← Back to feed · Map

Viktor Alexandrovich Vysotsky

Фото 1
A significant contribution to the scientific potential of the USA was made not only by the first wave of Russian emigrants but also by their descendants. In particular, the children of our compatriots contributed to the development of the IT sector. One of the founders of American cybernetics was Viktor Alexandrovich Vysotsky, who worked as a programmer at Bell Labs. At the age of 26, he first made a name for himself by being tasked with developing a simple and efficient operating system for the company's internal needs. The goal was also to speed up the loading and execution of a large number of programs on computers. As a result, Vysotsky created the BESYS (Bell Operating System), which exceeded all expectations. Later, the company's management considered developing operating systems for commercial purposes.

Based on BESYS, Viktor Alexandrovich, along with colleagues, developed the Multics system. This system caught the interest of Honeywell, a company engaged in the production of electronic control and automation systems for the aerospace sector. Honeywell purchased the rights to Multics and installed it over a million times in university, industrial, government, and defense computing centers until 1985. The last machine running Multics was shut down on October 31, 2000, at the Canadian Ministry of Defense, while Windows was already conquering the world.

Additionally, Vysotsky created the computer game Core War, in which two programs battled against each other. The goal of each program was to quickly destroy the opponent. However, this game caused more harm than good, as its principles and source code inspired the creators of computer viruses. Viktor Vysotsky worked at Bell Labs until his retirement and passed away on December 24, 2012.

Comments