Remembering and Celebrating Dennis Ritchie
Today, I remember, and kind of want to celebrate a man who I consider to be the “Jesus of this Information Age” that we currently live in, and, who else could it be other than the legendary “Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie” himself.
Yeah, that’s who I want to talk about in this blog post, I wanted to write about him on his 10th death anniversary which happens to be today 12th October 2021, and document my thoughts on him, his life, and his contributions to the human race as we know it.
This is less of a blog post and more of a heart-felt Eulogy to Dennis Ritchie from me.
Let’s talk about the “Forefather” of the Godfathers of the Technology and Computing world.
The man who stands so tall, that, even the mightiest of the visionary when it comes to the Information Age, looks like a toddler in comparison to him.
So let’s get started.
Back in the years of 1960s, The technology world stumbled upon this “Box of Infinite Possibilities” called a “Computer”. But the problem was that these computers of the 60s didn't actually do anything much more than calculation and arithmetic, which was, to be honest great for that time, but definitely not enough for the better future of mankind.
In a way, the computers of the 60s and early 70s were extremely, I mean extremely limited in their functionalities and capabilities to be something breathtakingly revolutionary and remarkably world-changing.
And, that’s exactly when this Divinely destined “Dennis Ritchie” comes into the picture as this American Computer Scientist who by the year 1967 starts to work at the “Bell Labs Computing Sciences Research Center”.
Few years Following that around the turn of the 70s is when the Technology world and human race gets benevolently gifted by Dennis Ritchie with his invention of “The C Computer Programming Language” and the creation of the “UNIX Operating System” ( which he worked alongside with his friend and colleague at Bell Labs “Ken Thompson”).
And, with these two of his above-mentioned invention and co-creation, Dennis Ritchie changed the world of Computers, Computing, and Software forever in ways that nobody, including himself, could have ever imagined.
If I have to put it in better words, He gifted the world with a literal “Crown Jewel of Software Development” when he created “The C Programming Language”.
In a way, He took the computing world from “Jaws of Impossibility” to a place where almost everything was possible all of a sudden from let’s say a great software to a more stable and portable operating system that is both simple to use and can also perform complex tasks in the most elegant and efficient way possible, all for the first time ever back in the 70s.
Like the “Light of Hope”, Dennis Ritchie came to the world of computing when it was faced with some of the most complex problems to both solve and evolve further into the future.
And with almost everything he did, he hit things out of the park every single time, can never thank him enough for that.
His life’s work and contribution in the 70s blessed us, humans, with the next 50 years of astronomical and unimaginable growth in the fields of Computer Science and Information Technology up until now, and, in my honest opinion, this growth would probably continue, basically forever till the end of times.
The Technological Behemoths that exist today in the Silicon Valley such as Apple, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Google, and so many more that cannot be listed in complete detail. They all, in the past five decades, have firmly stood on the shoulders of Dennis Ritchie’s life’s work.
And, I'm pretty sure that, we humans for a very long time to come would continue to stand on Mr. Ritichie’s shoulders to see and go after the Technological Horizon that has nothing but endless possibilities, greatness, and glory for us.
At this point, I want to insert this comment of Computer Historian Paul Ceruzzi following the passing of Dennis Ritchie back in 2011 and it is as follows.
“Ritchie was under the radar. His name was not a household name at all, but… if you had a microscope and could look in a computer, you’d see his work everywhere inside.” — Paul E. Ceruzzi
Now, I want to end this Eulogy of a blog post by saying that.
Long live Dennis Ritchie, Long live his life’s work, and his contributions to the human race in the hearts and minds of us true computer geeks, Forever and ever, till the end of everything that exists.
Thank you for reading this, and God Bless Everyone.
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Intro About Myself
Name: Tabbrez
Bio: Genius, Polymath, Entrepreneur, Philosopher.
Website: tabbrez.com
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