Most Influential Programmers Results

August 2nd, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

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About a month ago I posted my Top 10 most influential programmers which caused a bit of a stir. So I then followed it up with an online poll which I said I would run for a month. The time is up and the final results are in. Linus was the run away winner which I must say I completely disagree with. Linus has done us all a great favour in creating a open source version of unix which has spawned many great distributions but more influential than Dennis Ritchie? Linux would not be possible without ‘C’ and the creation of a whole new programming language that has been fundamental in so many of the system we now use is far more important than copying something that already existed. (flame away…)

On the PHP front I am again very surprised that Rasmus got so many votes and Andi & Zeev only got 5 & 3 votes respectively (btw, I got 4 votes! which very flattering is not exactly realistic!). Depending on who’s version of the PHP history you believe you could say that Andi & Zeev built the ‘real’ daddy of the PHP we all now use and love. But as I said, it depends on the story you listen to..

And lastly I was glad to see that one games programmer was left in the Top 10. Here is the Top 10 as it was when I closed the poll.

1st - Linus Torvalds

2nd - Alan turing

3rd - Dennis Ritchie

4th - Donald Knuth

5th - Rasmus Lerdorf

6th - John Carmack

7th - Bill Gates

8th - Richard Stallman

9th - Tim Berners-Lee

10th - Bjarne Stroustrup

There Are 9 Responses So Far. »

  1. Pingback by University Update - Open Source - Most Influential Programmers Results on 2 August 2007:

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  2. Pingback by bloggo ergo sum » The Programming and Management Blog » Most Influential Programmers Results on 3 August 2007:

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  3. Pingback by developercast.com » Nick Halstead’s Blog: Most Influential Programmers Results on 3 August 2007:

    [...] mentioned by Nick Halstead, the results are in from the poll for the “Most Influential Programmers” list that he put together, [...]

  4. Comment by ted stockwell on 3 August 2007:

    Who are the nitwits that voted for Bill Gates!?
    Tell me - can you think of *anybody* that has done more to subvert the progress of software than Bill Gates?
    Didn’t think so…

  5. Comment by Nick Halstead on 3 August 2007:

    Ted, I have to agree but it is also interesting to see peoples perceptions on our most well known industry figures. Bill did program a long time ago and I understand he was quite a talented programmer, but I do not believe his programming abilities are what he should be remembered for, or in fact to be applauded for. Windows has had some of the worst technologies (e.g. message pump) that have held back development for many years.

  6. Comment by Ivo Jansch on 4 August 2007:

    How may votes did Linus get? (if that’s ‘15′, it puts your remark about zeev and andy in a different perspective).

    But I can understand the result: you didn’t poll who was the best programmer, but who’s the most influential one. Rasmus did start PHP, and without him, Zeev and Andi may not have been able to take it to the level it’s currently at, even though in the end their influence on php has been essential, and they are better programmers than Rasmus.

  7. Comment by Anon on 4 August 2007:

    That’s the problem with polls. You only vote for the once you know about. Influential programmers? How about Ole-Johan Dahl and/or Kristen Nygaard who invented object oriented programming?

  8. Comment by Maximus on 2 January 2008:

    I think the original list by Nick is a better reflector of influential programmers than this one. However I would still say that many brilliant programmers may have solved complex problems but are still unknown for some reason or the other. This list should be called ‘Most Famous Programmers’ instead.

  9. Comment by David Mills on 6 January 2008:

    Some of the recipients, on both sides of the fence, should be remembered as the south ends of north-bound horses, riding on the shoulders of others. Just personal opinion from a doddering old fool who has been in the industry since 1971.

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