Peter Naur (1928–2016) was a Danish computer scientist who edited the ALGOL 60 report and co-developed Backus-Naur Form. His work on language specification and software engineering earned him the Turing Award.
ALGOL 60
Naur edited the ALGOL 60 report, transforming a committee design into a clear, precise specification. His editorial work established a standard for how programming languages are described.
Backus-Naur Form
BNF (originally Backus Normal Form, renamed to honor Naur’s contributions) provides a notation for describing programming language syntax. Nearly every language since has been specified using BNF or derivatives.
Software Engineering
Naur contributed to software engineering as a discipline:
- Advocated for clear program design
- Criticized overly formal methods
- Emphasized programming as human activity
- Wrote influential essays on software development
”Programming as Theory Building”
Naur’s essay argued that programming is fundamentally about building a theory of how a program works in programmers’ minds, not just writing code. This humanistic view influenced software engineering thinking.
Recognition
Naur received the Turing Award in 2005 for his contributions to programming language design and definition.