From programming language design to computer construction

Reviewer: Irving Luckom

In this Turing Award Lecture, Wirth provides us with a very interesting insight into the thought processes of one of the outstanding programming language designers of our times. Wirth's lecture is both a history of his work and a set of concise, cogent comments on what he has learned while doing this work. From a historical point of view, the article is a rather straightforward representation of the author's activities from 1960 on. An interesting sidelight in this history is that he refutes the popularly held belief that PASCAL was designed only as a teaching language. To quote Wirth, “In fact, I do not believe in using tools and formalisms in teaching that are inadequate for any practical task.” Wirth's “lessons learned” are relatively few, but well worth remembering. They include: bootstrapping each tool development so as to make it useful in the next step of a project; deciding early between what is essential and what is ephemeral; choosing tools that match the needs of the project by making them as simple as possible, but no simpler; treating each project as a learning experience since only by doing can one learn; and, finally, doing projects that are worthwhile so that the enthusiasm and the desire to succeed, which are vital to any project, can be maintained. This lecture should be required reading for anyone interested in computing as a profession.