5 facts about famous programmers that will inspire you

1. Bram Cohen wrote BitTorrent while unemployed

American programmer hated school and dropped out of college. The career didn't work out either. The thing is, Cohen could not focus on uninteresting tasks, such as maintaining legacy code. In 2001, the developer quit and started working on BitTorrent, a network protocol that allows users to exchange large files. “I wrote it sitting in the living room, unemployed, in shorts,” remembered Cohen those times. Product turned out to be demanded, and in 2020 the number of BitTorrent installations exceeded 2 billion.

2. The first woman to receive a PhD in computer science was a nun

In 1932, 18-year-old Mary Kenneth Keller joined to the Roman Catholic Order of the Sisters of Mercy of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and at 26 she made vows. After that, she began her academic career, studying mathematics and physics. Staying a nun, Keller Took part in the creation of the Basic programming language, became the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in computer science,

founded computer department at the private Catholic Clark University in Iowa and led it for 20 years.

3. The author of Python came up with a language out of boredom and named it after his favorite series

Some programming languages ​​were immediately conceived for commercial purposes. But Python has a different story. In December 1989, the Dutchman Guido Van Rossum thoughthow to pass the week before Christmas. To have some fun, he decided to write an interpreter for a new programming language. The basis was the developments of the failed ABC, on which Van Rossum had worked before. And the name Python came about because the developer liked the series Monty Python's Flying Circus.

4. Margaret Hamilton taught math and French at the school

The work of the Hamilton team helped people land on the moon. scientist led department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that developed the onboard software for the Apollo 11 mission. But before that, Hamilton tried herself in another profession. She taught the children mathematics and French. To Margaret High School got a job after college to provide for the family while her husband attended Harvard. But she worked there for only a year - the girl was called to the meteorology department of MIT.

5. Alan Turing's teachers did not approve of his passion for mathematics

The British scientist made an important contribution to the development of computer science. In 1936 he described universal computing machine - the prototype of the computer. And also offered a test to determine if a machine can think. But in his youth, Turing's interest in mathematics was not encouraged by everyone. The teachers at the prestigious Sherborne School felt that he should concentrate on Greek and Roman literature. At the prestigious Trinity College, the young man twice refused in scholarships. As a result, Turing entered King's College, Cambridge and began to study his favorite subject anyway.