Dennis Ritchie gave very few interviews, but I was lucky enough to be able to get one of them.

Back in 2000, when I was editor of C++ Report, I interviewed the creators of C, C++, and Java all together:

The C Family of Languages: Interview with Dennis Ritchie, Bjarne Stroustrup, and James Gosling

This article appeared in Java Report, 5(7), July 2000 and C++ Report, 12(7), July/August 2000.

Their extensive comments — on everything from language history and design (of course) and industry context and crystal-ball prognostication, to personal preferences and war stories and the first code they ever wrote — are well worth re-reading and remarkably current now, some 11 years on.

As far as I know, it’s the only time these three have spoken together. It’s also the only time a feature article ran simultaneously in both C++ Report and Java Report.

Grab a cup of coffee, fire up your tablet, and enjoy.