View source for Bjarne Stroustrup

{{Short description|Danish computer scientist, creator of C++ (born 1950)}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Stroustrup|Jakob Stoustrup}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Bjarne Stroustrup
| image             = Bjarne Stroustrup (2013).jpg
| caption           = Stroustrup in 2013
| alt 2             = 
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1950|12|30|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Aarhus]], [[Denmark]]
| resting_place     = 
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} -->
| citizenship       = 
| nationality       = [[Denmark|Danish]]
| spouse            = {{marriage|Marian Tinson|1975}}
| children          = 2
| fields            = 
| workplaces        = {{ubl|[[Aarhus University]]|[[University of Cambridge]]|[[Texas A&M University]]|[[Bell Labs]]|[[Morgan Stanley]]|[[Columbia University]]}}
| doctoral_advisor  = [[David Wheeler (computer scientist)|David Wheeler]]<ref name="mathgene">{{MathGenealogy}}</ref>
| known_for         = [[C++]]
| thesis_url        = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.474113
| thesis_year       = 1979
| alma_mater        = {{ indented plainlist |
*[[Aarhus University]] ([[Cand.scient.]])
*[[University of Cambridge]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
}}
| thesis_title      = Communication and control in distributed computer systems
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| awards            = {{ indented plainlist |
<!-- only include notable awards e.g. those with wikipedia articles-->
* [[Grace Murray Hopper Award]] (1993)
* [[ACM Fellow]] (1994)
* [[IEEE Fellow]] (1994)
*  NAE Member (2004) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nae.edu/177032/Dr-Bjarne-Stroustrup |title=Election to National Academy of Engineering, USA 2004}}</ref>
* [[William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement]] (2005)
* [[Dr. Dobb's Journal|Dr. Dobb's Excellence Award]] (2008)
* [[Dahl–Nygaard Prize]] (2015)
* [[Computer History Museum|CHM Fellow]] (2015)
* [[IET Faraday Medal]] (2017)
* [[Charles Stark Draper Prize]] (2018)
* [[Computer Pioneer Award]] (2018)
* [[John Scott Medal]] (2018)
}}
| signature         = <!--(filename only)-->
| signature_alt     = 
| website           = {{URL|https://www.stroustrup.com|stroustrup.com}}
| footnotes         = 
}}

'''Bjarne Stroustrup''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|j|ɑːr|n|ə|_|ˈ|s|t|r|ɒ|v|s|t|r|ʊ|p|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Bjarne Stroustrup.wav}}; {{IPA|da|ˈbjɑːnə ˈstʁʌwˀstʁɔp|lang}};<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stroustrup|first1=Bjarne|title=How do you pronounce "Bjarne Stroustrup?"|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/bs_faq.html#pronounce|website=Bjarne Stroustrup's Homepage|access-date=18 November 2014|archive-date=20 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720203911/http://www.stroustrup.com/bs_faq.html#pronounce|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Stroustrup|first1=Bjarne|title=Bjarne pronounces his own name|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/pronounciation.wav|website=Bjarne Stroustrup's Homepage|access-date=18 November 2014|archive-date=20 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920044337/http://www.stroustrup.com/pronounciation.wav|url-status=live}}</ref> born 30 December 1950) is a Danish [[computer scientist]], known for the development of the [[C++]] programming language.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://electronicdesign.com/dev-tools/interview-bjarne-stroustrup-discusses-c|title=Interview: Bjarne Stroustrup Discusses C++|last=Wong|first=William|date=29 October 2013|work=Electronic Design|access-date=29 January 2014|archive-date=22 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122152938/https://www.electronicdesign.com/dev-tools/interview-bjarne-stroustrup-discusses-c|url-status=live}}</ref> He led the Large-scale Programming Research department at [[Bell Labs]], served as a professor of computer science at [[Texas A&M University]], and spent over a decade at [[Morgan Stanley]] while also being a [[visiting professor]] at [[Columbia University]]. Since 2022 he has been a [[full professor]] at Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-01 |title=Bjarne Stroustrup |url=https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/faculty/bjarne-stroustrup |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Columbia Engineering |language=en |archive-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013104737/https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/faculty/bjarne-stroustrup |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Stroustrup was born in [[Aarhus, Denmark]]. His family was [[working class]], and he attended local schools.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/draper_acceptance_speech.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.stroustrup.com/draper_acceptance_speech.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=NAE Honors 2018 Draper Prize Winner|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com}}</ref>

He attended [[Aarhus University]] from 1969 to 1975 and graduated with a [[Cand.scient.|Candidatus Scientiarum]] in [[mathematics]] with [[computer science]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bjarne Stroustrup |url=https://engineering.columbia.edu/files/seas/content/stroustrup_cv_2019.pdf |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Columbia University Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106014437/https://engineering.columbia.edu/files/seas/content/stroustrup_cv_2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> His interests focused on microprogramming and machine architecture. He learned the fundamentals of [[object-oriented programming]] from its inventor, [[Kristen Nygaard]], who frequently visited [[Aarhus]].

In 1979, he received his [[PhD]] in computer science from the [[University of Cambridge]],<ref name=stroustrupphd/><ref name="wong">{{cite news|url=http://electronicdesign.com/dev-tools/bjarne-stroustrup-c-creator-keeps-developing|title=Bjarne Stroustrup: C++ Creator Keeps RUNE Developing|last=Wong|first=William|date=26 November 2013|work=Electronic Design|access-date=29 January 2014|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202182835/http://electronicdesign.com/dev-tools/bjarne-stroustrup-c-creator-keeps-developing|url-status=live}}</ref> where his research on [[distributed computing]] was supervised by [[David Wheeler (computer scientist)|David Wheeler]].<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name=stroustrupphd>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Bjarne |last=Stroustrup |title=Communication and control in distributed computer systems |publisher=University of Cambridge |date=1979 |id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.474113}} |url=https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/permalink/f/t9gok8/44CAM_ALMA21432719740003606 |author-link=Bjarne Stroustrup |website=cam.ac.uk |oclc=219769715 }}</ref>

==Career and research==
In 1979, Stroustrup began his career as a member of technical staff in the Computer Science Research Center of [[Bell Labs]] in [[Murray Hill, New Jersey]]. There, he began his work on C++ and programming techniques. Stroustrup was the head of [[Bell Labs|AT&T Bell Labs']] Large-scale Programming Research department, from its creation until late 2002. In 1993, he was made a Bell Labs fellow and in 1996, an AT&T Fellow.

From 2002 to 2014, Stroustrup was the College of Engineering Chair Professor in [[Computer Science]] at [[Texas A&M University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bio.html|title=Some Information about Bjarne Stroustrup|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701083013/http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bio.html|archive-date=1 July 2007|access-date=27 June 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cse.tamu.edu/people/faculty|title=Faculty – People – Computer Science & Engineering – College of Engineering|last=Communications|first=Texas A&M Engineering|date=8 September 2015|website=Cse.tamu.edu|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212155837/http://www.cse.tamu.edu/people/faculty|url-status=live}}</ref> From 2011, he was made a University Distinguished Professor.

From January 2014 to April 2022, Stroustrup was a technical fellow and managing director in the technology division of [[Morgan Stanley]] in New York City and a visiting professor in computer science at Columbia University.<ref name="bio">{{Cite web|url=http://stroustrup.com/bio.html|title=Some Information about Bjarne Stroustrup|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=15 August 2022|website=stroustrup.com|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102101806/http://www.stroustrup.com/bio.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 2021, Bjarne Stroustrup has been a Technical Advisor to Metaspex, a company developing a new C++ programming approach for business applications.<ref name="Metaspex">{{Cite web |last=Stroustrup |first=Bjarne |title=Bjarne Stroustrup |website=LinkedIn |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjarnestroustrup/ |access-date=25 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

As of July 2022, Stroustrup is a full professor of computer science at Columbia University.<ref name="columbia">{{cite web |date=August 2022 |title=Bjarne Stroustrup ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE |url=https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/faculty/bjarne-stroustrup |website=columbia.edu |access-date=30 January 2021 |archive-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013104737/https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/faculty/bjarne-stroustrup |url-status=live }}</ref>

===C++===
[[Image:C++ Standards Committee meeting - March 1996 Santa Cruz - Wednesday general session.jpg|thumb|right|Stroustrup (standing on left) at the March 1996 Santa Cruz meeting of the C++ Standards Committee]]

Stroustrup is best known for his work on C++. In 1979, he began developing C++ (initially called "[[C (programming language)|C]] with Classes"). In his own words, he "invented C++, wrote its early definitions, and produced its first implementation [...] chose and formulated the design criteria for C++, designed all its major facilities, and was responsible for the processing of extension proposals in the C++ standards committee." C++ was made generally available in 1985. For non-commercial use, the source code of the compiler and the foundation libraries was the cost of shipping (US$75); this was before Internet access was common. Stroustrup also published a textbook for the language in 1985, ''[[The C++ Programming Language]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://stroustrup.com/4th.html|title=The C++ Programming Language|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231123826/http://www.stroustrup.com/4th.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The key language-technical areas of contribution of C++ are:

* A static type system with equal support for built-in types and user-defined types (that requires control of the construction, destruction, copying, and movement of objects; and [[operator overloading]]).
* Value and reference semantics. 
* Systematic and general resource management ([[Resource acquisition is initialization|RAII]]): constructors, destructor, and exceptions relying on them.
* Support for efficient object-oriented programming: based on the [[Simula]] model with statically checked interfaces, [[multiple inheritance]], and efficient implementation based on [[Virtual method table|virtual function tables]].
* Support for flexible and efficient [[generic programming]]: templates with specialization and concepts.
* Support for compile-time programming: [[template metaprogramming]] and compile-time evaluated functions ("constexpr functions").
* Direct use of machine and operating system resources.
* Concurrency support through libraries (where necessary, implemented using intrinsics).

Stroustrup documented his principles guiding the design of C++ and the evolution of the language in his 1994 book, ''The Design and Evolution of C++'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://stroustrup.com/dne.html|title=The Design and Evolution of C++|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231123827/http://www.stroustrup.com/dne.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and three papers for ACM's History of Programming Languages conferences.<ref name=history>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/hopl2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816114431/http://www.stroustrup.com/hopl2.pdf |archive-date=2012-08-16 |url-status=live|doi=10.1145/155360.155375|title=A History of C++: 1979– 1991|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com}}</ref><ref name=evolving>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1145/1238844.1238848|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/hopl-almost-final.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.stroustrup.com/hopl-almost-final.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Evolving a language in and for the real world: C++ 1991–2006|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com|s2cid=7518369 }}</ref><ref name=thriving>{{Cite journal|title=Thriving in a crowded and changing world: C++ 2006–2020|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=June 2020|journal=Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages|volume=4|pages=1–168|doi=10.1145/3386320|s2cid=219603741|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Stroustrup was a founding member of the C++ standards committee (from 1989, it was an ANSI committee and from 1991 an ISO committee) and has remained an active member ever since. For 24 years he chaired the subgroup chartered to handle proposals for language extensions (Evolution Working Group).

===Awards and honors===
Selected honors<ref name="bio" />

* 2018: [[Charles Stark Draper Prize|The Charles Stark Draper Prize]] from [[National Academy of Engineering|The US National Academy of Engineering]] for conceptualizing and developing the C++ programming language.
* 2018: [[Computer Pioneer Award|The Computer Pioneer Award]] from [[IEEE Computer Society|The IEEE Computer Society]] for bringing object-oriented programming and generic programming to the mainstream with his design and implementation of the C++ programming language.
* 2017: [[Faraday Medal|The Faraday Medal]] from the IET (Institute of Engineering Technology) for significant contributions to the history of computing, in particular pioneering the C++ programming language.
* 2010: The University of Aarhus's Rigmor og Carl Holst-Knudsens Videnskabspris.
* 2005: The William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement from Sigma Xi (the scientific research society) as the first computer scientist ever.
* 1993: The ACM [[Grace Murray Hopper]] award for his early work laying the foundations for the C++ programming language. Based on those foundations and Dr. Stroustrup's continuing efforts, C++ has become one of the most influential programming languages in the history of computing.

Fellowships

* Member of the [[National Academy of Engineering]] in 2004.
* [[Fellow]] of the [[Association for Computing Machinery]] (ACM) in 1994.
* Fellow of the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE) in 1994.
* Fellow of the [[Computer History Museum]] for his invention of the C++ programming language in 2015.
* Honorary Fellow of [[Churchill College, Cambridge]] in 2017.

Honorary doctorates and professorships

* He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University Carlos III, Spain 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uc3m.es/about-uc3m/honoris-causa|title=Honoris Causa &#124; UC3M|website=www.uc3m.es|access-date=12 April 2020|archive-date=12 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412194547/https://www.uc3m.es/about-uc3m/honoris-causa|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Stroustrup has been a noble doctor at [[ITMO University]] since 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://is.ifmo.ru/doctors/stroustrup.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://is.ifmo.ru/doctors/stroustrup.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Ученый Совет НИУ ИТМО на заседании 25.06.2013 г. избрал Бьѐрна Страуструпа почетным доктором нашего университета.|website=Is.ifmo.ru|access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref>
* Honorary Professor in Object Oriented Programming Languages, Department of Computer Science, University of Aarhus. 2010.

===Publications===
Stroustrup has written or co-written a number of publications,<ref name="dblp">{{DBLP}}</ref><ref name="scopus">{{Scopus id}}</ref> including the books:

* ''A Tour of C++'' (1st, 2nd and 3rd edition)<ref name="tour">{{cite book|title=A Tour of C++|author-last=Stroustrup|author-first=Bjarne|date=2013|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley Professional]]|isbn=978-0-321-95831-0|author-link=Bjarne Stroustrup}}</ref> 
* ''Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++''<ref>{{cite book|title=Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++|author-last=Stroustrup|author-first=Bjarne|date=29 December 2008|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley Professional]]|isbn=978-0-321-54372-1|edition=1st|author-link=Bjarne Stroustrup}}</ref>
* ''[[The C++ Programming Language]]'' (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition)<ref>{{cite book|title=The C++ Programming Language|title-link=The C++ Programming Language|author-last=Stroustrup|author-first=Bjarne|date=23 May 2013|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley Publishing Company]]|isbn=978-0-321-56384-2|edition=4th|author-link=Bjarne Stroustrup}}</ref> 
* ''The Design and Evolution of C++''<ref name="dae">{{cite book|title=Design and Evolution of C++|author-last=Stroustrup|author-first=Bjarne|date=29 March 1994|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley Publishing Company]]<!-- [[AT&T Bell Labs]] -->|isbn=978-0-201-54330-8|edition=1st|author-link=Bjarne Stroustrup}}</ref>
* ''The Annotated C++ Reference Manual''.<ref name="ano">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/annotatedcrefere00elli|title=The Annotated C++ Reference Manual|author-last1=Ellis|author-first1=Margaret A.|author-last2=Stroustrup|author-first2=Bjarne|date=1 January 1990|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley Publishing Company]]|isbn=978-0-201-51459-9|author-link1=Margaret A. Ellis|author-link2=Bjarne Stroustrup|url-access=registration}}</ref>

In all, these books have been translated into 21 languages.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/covers.html|title=Book Covers|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=20 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720230143/http://www.stroustrup.com/covers.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

More than 100 academic articles, including:

*''Thriving in a crowded and changing world''<ref name=thriving/>
* ''Evolving a language in and for the real world''<ref name=evolving/>
* B Stroustrup: What should we teach software developers? Why? CACM. January 2010. {{doi|10.1145/1629175.1629192}}
* Gabriel Dos Reis and Bjarne Stroustrup: A Principled, Complete, and Efficient Representation of C++. Journal of Mathematics in Computer Science Volume 5, Issue 3 (2011), Page 335–356 {{doi|10.1007/s11786-011-0094-1}}. Special issue on Polynomial System Solving, System and Control, and Software Science.
* Gabriel Dos Reis and Bjarne Stroustrup: General Constant Expressions for System Programming Languages. SAC-2010. The 25th ACM Symposium on Applied Computing. March 2010. {{doi|10.1145/1774088.1774537}}
* Y. Solodkyy, G. Dos Reis, and B. Stroustrup: Open and Efficient Type Switch for C++. Proc. OOPSLA'12. {{doi|10.1145/2398857.2384686}}
* Peter Pirkelbauer, Yuriy Solodkyy, Bjarne Stroustrup: Design and Evaluation of C++ Open Multi-Methods. In Science of Computer Programming (2009). Elsevier Journal. June 2009. {{doi|10.1016/j.scico.2009.06.002}}.
* Gabriel Dos Reis and Bjarne Stroustrup: Specifying C++ Concepts. POPL06. January 2006. {{doi|10.1145/1111037.1111064}}
* B. Stroustrup: Exception Safety: Concepts and Techniques. In Springer Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS-2022. ISSN 0302-9743. {{ISBN|3-540-41952-7}}. April 2001.
* B Stroustrup: Generalizing Overloading for C++2000. Overload, Issue 25. 1 April 1998.
* B. Stroustrup: Why C++ isn't just an Object-Oriented Programming Language. Addendum to OOPSLA'95 Proceedings. OOPS Messenger, vol 6 no 4, pp 1–13. October 1995. {{doi|10.1145/260094.260207}}
* B. Stroustrup: A History of C++: 1979–1991<ref name=history/> Notices. Vol 28 No 3, pp 271–298. March 1993. Also, History of Programming languages (editors T.J. Begin and R.G. Gibson) Addison-Wesley, 1996.
* B. Stroustrup: What is Object-Oriented Programming? (1991 revised version). Proc. 1st European Software Festival. February 1991.
* B. Stroustrup: Data Abstraction in C. Bell Labs Technical Journal. vol 63. no 8 (Part 2), pp 1701–1732. October 1984. {{doi|10.1002/j.1538-7305.1984.tb00061.x}}
* B. Stroustrup: Classes: An Abstract Data Type Facility for the C Language. Sigplan Notices, January 1982. {{doi|10.1145/947886.947893}}

More than a hundred technical reports for the C++ standards committee (WG21)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stroustrup.com/WG21.html|title=My C++ Standards committee papers|last=Stroustrup|first=Bjarne|date=2 January 2020|website=stroustrup.com|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231123826/http://www.stroustrup.com/WG21.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of pioneers in computer science]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons-inline}}

{{C++ programming language}}
{{Hopper winners}}
{{Charles Stark Draper Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroustrup, Bjarne}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Aarhus University alumni]]
[[Category:Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:C++]]
[[Category:C++ people]]
[[Category:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty]]
[[Category:Danish computer programmers]]
[[Category:Danish computer scientists]]
[[Category:Danish expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Fellows of the IEEE]]
[[Category:Grace Murray Hopper Award laureates]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Academics from Aarhus]]
[[Category:People from Watchung, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Programming language designers]]
[[Category:Scientists at Bell Labs]]
[[Category:Texas A&M University faculty]]
[[Category:1994 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery]]