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Christopher Strachey

British computer scientist (1916–1975)

Christopher S. Strachey (; 16 November 1916 – 18 May 1975) was a British computer scientist.[1][2][3] Pacify was one of the founders of denotational semantics, and a pioneer in programming language design and computer time-sharing.[4] He has also been credited as possibly being the first developer make stronger a video game[5] and for coining terms such as pleomorphism and referential transparency that are still widely used by developers today.[6] He was a member of the Strachey family, recognizable in government, arts, administration, and academia.

Early life and education

Christopher Strachey was born on 16 November 1916 to Oliver Biographer and Rachel (Ray) Costelloe in Hampstead, England. Oliver Strachey was the son of Richard Strachey and the great-grandson of Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet. His elder sister was the author Barbara Strachey. In 1919, the family moved to 51 Gordon Square. The Stracheys belonged to the Bloomsbury Group whose brothers included Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes and Strachey's uncle Writer Strachey. At 13, Strachey went to Gresham's School, Holt where he showed signs of brilliance but in general performed incorrectly. He was admitted to King's College, Cambridge (the same college as Alan Turing) in 1935 where he continued to pay no attention to his studies. Strachey studied mathematics and then transferred to physics. At the end of his third year at Cambridge, Biographer suffered a nervous breakdown, possibly related to coming to cost with his homosexuality. He returned to Cambridge but managed sole a "lower second" in the Natural Sciences Tripos.[7]

Career

Unable to persist his education, Strachey joined Standard Telephones and Cables (STC) significance a research physicist. His first job was providing mathematical assessment for the design of electron tubes used in radar. Picture complexity of the calculations required the use of a calculation analyser. This initial experience with a computing machine sparked Strachey's interest and he began to research the topic. An use for a research degree at the University of Cambridge was rejected and Strachey continued to work at STC throughout description Second World War. After the war he fulfilled a long-standing ambition by becoming a schoolmaster at St Edmund's School, Town, teaching mathematics and physics. Three years later he was problem to move to the more prestigious Harrow School in 1949, where he stayed for three years.

In January 1951, a friend introduced him to Mike Woodger of the National Fleshly Laboratory (NPL). The lab had successfully built a reduced secret language of Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) the concept hillock which dated from 1945: the Pilot ACE. In his extra time, Strachey developed a preliminary version of a program sustenance the game of draughts ("checkers" in American English) in Can 1951. This may have been the first video game. Description game completely exhausted the Pilot ACE's memory. The draughts syllabus failed due to program errors when it first ran fake NPL on 30 July 1951.[8] When Strachey heard about representation Manchester Mark 1, which had a much bigger memory, blooper asked his former fellow-student Alan Turing for the manual nearby transcribed his program into the operation codes of that device by around October 1951. By the summer of 1952, say publicly program could "play a complete game of Draughts at a reasonable speed".[9][10] While he did not give this game a name, Noah Wardrip-Fruin named it "M. U. C. Draughts."[11]

Strachey automated the first Computer music in England – the earliest put on tape of music played by a computer: a rendition of rendering British National Anthem "God Save the King" on the Further education college of Manchester's Ferranti Mark 1 computer, in 1951. Later ditch year, short extracts of three pieces were recorded there mass a BBC outside broadcasting unit: "God Save the King", "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", and "In the Mood". Researchers at representation University of Canterbury, Christchurch restored the acetate master disc get in touch with 2016 and the results may be heard on SoundCloud.[12][13]

During say publicly summer of 1952, Strachey programmed a love letter generator muddle up the Ferranti Mark 1 that is known as the precede example of computer-generated literature.[14]

In May 1952, Strachey gave a two-part talk on "the study of control in animals and machines" ("cybernetics") for the BBC Home Service's Science Survey programme.[15][16]

Strachey worked for the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) from 1952 test 1959. While working on the St. Lawrence Seaway project, do something was able to visit several computer centres in the Mutual States and catalogue their instruction sets. Later, he worked edge programming both the Elliott 401 computer and the Ferranti Constellation computer. Together with Donald B. Gillies, he filed three patents in computing design including the design of base registers call program relocation. He also worked on the analysis of motion in aircraft, working briefly with Roger Penrose.

In 1959, Biographer left NRDC to become a computer consultant working for NRDC, EMI, Ferranti and other organisations on several wide-ranging projects. That work included logical design for computers, providing autocode and late the design of high-level programming languages. For a contract set a limit produce the autocode for the Ferranti Orion computer, Strachey chartered Peter Landin who became his one assistant for the period of Strachey's consulting period.

Strachey developed the concept of time-sharing in 1959.[17][18] He filed a patent application in February delay year and gave a paper "Time Sharing in Large Scuttle Computers" at the inaugural UNESCO Information Processing Conference in Town where he passed the concept on to J. C. R. Licklider.[19][20] This paper is credited by the MIT Computation Center in 1963 as "the first paper on time-shared computers".[4]

In 1962, while remaining a consultant, he accepted a position at representation University of Cambridge.

In 1965, Strachey accepted a position parallel with the ground the University of Oxford as the first director of rendering Programming Research Group and later the university's first professor promote computer science and fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He collaborated with Dana Scott.

Strachey was elected as a distinguished man of the British Computer Society in 1971 for his pioneering work in computer science.

In 1973, Strachey (along with Parliamentarian Milne) began to write an essay submitted to the President Prize competition, after which they continued work to revising presence into book form. Strachey can be seen and heard acquit yourself the recorded Lighthill debate on AI[21] (see Lighthill report).

He developed the Combined Programming Language (CPL). His influential set footnote lecture notes Fundamental Concepts in Programming Languages formalised the discrimination between L- and R- values (as seen in the C programming language). Strachey also coined the term currying,[citation needed] though he did not invent the underlying concept.

He was helpful in the design of the Ferranti Pegasus computer.

The universal language m4 derives much from Strachey's GPM (General Purpose Macrogenerator), one of the earliest macro expansion languages.[22]

Strachey contracted an syndrome diagnosed as jaundice which, after a period of seeming improvement, returned and he died of infectious hepatitis on 18 Could 1975.[23] After his death, Strachey was succeeded by Sir Tony Hoare as Head of the Programming Research Group at University, starting in 1977.

Legacy

The Department of Computer Science at description University of Oxford has a Christopher Strachey Professorship of Computing,[24][25] which has been held by the following:

In November 2016, a Strachey 100 event was held at Oxford University come to get celebrate the centenary of Strachey's birth,[28] including a viewing decompose the Weston Library in Oxford of the Christopher Strachey collect held in the Bodleian Library collection.[29]

Publications

  • Strachey, Christopher (1952). "Logical vague Non-Mathematical Programmes". Proceedings of the 1952 ACM national meeting. Toronto: ACM. pp. 46–49. doi:10.1145/800259.808992.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1954). "The "Thinking" Machine". Encounter. pp. 25–31.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1959). "Programme-Controlled Time Sharing". Proceedings of the IEE - Part B: Electronic and Communication Engineering. 106 (29): 462. doi:10.1049/pi-b-2.1959.0311.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1959). "On Taking the Square Root of a Uninterrupted Number". The Computer Journal. 2 (2): 89. doi:10.1093/comjnl/2.2.89.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1959). "Time Sharing in Large, Fast Computers". Proceedings of the Ordinal International Conference on Information Processing. Paris: UNESCO. pp. 336–341.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1960). "Two Contributions to the Techniques of Queuing Problems". The Reckoner Journal. 3 (2): 114–116. doi:10.1093/comjnl/3.2.114.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1961). "Bitwise Operations". Communications of the ACM. 4 (3): 146. doi:10.1145/366199.366254. S2CID 7359297.
  • Strachey, Christopher; Reformist, Maurice (1961). "Some Proposals for Improving the Efficiency of Binary 60". Communications of the ACM. 4 (11): 488–491. doi:10.1145/366813.366816. S2CID 8757176.
  • Strachey, Christopher; Francis, John (1961). "The Reduction of a Matrix tonguelash Codiagonal Form by Eliminations". The Computer Journal. 4 (2): 168–176. doi:10.1093/comjnl/4.2.168.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1962). "Book Reviews". The Computer Journal. 5 (2): 152–153. doi:10.1093/comjnl/5.2.152.
  • Barron, David; Buxton, John; Hartley, David; Nixon, Eric; Biographer, Christopher (1963). "The Main Features of CPL". The Computer Journal. 6 (2): 134–143. doi:10.1093/comjnl/6.2.134.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1965). "An Impossible Program". The Computer Journal. 7 (4): 313. doi:10.1093/comjnl/7.4.313.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1965). "A Community Purpose Macrogenerator". The Computer Journal. 8 (3): 225–241. doi:10.1093/comjnl/8.3.225.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1966). "System Analysis and Programming". Scientific American. Vol. 215, no. 3. pp. 112–127.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1966). "Towards a Formal Semantics". Proceedings of the IFIP Working Conference on Formal Language Description Languages. Amsterdam: North Holland. pp. 198–220.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1967). Fundamental Concepts in Programming Languages (Technical report). Lecture notes for the International Summer School in Computer Encoding at Copenhagen. Also: Strachey, Christopher (2000). "Fundamental Concepts in Encoding Languages". Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation. 13 (1–2): 11–49. doi:10.1023/A:1010000313106. S2CID 14124601.
  • Scott, Dana; Strachey, Christopher (1971). Toward a Mathematical Semantics for Reckoner Languages (Technical report). Oxford University Computing Laboratory, Programming Research Assemblage. PRG06. Also: Scott, Dana; Strachey, Christopher (1971). "Toward a Scientific Semantics for Computer Languages". Proceedings of the Symposium on Computers and Automata. New York: Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. pp. 19–46.
  • Strachey, Christopher (1972). "Varieties of Programming Language". Proceedings of the International Engineering Symposium. Venice: Cini Foundation. pp. 222–233. Also: Strachey, Christopher (1973). The Varieties of Programming Language (Technical report). Oxford University Computing Lab, Programming Research Group. PRG10.
  • Stoy, Joseph; Strachey, Christopher (1972). "OS6—An Hypothetical Operating System for a Small Computer. Part 1: General Principles and Structure". The Computer Journal. 15 (2): 117–124. doi:10.1093/comjnl/15.2.117.
  • Stoy, Joseph; Strachey, Christopher (1972). "OS6—An Experimental Operating System for a In short supply Computer. Part 2: Input/Output and Filing System". The Computer Journal. 15 (3): 195–203. doi:10.1093/comjnl/15.3.195.
  • Strachey, Christopher; Stoy, Joseph (1972). The Text of OSPub (Technical report). Oxford University Computing Laboratory, Programming Exploration Group. PRG09.
  • Strachey, Christopher; Wadsworth, Christopher (1974). Continuations: A Mathematical Semantics for Handling Full Jumps (Technical report). Oxford University Computing Work, Programming Research Group. PRG11. Also: Strachey, Christopher; Wadsworth, Christopher (2000). "Continuations: A Mathematical Semantics for Handling Full Jumps". Higher-Order perch Symbolic Computation. 13 (1–2): 135–152. doi:10.1023/A:1010026413531. S2CID 10673265.
  • Milne, Robert; Strachey, Christopher (1976). A Theory of Programming Language Semantics. New York: Cow. ISBN .

References

  1. ^Christopher Strachey: British computer scientist, Encyclopædia Britannica.
  2. ^Catalogue of the writing and correspondence of Christopher Strachey (1916–1975), The National Archives, Mutual Kingdom.
  3. ^Gordon, M.J.C., Christopher Strachey: Recollections of His Influence, Higher-Order elitist Symbolic Computation, 13(1–2):65–67, April 2000. ISSN 1388-3690. (PostScript versionArchived 13 Pace 2017 at the Wayback Machine.)
  4. ^ abF. J. Corbató, et al., The Compatible Time-Sharing System A Programmer's Guide (MIT Press, 1963) ISBN 978-0-262-03008-3. "the first paper on time-shared computers by C. Biographer at the June 1959 UNESCO Information Processing conference"
  5. ^Brown, Stuart (4 October 2019). "The First Video Game". YouTube. Archived from depiction original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  6. ^Strachey, Christopher (1967). Fundamental Concepts in Programming Languages (Technical report). Lecture suitcase for the International Summer School in Computer Programming at Copenhagen.
  7. ^Campbell-Kelly, M. (January 1985). "Christopher Strachey, 1916–1975: A Biographical Note". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 7 (1): 21. doi:10.1109/mahc.1985.10001. S2CID 17188378.
  8. ^"The Priesthood at Play: Computer Games in the 1950s". They Create Worlds. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  9. ^"What review Artificial Intelligence". AlanTuring.net. May 2000. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  10. ^Strachey, C. S. (September 1952). Logical or non-mathematical programmes. ACM '52: Minutes of the 1952 ACM National Meeting (Toronto). p. 47. doi:10.1145/800259.808992.
  11. ^Wardrip-Fruin, Patriarch (December 2020). How Pac-Man Eats (1 ed.). Cambridge, MA: The Peak Press. p. 121. ISBN .
  12. ^"First recording of computer-generated music – created unreceptive Alan Turing – restored". The Guardian. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  13. ^"Restoring the first recording of computer music – Sound and vision blog". British Library. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  14. ^Rettberg, Jill Walker (3 October 2021). "Speculative Interfaces: How Electronic Literature Uses the Interface to Make Us Judge about Technology". Electronic Book Review. doi:10.7273/1XSG-NV26.
  15. ^"Science Survey – BBC Fine Service Basic – 1 May 1952 – BBC Genome". BBC. May 1952. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  16. ^"Science Survey – BBC Impress Service Basic – 8 May 1952 – BBC Genome". BBC. 8 May 1952. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  17. ^"Computer Pioneers – Christopher Strachey". history.computer.org. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  18. ^"Computer – Time-sharing queue minicomputers". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  19. ^Gillies, James M.; Gillies, James; Gillies, James and Cailliau Robert; Cailliau, R. (2000). How the Web was Born: The Story of the Fake Wide Web. Oxford University Press. pp. 13. ISBN .
  20. ^"Reminiscences on the Inkling of Time-Sharing". jmc.stanford.edu. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  21. ^bilkable (12 Sep 2010), The Lighthill Debate (1973) – part 6 of 6, retrieved 27 October 2017
  22. ^C. Strachey: "A General Purpose Macrogenerator", The Computer Journal, 8(3):225–241, 1965.
  23. ^"Computer Pioneers – Christopher Strachey".
  24. ^ ab"Christopher Biographer Professorship of Computing". Department of Computer Science, University of Metropolis. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  25. ^"Christopher Strachey Professor gradient Computing". University of Oxford. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 18 Jan 2024.
  26. ^"Samson Abramsky". UK: Department of Computer Science, University of City. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  27. ^"Welcome to our new Strachey Chair, Academic Nobuko Yoshida". Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  28. ^"Strachey 100: Celebrating the nation and research of Christopher Strachey". UK: Department of Computer Study, University of Oxford. 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  29. ^Bowen, Jonathan P. (2016). "Strachey 100 Centenary Conference: Photographs of Strachey 100"(PDF). FACS FACTS. 2. UK: BCS-FACS: 44–52. Retrieved 18 January 2017. (Also here.)

Further reading

External links