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Due to his impact on computer science departments all
over the country Bauer has been called the father of German informatics.
TUM link
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F. L. Bauer
(at Tech. Univ. München since 1963)
came up with at least two concepts that are essential for
modern computer science.
1.
Together with
Klaus Samelson
(also of TUM)
he invented the stack machine
(patented in 1957), a fundamental device
for both theory and practice of programming.
Stacks are THE way to handle recursive function calls
and the dynamic runtime behavior of computer programs.
Any modern microprocessor incorporates them.
2.
In 1968 Bauer coined the term "software engineering." Today
there are uncountable software engineering departments
in universities and companies all over the world, and
a large fraction of computer scientists would call
themselves software engineers.
Google for "software engineering"
and you'll get tens of millions of hits (2005).
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Bauer also was a driving force behind ALGOL, a
hugely influential programming
language which introduced numerous important constructs
used in many subsequent programming languages.
He also contributed significantly to the fields of numerical
analysis, algebra, logic, program transformation, and cryptography.
In the early days of modern computer science, Bauer was one of
the first to realize the fundamental significance of the work of
Konrad Zuse, inventor and constructor of the world's first
working general purpose computer in Berlin (1935-1941).
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