Edsger Wybe Dijkstra (1930 -- 2002): A Portrait of a Genius

We discuss the scientific contributions of Edsger Wybe Dijkstra, his opinions and his legacy.Comment: 10 pages. To appear in Formal Aspects of Computin

The VVV Templates Project. Towards an Automated Classification of VVV Light-Curves. I. Building a database of stellar variability in the near-infrared

Context. The Vista Variables in the V\'ia L\'actea (VVV) ESO Public Survey is a variability survey of the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the disk carried out from 2010 on ESO Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). VVV will eventually deliver a deep near-IR atlas with photometry and positions in five passbands (ZYJHK_S) and a catalogue of 1-10 million variable point sources - mostly unknown - which require classifications. Aims. The main goal of the VVV Templates Project, that we introduce in this work, is to develop and test the machine-learning algorithms for the automated classification of the VVV light-curves. As VVV is the first massive, multi-epoch survey of stellar variability in the near-infrared, the template light-curves that are required for training the classification algorithms are not available. In the first paper of the series we describe the construction of this comprehensive database of infrared stellar variability. Methods. First we performed a systematic search in the literature and public data archives, second, we coordinated a worldwide observational campaign, and third we exploited the VVV variability database itself on (optically) well-known stars to gather high-quality infrared light-curves of several hundreds of variable stars. Results. We have now collected a significant (and still increasing) number of infrared template light-curves. This database will be used as a training-set for the machine-learning algorithms that will automatically classify the light-curves produced by VVV. The results of such an automated classification will be covered in forthcoming papers of the series.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&A. Most of the data are now accessible through http://www.vvvtemplates.org

Development of an MSC language and compiler, volume 1

Higher order programming language and compiler for advanced computer software system to be used with manned space flights between 1972 and 198

Fifty years of Hoare's Logic

We present a history of Hoare's logic.Comment: 79 pages. To appear in Formal Aspects of Computin

Adoption of Python in arts faculties of Sri Lankan universities

A variety of programming languages are used to teach fundamentals of programming in Universities in Sri Lanka. Among them Python is a modern language with readable and clean syntax. Python is a widely used high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability, and its syntax allows programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code than possible in languages such as C++ or Java. The language provides constructs intended to enable writing clear programs on both a small and large scale. Python supports multiple programming paradigms, including object-oriented, imperative, functional programming, and procedural styles. It features a dynamic type system and automatic memory management and has a large and comprehensive standard library. Its design was informed by experiences with other teaching languages so it is considered suitable for such use. However some universities teach PASCAL which is rarely used now. In this research I will discuss the possibility of replacing this Pascal with Python