50 in 50

Every couple of years, there comes a talk or presentation at OOPSLA that you know is a once-in-a-lifetime-go-down-in-history sort of thing. You and your buddies will reference it for years to come. Past OOPLSA talks for me include Guy Steele's Growing a Language talk in 1998, Alan Kay's talk in 1997, The Show Trial of the Gang of Four Trial, and something I'm sure I've neglected. This was one of those talks.

The talk, presented by both Guy Steele and Richard Gabriel was a rich mix of speaking, poetry, music, imagry, humor, satire, and hints of deep reflection. This kind of mix has come to be a trademark of the last number of talks I have seen Gabriel involved in. It was an introspective of 50 years. Guy and Dick alternated, each saying exactly 50 words. They did this 50 times. Only a programmer could appreciate this mix of art with the precise.

It included video of the Shakespeare Programming Language, a look at Piet, as well as a reminder of Befunge. And a riotous ditty on the merits of case esac fi if do od etc. It also remembered a number of other more serious languages, and their myriad contributions, both noble and ignoble. And ended up with a tribute to programming contributaries who have gone before and are no longer with us. Hope that someone bootleg's it on the net soon. It is a pinacle of programmer geek humor and reflection.