Lambda the Ultimate

Hi, we can now get to the second part of the exercise! Please help me by locating on the map and marking with a yellow pin the birth places of influential ideas in the programming languages theory and design, that influenced major programming languages (in the sense discussed in the previous message). Again - the point is not to employ subjective value judgments, but rather include any idea that was considered influential. For example: ADTs, OOP, structured programming, explicit typing, strong typing etc. There are, of course, more influential ideas than major languages.

Since debates about priority are common, please mention in the pin description the researcher/paper/book that you have in mind, and if possible the year the idea was announced.

If the origin of an idea is closely associated with a language already on the map, you should still go ahead and add a yellow pin (you can mention the connecetion in the description, of course).

[To change the color of the pin, click on the pin icon on the pin edit window, and choose the yellow pin from the available options.]

As Bill Gates finally bows out of Microsoft to pursue his charity interests, we look at some of the hits and misses of the software company he founded.

This is the premise of a recent BBC story. Alas, the story does not talk about (and certainly doesn't focus on) programming languages, something that was part of Microsoft practically from day one (i.e., the Altair BASIC). So how would you write the story from the perspective of programming languages (their impact on the success of the company, on the quality of its products, and on the industry as a whole)? No trolls, please!