A Programmer’s Early Memories by Edsger W. Dijkstra HD

The First International Research Conference on the History of Computing was a milestone in the history of computing, drawing a global elite of computer pioneers from the first generation of electronic digital computing. Most talks are approximately 45 minutes in duration and feature a lecture with a brief question and answer period afterwards. Throughout the 1960s, 70s and beyond, Edsger Dijkstra was one of the most significant and influential voices in the global computer programming community. In this talk, Dijkstra describes a lifetime of experiences programming the early generations of computers, from the early electromechanical ARRA with van Wijngaarden at the Mathematisch Centrum in Amsterdam, to the Fokker FERTA computer with Gerrit Blaauw (who would later play a seminal role with Fred Brooks in designing the IBM System/360), to a series of one-off hand-built electronic computers in which he developed his legendary programming skills. Dijkstra concludes with a discussion of his efforts with ALGOL 60 and his view point that software should be designed to be reliable from the beginning not just debugged into correctness. This lecture’s transcript was included in the edited volume from the conference, viz. Dijkstra, Edsger, W., “A Programmer’s Early Memories,” in Metropolis, N., and Howlett, J., Rota, Gian-Carlo, A History of Computing in the Twentieth Century, New York: Academic Press, 1980, pp. 311 – 344. Catalog Number: 102695473