Guido van Rossum

Guido van Rossum 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 the Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL), meaning that he continues to oversee the Python development process, taking the ultimate decisions where necessary. Download high resolution version (894x1200, 182 KB)Guido van Rossum File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (894x1200, 182 KB)Guido van Rossum File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Python is a programming language created by Guido van Rossum in 1990. ...

Van Rossum was born and grew up in the Netherlands, where he received a masters degree from the University of Amsterdam in 1982. He later worked for various research institutes, including the Dutch National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI), Amsterdam, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland, and the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), Reston, Virginia. He worked on the development of the ABC programming language. From Athenaeum Illustre to University In January 1632 two internationally acclaimed scientists, Caspar Barlaeus and Gerardus Vossius, held their inaugural speech in the Athenaeum Illustre - the illustrious school - which had its seat in the 14th-century Agnietenkapel. ... The National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (Dutch: Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica or CWI) is located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and was founded in 1946 by J. G. van der Corput, D. van Dantzig, J. F. Koksma, H. A. Kramers, M. G. J. Minnaert and J. A... NIST logo The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, formerly known as The National Bureau of Standards) is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration. ... The Corporation For National Research Initiatives is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1986 by Robert E. Kahn. ... ABC is an imperative general-purpose programming language and programming environment from CWI, Netherlands. ...

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).

In 2000 he further wrote: Monty Pythons Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus, MPFC or just Monty Python during the fourth season) was a highly popular, surreal BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python, and the groups initial claim to fame. ...

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! [1]

In 1999, Van Rossum submitted a funding proposal to DARPA called Computer Programming for Everybody, in which he further defined his goals for Python: SETL is a very-high level programming language based on the mathematical theory of sets. ... Lambert Meertens is a Dutch Computer Scientist and Professor. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military. ...

• 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

Arguably, several of these ambitions have since been realized. Python has grown to become a popular programming language, particularly in the Internet environment. Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ...

In 2002, Van Rossum received the Free Software Award of 2001 from the FSF at the FOSDEM conference in Brussels, Belgium. The Free Software Foundation Award for the Advancement of Free Software is annually presented to a person who has made a great contribution to the progress and development of free software, through activities that accord with the spirit of free software. ... The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit corporation founded in October 1985 by Richard Stallman to support the free software movement (free as in freedom), and in particular the GNU project. ... Jimbo Wales speaking at FOSDEM 2005 Since 2001, the Free and Open source Software Developers European Meeting (commonly known as FOSDEM) is an annual 2-day event hosting talks, tutorials, and stalls for the free software/open source community. ... Nickname: The Capital Of Europe, Comic City City of a 100 Museums[] Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 979 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989  - Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area    - City 162 (Region) km²  (62. ...

In December of 2005, Van Rossum was hired by Google. [2] He wrote Mondrian a web based code review tool for Google in python. Google, Inc. ...

In 2006 he was recognized as a Distinguished Engineer by the Association for Computing Machinery. For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The Association for Computing Machinery, or ACM, was founded in 1947 as the worlds first scientific and educational computing society. ...

Guido van Rossum is the brother of Just van Rossum, a type designer and also a programmer. Just van Rossum designed the font that is used in the "Python Powered" logo. Just van Rossum is a Dutch computer programmer and type designer. ...

External links

free software Portal

• Guido van Rossum's homepage
• All Things Pythonic (Weblog)
• Computer Programming for Everybody
• Recent Interview with Guido Van Rossum on FLOSS Weekly