[geeks] RIP John Backus

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Lionel Peterson wrote:
>> 8-(
>> 
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/obituaries/20cnd-backus.html
> 
> Peter Naur appears to still be with us: 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Naur
> 
> I remember the effect of the BNF representation of Pascal in the
> Original Users Guide by Niklaus Wirth had on me as a youth - it
> fascinated me and got me to thinking beyond mere syntax and command
> structure in programming...
> 
> BNF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backus-Naur_form

Language design is a bit of a hobby for me.  BNF is an invaluable tool. 
   There are people who aren't familiar with it, who try to convey their
ideas to the community at large, and it always seems that their ad-hoc
pseudocode lacks a certain unambiguous quality.  They usually end up
learning BNF quickly.  It's not like it's complicated.

If I could ever meet Peter Naur, I'd love to be able to shake his hand
and thank him.  I guess I've lost that chance with John Backus.  8-/

Peace...  Sridhar