An interesting article by Dennis Ritchie discussing early C compilers recovered from old DECtapes. The source code and history are fascinating reads. The quality of the code (the “kludgery”[1], as he puts it) to me just brings smiles—I appreciate seeing the code in its original glory.

It is also saddening reading the words of such a great man who is no longer with us; perhaps it helps to better appreciate his legacy.

[1]: http://www.catb.org/ esr/jargon/html/K/kludge.html