Dane's Creative Genius Revolutionized Computer Language Design
NEW YORK, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) has named Peter Naur the winner of the 2005 A.M. Turing Award. The award
is for Naur's pioneering work on defining the Algol 60 programming language.
Algol 60 is the model for many later programming languages, including those
that are indispensable software engineering tools today. The Turing Award,
considered the "Nobel Prize of Computing," was first awarded in 1966, and is
named for British mathematician Alan M. Turing. It carries a $100,000 prize,
with financial support provided by Intel Corporation.
Dr. Naur was editor in 1960 of the hugely influential "Report on the
Algorithmic Language Algol 60." He is recognized for the report's elegance,
uniformity and coherence, and credited as an important contributor to the
language's power and simplicity. The report made pioneering use of what later
became known as Backus-Naur Form (BNF) to define the syntax of programs. BNF
is now the standard way to define a computer language. Naur is also cited for
his contribution to compiler design and to the art and practice of computer
programming.
"Dr. Naur's ALGOL 60 embodied the notion of elegant simplicity for
algorithmic expression," said Justin Rattner, Intel senior fellow and Chief
Technology Officer. "Over the years, programming languages have become bloated
with features and functions that have made them more difficult to learn and
less effective. This award should encourage future language designers who are
addressing today's biggest programming challenges, such as general-purpose,
multi-threaded computation, to achieve that same level of elegance and
simplicity that was the hallmark of ALGOL 60."
Contributions Signal Birth of Computing Science
In 2002, former Turing Award winner Edsger Dijkstra characterized the
development of Algol 60 as "an absolute miracle" that signaled the birth of
what he called "computing science" because it showed the first ways in which
automatic computing could and should become a topic of academic concern. The
development of Algol 60 was the result of an exceptionally talented group of
people, including several who were later named Turing Award winners.
Dr. Naur's contribution to Algol 60 was seminal. John Backus, another
former Turing Award winner, acknowledged Naur as the driving intellectual
force behind the definition of Algol 60. He commented that Naur's editing of
the Algol report and his comprehensive preparation for the January 1960
meeting in which Algol was presented "was the stuff that really made Algol 60
the language that it is, and it wouldn't have even come about, had he not done
that."
Before publication of the Algol 60 Report, computer languages were
informally defined by their prose manuals and the compiler code itself. The
report, with its use of BNF to define the syntax and carefully chosen prose to
define the semantics, was concise, powerful, and unambiguous.
The 17-page Algol 60 Report presented the complete definition of an
elegant, transparent language designed for communication among humans as well
as with computers. It was deliberately independent of the properties of any
particular computer. The new language was a major challenge to compiler
writers. Dr. Naur went on to co-author the GIER Algol Compiler
(for the transistorized electronic computer developed in Denmark known as
GIER), one of the first compilers to deal fully and correctly with the
language's powerful procedure mechanism.
"Dr. Naur's contribution was a watershed in the computing field, and
transformed the way we define programming languages," said James Gray of
Microsoft Research, and Chair of the 2005 Turing Committee. "Many of the
programming constructs we take for granted today were introduced in the Algol
Report, which introduced a concise block-structured language that improved the
way we express algorithms."
Dr. Naur was instrumental in establishing software engineering as a
discipline. He made pioneering contributions to methodologies for writing
correct programs through his work on assertions that enable programmers to
state their assumptions, and on structured programming. "His work, though
formal and precise, displays an exceptional understanding of the limits and
uses of formalism and precision," said Gray. Through these activities and his
development of an influential computer science curriculum, Dr. Naur
contributed fundamental components of today's computing knowledge and skills.
Early Experience in Practical Calculations and Applications
Dr. Naur began his scientific pursuits as an astronomer, where he was
involved in computations of the orbits of comets and minor planets. He
obtained a magister of science degree (the equivalent of a master's degree)
from Copenhagen University in 1949. He later returned there to earn a
doctorate in astronomy in 1957. During the 1950-51 academic year, Dr. Naur
studied astronomy at King's College in Cambridge, U.K., and came to the U.S.
to further his work in the field. This work involved using early computers
(starting with EDSAC, the world's first practical stored program electronic
computer) for his astronomical calculations. In 1953, he returned to Denmark
and served as a scientific assistant at Copenhagen Observatory.
In 1959, he joined the staff of the compiler design group at
Regnecentralen, the first Danish computer company. There he organized the
Algol Bulletin and was editor of the 13-person international Algol 60 team's
report that defined Algol 60. He became a professor at the Copenhagen
University Institute of Datalogy in 1969, retiring in 1998.
Dr. Naur was awarded the G. A. Hagemann Gold Medal from the Danish
Technical University in 1963, the Jens Rosenkjaer Prize from the Danish Radio
in 1966, and the Computer Pioneer Award from the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers in 1986.
ACM will present the Turing Award at the annual ACM Awards Banquet on May
20, 2006, at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, CA.
About the A.M. Turing Award
The A.M. Turing Award was named for Alan M. Turing, the British
mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundation and limits of
computing, and who was a key contributor to the Allied cryptanalysis of the
German Enigma cipher during World War II. Since its inception, the Turing
Award has honored the computer scientists and engineers who created the
systems and underlying theoretical foundations that have propelled the
information technology industry. For additional information, click on
http://www.acm.org/awards/taward.html .
About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery http://www.acm.org , is an
educational and scientific society uniting the world's computing educators,
researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address
the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the profession's collective voice
through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition
of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members
by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and
professional networking.
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