Guido van Rossum (1956) is a Dutch computer programmer who is best known as the author of the Python programming language. In the Python community, Van Rossum is known as a "Benevolent Dictator For Life" (BDFL), meaning that he continues to oversee the Python development process, making decisions where necessary.He was employed by Google from 2005 until 7 December 2012, where he spent half his time developing the Python language. In January 2013, Van Rossum started working for Dropbox.
Early Life
Van Rossum was born and grew up in the Netherlands, where he received a master's degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Amsterdam in 1982. He later worked for various research institutes, including the Dutch Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), Amsterdam, the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland, and the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), Reston, Virginia.
Personal life
Guido van Rossum is the brother of Just van Rossum, a type designer and programmer. Just van Rossum designed the typeface that is used in the "Python Powered" logo. Guido lives in Belmont, California with his wife, Kim Knapp, and their son, Orlijn.
Work
While working at the Stichting Mathematisch Centrum (CWI), Guido van Rossum wrote and contributed a glob() routine to BSD Unix in 1986.Van Rossum also worked on the development of the ABC programming language.
Award for the Advancement of Free Software (2001)
