seradio-episode97-interviewAndersHejlsberg.mp3

Early Experiences

Anders Hejlsberg, a prominent figure in software development, shares his early programming experiences that shaped his career. During high school, he was introduced to programming through ALGOL on a mini computer, which sparked his interest in software development. This foundational experience led him to explore Pascal during his university years, where he and his friends started a company focused on kit computers. Anders recalls, "I wanted to write an ALGOL compiler because that was what I knew. But then my friend was going, you know, there's this new thing called Pascal, you know, you should take a look at it." 1

   

Compiler Development

The journey of creating the first Pascal compiler was a pivotal moment in Hejlsberg's career. He found Pascal simpler to implement than ALGOL, which led to the development of a precursor to Turbo Pascal. This compiler, written in Z80 assembler, was remarkably compact, fitting into just 12K, including the runtime and an on-screen editor. Anders reflects on this achievement: "You could yank out the Microsoft ROM basic and then stick in our little Pascal compiler." 1