Computing Atlas

How Computing Was Built
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Pioneer

David Parnas

Also Known As David Lorge Parnas
Software And Its Engineering

David Parnas is a Canadian software engineering pioneer whose 1972 paper, On the Criteria to Be Used in Decomposing Systems into Modules, established information hiding as a central principle of modular software design, the idea that a modules internal details should be hidden behind a stable interface so that changes inside one module do not force changes elsewhere. The principle of high cohesion within modules and loose coupling between them that the paper argued for became foundational to structured and later object oriented programming. Parnas also became known for advocating precise software documentation and for his public criticism, on technical grounds, of the Strategic Defense Initiative software plans in the 1980s.

Facts
Birth Year
1941 1
Birth Date
1941-02-10 1
Nationality
Canadian 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: David Parnas
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead sentence, birth date clause
    David Lorge Parnas (born February 10, 1941) is a Canadian early pioneer of software engineering, who developed the concept of information hiding in modular programming
  • lead sentence, nationality clause
    David Lorge Parnas (born February 10, 1941) is a Canadian early pioneer of software engineering, who developed the concept of information hiding in modular programming
View the Source
David Parnas (Wikidata)
  • Wikidata alias: David Lorge Parnas
    David Lorge Parnas
  • Wikidata P166: Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility
    Wikidata P166 (award received): Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility.
  • Wikidata P166: Harlan D. Mills Award
    Wikidata P166 (award received): Harlan D. Mills Award.
  • Wikidata P166: ACM Fellow
    Wikidata P166 (award received): ACM Fellow.
  • Wikidata P166: Honorary doctor of the Catholic University of Louvain
    Wikidata P166 (award received): Honorary doctor of the Catholic University of Louvain.
  • Wikidata P166: honorary doctor of ETH Zürich
    Wikidata P166 (award received): honorary doctor of ETH Zürich.
  • Wikidata P166: honorary doctor of the Vienna Technical University
    Wikidata P166 (award received): honorary doctor of the Vienna Technical University.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.