On The Shoulders Of Giants

I took an entire class in compiler theory in college, and really enjoyed it. Can still picture the classroom in my head, in fact (3rd floor of the ENS, all the way in the back past the nursing lab). So how is it that I never learned of Frances Allen, who died last week at 88?

History is a thing that few understand in its entirety. It’s usually treated like a separate subject, but at minimum each of us should endeavor to understand the history of our own fields of study.