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Charles H. Lindsey

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Charles H. Lindsey
Born
Charles Hodgson Lindsey

18 Apr 1931
Died13 Feb 2023, age 91
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Known forRevised Report on Algol 68
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
InstitutionsMathematical Laboratory, Cambridge
Ferranti/ICT
Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester
WebsiteOfficial website archived from the original on 8 November 2022

Charles Hodgson Lindsey (18 April 1931 – 13 February 2023) was a British computer scientist, known for his involvement with the programming language ALGOL 68.

Career

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After completing his Ph.D. at Cambridge University, sponsored by Ferranti and supervised by Maurice Wilkes, and later working on the EDSAC computer,[1] Lindsey began his career at Ferranti at West Gorton in Manchester, becoming project leader for the Ferranti Orion.[2] In 1967 he was appointed Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at Manchester University, where he remained for the rest of his career.[2]

Algol 68

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He was an editor of the Revised Report on Algol 68,[3][4] and co-wrote An Informal Introduction to Algol 68.[5] The latter was notable because it was written so that it could be read "horizontally", in the normal manner, or "vertically", starting with section 1.1, then 2.1, then 3.1, etc., before going back to section 1.2, then 2.2, and so on, depending on how a reader wanted to learn the language. He also wrote a history of ALGOL 68.[6]

He was responsible for the research implementation of ALGOL 68 for the experimental MU5 computer (1974–1982) at Manchester University, and maintained an implementation of the language subset ALGOL 68S.

Other computing work

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He worked on international standards in programming and informatics, as a member of the International Federation for Information Processing's Working Group 2.1 on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi,[7] which specified, maintains, and supports ALGOL 60 and ALGOL 68.[8] In 1977 he received the IFIP Silver Core Award.[9]

He was involved in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Working Group which produced the two RFC standards RFC 5536[10]and RFC 5537,[11] which he co-authored, which specified the Usenet distributed discussion system. He was also a member of the IETF DKIM Working Group which produced a scheme for signing email headers.[9]

Computer conservation

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He was a member of the Computer Conservation Society, North West Branch, and led the team restoring Douglas Hartree's Differential Analyser at Manchester Museum of Science and Technology.[2] In 2015 Lindsey was awarded the British Computer Society Certificate of Appreciation for his volunteer work.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "EDSAC 1 and after – a compilation of personal reminiscences". EDSAC 99. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Lindsey, Gillian (Summer 2023). "Obituary: Charles H. Lindsey". Resurrection (102). Computer Conservation Society. ISSN 0958-7403. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  3. ^ van Wijngaarden, Adriaan; Mailloux, Barry James; Peck, John Edward Lancelot; Koster, Cornelis Hermanus Antonius; Sintzoff, Michel; Lindsey, Charles Hodgson; Meertens, Lambert Guillaume Louis Théodore; Fisker, Richard G., eds. (1976). Revised Report on the Algorithmic Language ALGOL 68 (PDF). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-07592-1. OCLC 1991170. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. ^ Marcotty, Michael; Ledgard, Henry F. (1987). The world of programming languages. Springer-Verlag. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-387-96440-9.
  5. ^ Lindsey, Charles H.; van der Meulen, S. G. (1977). An Informal Introduction to Algol 68. Amsterdam; Oxford: North-Holland Publishing. ISBN 0-7204-0726-5.
  6. ^ Lindsey, C. H. (1996). "A History of ALGOL 68". In Bergin, T. J.; Gibson, R. G. (eds.). History of Programming Languages-II. ACM Press. ISBN 0-201-89502-1.
  7. ^ Jeuring, Johan; Meertens, Lambert; Guttmann, Walter (17 August 2016). "Profile of IFIP Working Group 2.1". Foswiki. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  8. ^ Swierstra, Doaitse; Gibbons, Jeremy; Meertens, Lambert (2 March 2011). "ScopeEtc: IFIP21: Foswiki". Foswiki. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Vale Charles H Lindsey". International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). 27 March 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  10. ^ "RFC 5536: Netnews Article Format". RFC Editor. November 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  11. ^ "RFC 5537: Netnews Architecture and Protocols". RFC Editor. November 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
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