Christophe de Dinechin

Christophe de Dinechin is a French computer scientist, with contributions in video games, programming languages and operating systems.

Christophe de Dinechin
Born
France
OccupationComputer scientist
Known forXL programming language
Alpha Waves
HP Integrity Virtual Machines

Programming languages

Dinechin contributed to C++, notably a high-performance exception handling implementation[1] that became a de facto standard in the industry.[2] de Dinechin was one of the proponents of a portable C++ ABI, initially developed for Itanium, but now widely used across platforms.[3]

XL programming language

Dinechin is the designer of the XL programming language and associated concept programming methodology.[4] "XL" is named for "eXtensible Language".

XL features programmer-reconfigurable syntax and semantics. Compiler plug-ins can be used to add new features to the language. A base set of plug-ins implements a relatively standard imperative language. Programmers can write their own plug-ins to implement application-specific notations, such as symbolic differentiation, which can then be used as readily as built-in language features.

Similar works

There are projects that exploit similar ideas to create code with higher level of abstraction. Among them are:

Video games

As initial developer of Alpha Waves, a "groundbreaking" Atari ST game (listed in the Guinness World Records as the first 3D platform game[5]), de Dinechin heavily influenced Frederick Raynal, the main developer of Alone in the Dark.[6] de Dinechin also wrote a few viral games for HP-48 calculators,[7][8] and was the first person to take advantage of hardware-scrolling on these machines.[9]

Operating systems design

In the early 2000s, he worked as a software architect for HP-UX,[10] and was the initial designer of HP's virtualisation platform for Itanium servers, HP Integrity Virtual Machines. He was awarded 10 US patents for this work.[11]

Other work

Christophe de Dinechin did the initial port of Emacs to the Aqua user interface.[12] He wrote a variety of open-source drivers for the HP DE200C Digital Entertainment Center,[13] turning it from a web-connected CD Player into a true digital video recorder.

Between 2010 and 2017, Christophe de Dinechin was the CEO of Taodyne, a company developing a 3D animation tool, using a derivative of his XL programming language called Tao3D to describe dynamic documents.[14]

Bibliography

Dinechin has published three books:

  • A French science-fiction novel called Informagie[15]
  • A French book about physics called Réunifions la physique[16]
  • A physics book called A theory of incomplete measurements[17]

References
  1. de Dinechin, Christophe (October 2000). "C++ exception handling for IA-64" (PDF). IEEE Concurrency. ACM. 8 (4): 72–79. doi:10.1109/4434.895109. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  2. Bocci, Andrea (1 April 2004). "Exception Handling How To". Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  3. "C++ ABI Summary". Mentor Graphics. March 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  4. Manchester, Phil (16 January 2008). "Dip into Concept Programming". The Register. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  5. "First 3D platform videogame". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  6. Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2009). Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time. Taylor & Francis. p. 6. ISBN 9780240811468.
  7. "Lemmings for HP-48". HPCalc.org. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  8. "PacMan for HP-48". HPCalc.org. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  9. "Interview de Paul Courbis". HP-Network.com. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  10. Loli, Eugenia (8 July 2003). "Interview with Christophe de Dinechin, HP-UX Engineer". OSNews. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  11. "US Patents citing Christophe de Dinechin as an inventor". US Patent Office. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  12. "Emacs on Aqua". SourceForge. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  13. "Drivers for the HP DE200C". Grenouille Bouillie. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  14. "Tao3D". Sourceforge. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  15. Informagie. ASIN 169985081X.
  16. Réunifions la physique. Amazon. ISBN 9798394882234. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  17. A theory of incomplete measurements. Amazon. 9 March 2022. ISBN 9798427736190. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.