Guido van Rossum

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Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum OSCON 2006.jpg
Van Rossum at OSCON 2006
Born (1956-01-31) 31 January 1956 (age 68)
Haarlem, Netherlands[1][2]
Nationality Dutch
Alma mater University of Amsterdam
Occupation Computer programmer, author
Employer Dropbox[3]
Known for Creating the Python programming language
Spouse(s) Kim Knapp (m. 2000)
Children Orlijn Michiel Knapp-van Rossum[4]
Awards Award for the Advancement of Free Software (2001)
Website www.python.org/~guido/

Guido van Rossum[pronunciation?] (born 31 January[5] 1956) 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.[6] He was employed by Google from 2005 until 7 December 2012, where he spent half his time developing the Python language. In January 2013, Van Rossum started working for Dropbox.[3]

Biography

Van Rossum was born and grew up in the Netherlands, where he received a master's degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Amsterdam in 1982. He later worked for various research institutes, including the Dutch Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), Amsterdam, the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland, and the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), Reston, Virginia.

Personal life

Guido van Rossum is the brother of Just van Rossum, a type designer and programmer. Just van Rossum designed the typeface that is used in the "Python Powered" logo. Guido lives in Belmont, California with his wife, Kim Knapp,[7] and their son, Orlijn.[8][9][10]

Work

While working at the Stichting Mathematisch Centrum (CWI), Guido van Rossum wrote and contributed a glob() routine to BSD Unix in 1986.[11][12] Van Rossum also worked on the development of the ABC programming language.

Python

File:Guido van Rossum at Google IO 2008.jpg
Van Rossum at the 2008 Google I/O Developer's Conference.

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).[13]

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![14]

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 times

Python has grown to become a popular programming language: For example, as of November 2011, it is the 3rd most popular language on the GitHub social coding website,[15] and according to a programming language popularity survey[16] it is consistently amongst the top 10 most mentioned languages in job postings. Additionally, it is consistently in the top 10 most popular languages according to the TIOBE Programming Community Index.[17]

Mondrian

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Not to be confused with Mondrian (software), data visualisation software, or Mondrian OLAP server.

While working for Google, Van Rossum developed Mondrian, a web-based code review system written in Python and used within the company. He named the software after the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.[18] He named another related software project after Gerrit Rietveld, a Dutch designer

Dropbox

In December 2012, Van Rossum joined the cloud file storage company Dropbox.[19]

Recognition

References

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External links

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