The world of programming has come a long way and given rise to the most innovative and advanced programs, some of which were beyond anyone's imagination. But before we got to this, there were men and women who paved the way for what we have today.

Here they are!

1. Ada Lovelace

It may be seen as a new age thing with millions of lines of codes and imensely powerful computers, but one of the pioneers of programming was a woman named Ada Augusta King, a.k.a. Ada Lovelace. She was a mathematician who worked on Charles Babbage's mechanical general purpose computer known as the Analytical Engine.

2. Niklaus Wirth

Widely recognised as one of the pioneer's of programming, this is the man who created languages like Pascal, Euler, Algol and many others.

3. Bill Gates

A list of influential or greatest programmers can never be complete without mentioning the founder and creator of Microsoft. He has both admirers and haters, but no one can deny his contribution.

4. James Gosling

This is the man who created the Java programming language, which is arguably one of the most influential languages of all time.

5. Guido van Rossum

Have you heard of him? You've definitely heard of the language he created. This is the man behind the Python programming language.

6. Kenneth Thompson

Call him Ken because that's what the hacker community calls him. He has worked for Google and developed the Go programming language while working there. He also developed the original Unix operating system and a programming language called B, which was the predecessor to the illustrious C programming language.

7. Donald Knuth

This man is known as the father of anaylsis of algorithms for his contributions to the field of analysis and computational complexity of algorithms.

8. Brian Kernighan

He is the co-creator and developer of the Unix, AWK and AMPL languages.

9. Tim Berners-Lee

If you don't know this name then you should really work on increasing your awareness. This is the man who created the World Wide Web and hence gave us the lives we have today.

10. Bjarne Stroustrup

This man created the C++ programming language. Yes, the language that gave rise to so many of the best known programs and programming languages.

11. Linus Torvalds

Little needs to be said about this man. He's the creator of the Linux kernel, which is the base for so many operating systems.

12. Dennis Ritchie

C++ is an offspring of the C programming language and Dennis Ritchie is the man who created C.

http://efytimes.com/e1/fullnews.asp?edid=137953

what of Philip Ema***

What about Seun that created Nairaland?

ApcBroom:
What about Seun that created Nairaland?

u no see mark zukerberg for dere u dey find seun.... seun dey africa list sha

Why is Bill Gates there though? And Ken Thompson isn't. Who contributed more to "programming"?

Anders Hejlsberg ... I think that man deserves to be on the list.

He is the creator of C#, Delphi, Typescript and I think Turbo Pascal.

And a Technical Fellow at Microsoft.: That's a title akin to an Emeritus in Academia.

ciphoenix:
Why is Bill Gates there though? And Ken Thompson isn't. Who contributed more to "programming"?

He mentioned Ken thompson na. No.6

Grace Hopper (Aka: the Lazy programmer):


It was Grace’s insight that this was essential for the future of the computing industry (which at the time was mostly viewed as a new toy for mathematicians) which helped make computers relevant to the business world and helped create the information society we now live in.

Source: http://blogs.it.ox.ac.uk/adalovelace/2013/10/11/grace-hopper-the-lazy-programmer-who-changed-the-world/

ApcBroom:
What about Seun that created Nairaland?

.oga seun is too overrated!!!! Dafuq did he add to the programming world ? he's just like.the mark of Africa

wat script is seun known for?

That list is incomplete:
bill joy - vi,tcp /ip
richard stallman - emacs, free software
*how could sombody leave out stallman!?*
patrick naughton - java
john carmack - id soft/doom
*video game history *
the guy who wrote d paypal algorithm. Was hard work.

Morhziez:
what of Philip Ema***

He is a Fraud!!

asalimpo:
wat script is seun known for?

That list is incomplete:
bill joy - vi,tcp /ip
richard stallman - emacs, free software
*how could sombody leave out stallman!?*
patrick naughton - java
john carmack - id soft/doom
*video game history *
the guy who wrote d paypal algorithm. Was hard work.

Baba I surprise why Bill Gates dey there and not John D. Carmack

princejude:
The world of programming has come a long way and given rise to the most innovative and advanced programs, some of which were beyond anyone's imagination. But before we got to this, there were men and women who paved the way for what we have today.

Here they are!

1. Ada Lovelace

It may be seen as a new age thing with millions of lines of codes and imensely powerful computers, but one of the pioneers of programming was a woman named Ada Augusta King, a.k.a. Ada Lovelace. She was a mathematician who worked on Charles Babbage's mechanical general purpose computer known as the Analytical Engine.

2. Niklaus Wirth

Widely recognised as one of the pioneer's of programming, this is the man who created languages like Pascal, Euler, Algol and many others.

3. Bill Gates

A list of influential or greatest programmers can never be complete without mentioning the founder and creator of Microsoft. He has both admirers and haters, but no one can deny his contribution.

4. James Gosling

This is the man who created the Java programming language, which is arguably one of the most influential languages of all time.

5. Guido van Rossum

Have you heard of him? You've definitely heard of the language he created. This is the man behind the Python programming language.

6. Kenneth Thompson

Call him Ken because that's what the hacker community calls him. He has worked for Google and developed the Go programming language while working there. He also developed the original Unix operating system and a programming language called B, which was the predecessor to the illustrious C programming language.

7. Donald Knuth

This man is known as the father of anaylsis of algorithms for his contributions to the field of analysis and computational complexity of algorithms.

8. Brian Kernighan

He is the co-creator and developer of the Unix, AWK and AMPL languages.

9. Tim Berners-Lee

If you don't know this name then you should really work on increasing your awareness. This is the man who created the World Wide Web and hence gave us the lives we have today.

10. Bjarne Stroustrup

This man created the C++ programming language. Yes, the language that gave rise to so many of the best known programs and programming languages.

11. Linus Torvalds

Little needs to be said about this man. He's the creator of the Linux kernel, which is the base for so many operating systems.

12. Dennis Ritchie

C++ is an offspring of the C programming language and Dennis Ritchie is the man who created C.

http://efytimes.com/e1/fullnews.asp?edid=137953

donald knuth did so much work for us and i believe that somehow we all now rest on his shoulder.
in ñmm d d

I read that list a while ago. people ' bashed' the list like....

Larry wall - perl fame.

perl is d father of scripting languages.

John von neumann - not a programmer per say, but without him theyd b no computers as we know them.
He is reputed to hav created an algorithm.


Watoff d creators of google and facebook?
Google is a legit recognized verb.
Nobody else on tht has expanded english language by the name of their company.

imo Bill Gates shouldn't be in top ten.

Where is my Rasmus Lerdorf?
Robert Pike nko? let me do the needful here first 3. Bill Gates

ciphoenix:
Why is Bill Gates there though? And Ken Thompson isn't. Who contributed more to "programming"?

Bill did not invent a language but was the first to write an operating system wit a convenient gui, though he was an intern @ his mums work place (IBM) IBM bought the software for each computer he continued to make more innovations to operating system and today every language in the world has a microsoft version eg javascript and jscript actionscript and activeX... Many more... Recently microsoft's new boss wants to stop inventing microsoft version so that others will learn to appreciate microsoft original initiative... this decision is due to the current level of appreciation people have for open source apps...
Bill also was the first code evengelist in his early twenties fighting people who stole other people code and idea...
if microsoft stops work today... Or stops being effecient... The syndrome will affect many people in the IT industry because it indirectly d source of moral... Why? Almost all programmers are using windows OS... Most of which have been cracked... Can you try that with MAC OS...
If steve jobs was in this list it will be because he was the only person who managed to compete with gates in the idea market...

Kidstell:

Bill did not invent a language but was the first to write an operating system wit a convenient gui, though he was an intern @ his mums work place (IBM) IBM bought the software for each computer he continued to make more innovations to operating system and today every language in the world has a microsoft version eg javascript and jscript actionscript and activeX... Many more... Recently microsoft's new boss wants to stop inventing microsoft version so that others will learn to appreciate microsoft original initiative... this decision is due to the current level of appreciation people have for open source apps...
Bill also was the first code evengelist in his early twenties fighting people who stole other people code and idea...
if microsoft stops work today... Or stops being effecient... The syndrome will affect many people in the IT industry because it indirectly d source of moral... Why? Almost all programmers are using windows OS... Most of which have been cracked... Can you try that with MAC OS...
If steve jobs was in this list it will be because he was the only person who managed to compete with gates in the idea market...

Negro we are discussing about "Greatest Programmers in History" and you are mentioning Gates and Jobs. Gates is a talented "Businessman" and Jobs was a talented "Stylish Businessman". They don't qualify at all in the context we are discussing right now. And Gates being the first to design a convenient GUI, negro go do more research.

Kidstell:

Bill did not invent a language but was the first to write an operating system wit a convenient gui, though he was an intern @ his mums work place (IBM) IBM bought the software for each computer he continued to make more innovations to operating system and today every language in the world has a microsoft version eg javascript and jscript actionscript and activeX... Many more... Recently microsoft's new boss wants to stop inventing microsoft version so that others will learn to appreciate microsoft original initiative... this decision is due to the current level of appreciation people have for open source apps...
Bill also was the first code evengelist in his early twenties fighting people who stole other people code and idea...
if microsoft stops work today... Or stops being effecient... The syndrome will affect many people in the IT industry because it indirectly d source of moral... Why? Almost all programmers are using windows OS... Most of which have been cracked... Can you try that with MAC OS...
If steve jobs was in this list it will be because he was the only person who managed to compete with gates in the idea market...

what do you mean by convenient GUI? Bill did not invent GUI. the first GUI was developed by XEROX which later inspired Apple's GUI.So Microsoft was not even the first nor the second to develop GUI OS.

Microsoft having her own version of some language like Jscript for JavaScript boils down to platform thing.

In developed countries today most folks don't even use Microsoft OS, they mostly use MAC, Microsoft OS is only heavily use in Africa.

Almost all programmers using OS?

That depends on the market and location but i tell u what? working with Microsoft own languages is a nightmare for programmers because of cross platform issues,although that has reduced significantly.No serious programmers wants to be tied down by platform. Real programmers use Unix Based OS.

Bill is great, i meant one the greatest thing that has ever happened to humanity but so are those two Google guys that are performing wonders also, they even have their own languages. IMO Bill is unworthy of top ten position.

drealboy:

In developed countries today most folks don't even use Microsoft OS, they mostly use MAC, Microsoft OS is only heavily use in Africa.

what did you just say?

Too long to quote but

I assume he was joking. Most programmers use Windows? And cracked versions? give him an e-knock

Djtm:

what did you just say?

yeah Microsoft sure dominate market with overwhelming lead in enterprise .But if u have ever had an encounter with folks in developed countries especially in academia most of them use Mac infact u hardly see Microsoft Os being used

drealboy:


yeah Microsoft sure dominate market with overwhelming lead in enterprise .But if u have ever had an encounter with folks in developed countries especially in academia most of them use Mac infact u hardly see Microsoft Os being used

ok, so because you've met a couple of folks with Macs you think only Africans use windows? google the percentage of systems running windows and mac in the USA only and come back here.

Djtm:

ok, so because you've met a couple of folks with Macs you think only Africans use windows? google the percentage of systems running windows and mac in the USA only and come back here.

there's nothing to Google. yes windows is still the King in US market.but outside the enterprise domain you will be surprised that most folks use Mac even in academia same thing in Uk.thas ma experience though

there's no quantitative basis for this list... So its just opinion based...

@all of you saying Bill Gates doesn't deserve to be on this, I think your opinions doesn't deserve to be considered meaningful...

...#the guy saying people don't use Windows OS as much outside the enterprise market should be flogged with Koboko!

By the way, I have been primarily using Linux ..about 5 years.

drealboy:

there's nothing to Google. yes windows is still the King in US market.but outside the enterprise domain you will be surprised that most folks use Mac even in academia same thing in Uk.thas ma experience though

windows runs on 4b+ desktops.
You think it's insignifcant?

WhiZTiM:
there's no quantitative basis for this list... So its just opinion based...

@all of you saying Bill Gates doesn't deserve to be on this, I think your opinions doesn't deserve to be considered meaningful...

...#the guy saying people don't use Windows OS as much outside the enterprise market should be flogged with Koboko!

By the way, I have been primarily using Linux ..about 5 years.

bill gates isnt known for any notable application. Yeah,he strted microsoft and mayb a zen programmer but wat standout contribution to programmg dyu know him for?
As an enterprenuer, no doubt. Dont confuse the two.

drealboy:

there's nothing to Google. yes windows is still the King in US market.but outside the enterprise domain you will be surprised that most folks use Mac even in academia same thing in Uk.thas ma experience though

there's somethng to google.
Page rank,redefined search.

drealboy:

there's nothing to Google. yes windows is still the King in US market.but outside the enterprise domain you will be surprised that most folks use Mac even in academia same thing in Uk.thas ma experience though

there's something to google. By academia I guess you mean your school. thank God you said that was your experience.

asalimpo:


bill gates isnt known for any notable application. Yeah,he strted microsoft and mayb a zen programmer but wat standout contribution to programmg dyu know him for?
As an enterprenuer, no doubt. Dont confuse the two.

Oga, calm down.....
I thought my memory had begun to deceive me.... But I doubt, the quoted are from Wikipedia (Link below)

"In the first five years, Gates personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often rewrote parts of it as he saw fit."
..... Within the first five years, the COMPANY's (not just Windows) code must have exponentially grown and covered so many complex domains... That's not all ohhh

"Gates devised an algorithm for pancake sorting as a solution to one of a series of unsolved problems presented in a combinatorics.... Gates's solution held the record as the fastest version for over thirty years; its successor is faster by only one percent."

Please help me further 'unconfuse' my point...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates

WhiZTiM:


Oga, calm down.....
I thought my memory had begun to deceive me.... But I doubt, the quoted are from Wikipedia (Link below)

"In the first five years, Gates personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often rewrote parts of it as he saw fit."
..... Within the first five years, the COMPANY's (not just Windows) code must have exponentially grown and covered so many complex domains... That's not all ohhh

"Gates devised an algorithm for pancake sorting as a solution to one of a series of unsolved problems presented in a combinatorics.... Gates's solution held the record as the fastest version for over thirty years; its successor is faster by only one percent."

Please help me further 'unconfuse' my point...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates

& u think these qualify him to be in the top ten in the context of this topic?
no? he rewrote part of MS codes? how how does that make him different from other gud programmers that upgrade codes written by someone else.
he design pancake algorithm? yes thas great work right there by Bill but still hundreds of unknown programmers have also contributed to programming and its algorithms. even u as a coder can even contribute to an open source language lyk PHP and what have you. still those feats by Bill sure is legendary but its in no way enough to put him in that position. I see Bill Gates more as great entrepreneur than programmer.