Ever since ChatGPT came into play, I have been messing around with this thing a lot. It became part and parcel of my life, whether during writing codes or asking random questions. So, I wondered who the top 10 programmers in the world are, and it gave me this list which I wrote in detail below.
Even though I don’t agree with the list completely, a few programmers couldn’t make it to the list I deeply respect- for example, Alen Turning and Tim Berners Lee. Programming is a highly subjective field as so many languages carry out different tasks, and they rely on each other. Even ChatGPT knows it too. However, here are the top 10 programmers according to the Chatbot.
1. Linus Torvalds
Linus Torvalds is a highly respected figure in the developer community, and he’s one of the very few programmers I idolize. If you are a Linux user like me, you probably heard his name. Linus is a Finnish software engineer who created Linux Kernel. He is a pioneer of the open-source software movement, believing open source is the “only right way” to use any software.
Here’s an interesting fact about Linus, he created Linux because he couldn’t afford UNIX. Currently, he works on Linux, making it better day by day.
2. Bill Gates
Bill Gates needs no introduction. However reticent he may be, his money speaks for him (does ChatGPT, too?!). People with no connection with computers, let alone programming, know him. He built Microsoft, the world’s biggest computer software company, with Paul Allen.
Bill Gates built the world’s most used operating software, Windows, and is a successful business magnate, philanthropist, investor, and author. He and his wife founded Gates Foundation, where he donated $5 billion in 2022 for global health and development projects.
3. Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum made programming more fun and easier by inventing python, a widely popular programming language in 1989. Who could’ve believed a “hobby” just to keep Rossum occupied during the week around Christmas would become arguably the handiest programming language used by millions.
Mr. Rossum worked at Google from 2005 to 2012. He retired in 2019, but this 67-year-old workaholic joined Microsoft in 2022.
4. James Gosling
James Galing is the father of Java programming language. This Canadian developed Java’s first architecture and put its first compiler and virtual machine into use.
James had a very versatile career. He worked at Google, Sun Microsystems, Liquid Robotics, Amazon Web Services, and many more reputed companies.
5. Bjarne Stroustrup
Many programmers’ nightmare is Bjarne Stroustrup, who invented one of the most difficult programming languages, C++. Initially, C++ was known as “C with classes.” It eventually became the core of programming, and it’s known as the mother of all modern programming languages for two reasons. First, most compilers and kernels are written with the help of C++, and the second reason is that most languages follow C syntax.
This Danish computer scientist received immense recognition, for example, The Charles Stark Draper Prize, The computer Pioneer Award, The Faraday Medal, etc., for his contribution to programming language. He’s now a professor of Computer Science at Columbia University.
6. Anders Hejlsberg
The C# programming language is the brainchild of the multi-talented Hejlsberg. He is a co-designer of various computer languages, including C#, and was the chief architect of Delphi and the original author of Turbo Pascal.
He also created a significant impact at Microsoft. His earliest successes were the J++ programming language and the Windows Foundation Classes. He also built TypeScript to solve many JavaScript-related problems. He’s now a technical fellow at Microsoft.
7. Kenneth Lane Thompson
Ken Thompson spent most of his life designing and implementing the original Unix OS at Bell Labs. He also invented B programming language, from where C programming language had emerged and was the early developer of the Plan 9 OS.
He had a diverse career. While working at Google, he co-developed the Go programming language. In his early years, he worked on computer text editors QED and ed, UTF-8 encoding, and endless other projects.
For his contribution to computer science, this American was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, received the Turning Award, the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal, the National Medal of Technology, and the list could go on all day. Fun fact, he uses Linux, thanks to Linus Torvalds
8. Dennis Ritchie
He’s unarguably the father of Programming language. Dennis Ritchie created the C programming language. Interestingly he and Ken Thompson were colleagues. Both shaped the modern landscape of programming language.
Several other modern programming languages, such as C++, C#, and Java, were highly influenced by C. Our modern smartphone apps are also written in Java, Kotlin, and C++, which would have never been possible without Dennis Ritchie.
Like his colleague Ken Thompson, he had received countless awards, such as Turning Award, and became the Fellow of the Computer History Museum.
This prominent scientist died in 2011 at the age of 70.
9. Ada Lovelace
During her era, there was no computer. Despite this, she is considered to be the first computer programmer. She successfully distinguished between mechanism and logical structure. This brilliant English mathematician first realized that machines had many uses beyond simple calculation, and she published the first algorithm that could be executed by such machines.
At a time when women could hardly access basic education, Ada Lovelace talked about a complex analytical machine in her writings. She changed the world.
10. Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper was one of those early-stage programmers who paved the path for modern programming. Even though she was a Navy rear admiral, she invented one of the first linkers and was the first programmer of the Harvard Mark I computer. Grace developed the FLOW-MATIC programming language, which was later modified to create COBOL, which we still use today. Furthermore, she proposed the theory of machine-independent programming language.
This pioneer died in 1992 in her sleep. She gave so much to her country and computer science.
Resource: Wikipedia
What do you think about ChatGPT’s list? Share your opinion in the comment section.
