Dennis Ritchie, the creator of C, passes away 12 October, 2011.

So, I've known about this for a while, but I've been a little busy so I haven't actually posted this up.

On 12 October, 2011, Dennis Ritchie was found in his home in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, having passed away from causes that have been as of yet undisclosed. He was 70.

Mr. Ritchie did many things, he was one of the two guys behind UNIX, but I will remember him most for his creation of the C programming language, which has formed a very large part of my life. I remember I first learned the language my senior year in high school, and it's stayed with me ever since - I have a soft spot for malloc and free, as strange as it sounds, and still remember the first time I compiled a program without it seg faulting on me, which actually turned out to be one of the more defining moments in my life as a computer scientist, as it was when I first started to understand what went on behind the code.

The C programming language is used by so many people, it could be said that it forms the basis of many programmers' understanding of computer science. It has spawned many offshoots, including C++, C for Graphics (Cg), and C#, all of which are used in the gaming industry among others. Programming concepts within C can be found in other languages, and it has even been made to create compilers and interpreters for other programming languages. Even Windows was coded in C or a C derivative.

If you've ever used a computer in your life, you probably have seen the influence of Dennis Ritchie, and I thank him for his profound yet silent influence on the whole of computing as the world knows it.