John Vlissides

John Vlissides died November 24th. A wiki page is dedicated to his memory.

One of my favorite books is John’s Pattern Hatching. I love that book. Reading it is like conversing with a wise, witty, insightful friend. As parting advice in Pattern Hatching, John advises pattern writers to,“ Write clearly and unpretentiously. Favor a down-to-earth style rather than a stuffy academic one. People understand and appreciate a conversational tone, making them more receptive to the material… Make sure everything you write is something you could hear yourself saying to a friend.”

Good advice. When I asked John to write a forward for our design book I was anxious about whether our writing and writing style would pass muster. They did (whew!). I was stunned by his generous, kind, and encouraging words. John has been a good and wise friend, mentor, and colleague, who has encouraged and inspired many in the software community. We will miss him very much.