Software Experts Everyone Respects

I will write this page. If anyone disagrees, take the name out.

• DonKnuth, creator of TeX, MetaFont, LiterateProgramming and author of TheArtOfComputerProgramming.
• AlanTuring, for the TuringMachine (mathematical, and consciously on the topic of computers)
• AdaLovelace, for the first software
• WardCunningham (at least here ;) )
• KentBeck
• MartinFowler
• ErichGamma

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• CharlesBabbage, he tried to made it with mechanics, and he got it right
  • Very important, but he was a hardware guy, not software
• AlonzoChurch, for the lambda calculus
  • Important work, but he was a mathematician and did not have computers in mind

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Everyone? Mostly everyone.

Martin Fowler is still a bit anti-RDBMS for my tastes. He still proposes using OO-built navigational structures in place of or in addition to (OnceAndOnlyOnce violation) the database. He also tends to "see" things as subtypes, which I tend not to find a safe long-term design decision choice (ThereAreNoTypes). -- top OnceAndOnlyOnceDoesNotImplyGoldenHammer