would define his career. Faced with challenges in simulating distributed software, he started developing enhancements to the C language, leading to the first implementation of "C with Classes" in 1980. The language, renamed C++ in 1983, introduced key features like classes, virtual functions, and strong type checking, while maintaining C's efficiency and low-level capabilities. He authored the seminal textbook The C++ Programming Language in 1985, which became the definitive reference. He later led the C++ Standardization effort as the chairman of the C++ standards committee for over a decade, shepherding the language through major revisions including C++11 and C++14. After leaving Bell Labs, he held academic positions as a professor at Texas A&M University and later worked in the financial industry as a managing director at Morgan Stanley, while remaining actively involved in C++ evolution.

Awards and honors

His contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. These include the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 1993, the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Pioneer Award in 2018, and the Charles Stark Draper Prize from the National Academy of Engineering in 2018. He is a recipient of the Dahl–Nygaard Prize for contributions to object-oriented programming and was named a Fellow of the ACM and a Fellow of the IEEE. In 2004, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States.

Publications

He is the author of several influential books that have educated generations of programmers. His most famous work, The C++ Programming Language, has been published in four editions, each covering major language standards. Other key titles include The Design and Evolution of C++, which details the language's history and rationale, Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ for beginners, and A Tour of C++, which provides a concise overview of modern C++ features. His writings are known for their clarity, depth, and direct insight into the philosophy of practical software design.

Personal life

He maintains a private life but is known to reside in New York City. An avid reader with interests in history, photography, and music, he occasionally lectures at universities and conferences worldwide about the past and future of programming languages and software development. He continues to contribute to the C++ community through papers, talks, and participation in the ongoing standardization process.

Category:Danish computer scientists Category:Programming language designers Category:1950 births Category:Living people