In Memory of Jacob T. Schwartz, the "Grandfather" of Python... and my College Mentor

Prof. Jacob (Jack) T. Schwarz just as I remember him at NYU's Robotics Lab (source)

One of the most used, and productive, computer programming language nowadays is Python.

Most regular users have heard of Guido van Rossum, Python's creator and project leader.

But how did Python come about? It surely didn't spring into existence fully formed, like Athena from Zeus' head in Greek mythology!

I'll let the "father" of Python answer that:

Guido van Rossum has explained that Python's predecessor, ABC, was inspired by SETL, noting that ABC co-developer Lambert Meertens had 'spent a year with the SETL group at New York University before coming up with the final ABC design'

Well, SETL ("Set-theoretic Language") is the brainchild of Prof. Jacob (Jack) T. Schwarz, who was chairman of the Computer Science department at NYU and the founder of its Robotics & Computer Vision Lab.
Luckily for me, I happened to start college at NYU and get a job in that lab in my freshman year...

A (Second) Revolution in Computer Programming Languages

Jacob T. Schwartz (1930-2009) Source

I remember programming back when the language C++ was just coming out, IDE's (software to facilitate writing computer programs) didn't exist, and C's libraries where rudimentary. If you needed something like a dynamic list, you were responsible for your own data structure and memory management! Or you had to turn to LISP, which was decisively not a user-friendly language.

By contrast, the SETL language, with its dynamic constructs and set-oriented features (reminiscent of Python's lists) was far ahead of its times – and a fascinating glimpse into the future! I suppose not quite as Earth-shattering as the transition from assembly (or machine!) language to high-level languages, but still a very dramatic advance : a serious game-changer not just for computer scientists but also for researchers in many fields.

Harnessing the power of SETL, at the end of my freshman year I had fun writing a program to handle symbolic algebra – it would have taken tears of blood to do that with C or Fortran!

My Introduction to the SETL Computer Language – and to its Creator

I had the privilege of being exposed to SETL directly from its creator when, as a freshman at New York University, I held a job in prof. Schwartz's Robotics Lab.

He was an extremely brilliant, multi-faceted (definitely a "polymath") and very generous man - and my mentor/boss for 2 years, until I transferred to UC Berkeley.

If he were still alive, it'd be his birthday today.

My initial connection to him was through my high-school math teacher, who knew a local university professor who had done his PhD under Jacob Schwartz. This professor, Alfredo Ferro, later founded a research institute and named it the J. T. Schwartz International School for Scientific Research.

Jacob T. Schwartz by a robotic arm
(similar to the one I remember, and perhaps even the same). Source

Most of my work interaction with Jacob Schwartz, at NYU's Robotics & Computer Vision Lab involved programming strategies for object recognition from sensing by an IBM robotic arm. He had done a lot of theoretical work on what was dubbed the "Piano Movers' Problem," namely coordinating the motion of several independent bodies amidst polygonal barriers (book he wrote about that), and in that lab we were exploring what we could accomplish with an actual device.

The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, in New York City

The Robotics & Computer Vision Lab was on Broadway, a few blocks from the main building of the department, the elegant Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. As an 18 year old freshly arrived in NYC, I was intrigued by how different that part of Broadway looked from its more famous stretch with the theaters!

In addition to being the creator of SETL and the "grandfather" of Python, Jacob Schwartz had a stellar list of accomplishments, including founding and chairing the Computer Science department at NYU, founding its Robotics Lab, authoring 18 books in Math (notably about Linear Operators), Computer Science, Physics and Economics (search result on Amazon.com), not to mention over 100 papers and technical reports, and much more.

In the photos I located to illustrate this blog entry, prof. Jacob T. Schwartz appears just as I remember him at NYU's Robotic Lab. To him I send my RIP and a "thank you for all you did – this blog is dedicated to you!"

New York Times obituary

A website about Jacob Schwartz's life

Memorial about Jacob Schwartz on NYU's website

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