In the early days of computing, software written for one make of machine would not run on any other. Computer scientists wanted to define “programming languages” that could be universally understood. That this is the norm today – the software of the internet, for example, can run on every kind of computer. Chuck Moore was the first to turn this vision into reality: a simple language written in itself, with its own simple disk operating system, requiring just a tiny kernel to be written in the native machine code to link with the hardware. As a result, FORTH could be used everywhere, and was. It was the start of a life-long quest to provide computing power as simply and cheaply as possible, as widely as possible. It has led to poineering work with what we now refer to as ‘network computers’, MISC CPU design and the development of computer languages.

It could be said to be a consequence of a talk that John McCarthy gave at Stanford University in 1961 when he said that if his approach to technology was adopted, “computing may some day be organised as a public utility, just as the telephone system is a public utility”, and that this could become the basis of a significant new industry.

As a pupil of McCarthy’s at MIT in the 1960s, Charles ‘Chuck’ Moore’s approach to software design embraced his master’s elegance, efficiency and simplicity as well as shaping his own beliefs and he went on to design numerous firsts including the ‘Forth’ language, which is still in use today.

Chuck’s numerous industry awards include membership to the US Computer History Hall of Fame, an honour bestowed on him by President Ronald Reagan. We last spoke with Chuck in 2009 and in this interview we talked about his still eager enthusiasm for technology, the beauty of code and his legacy as a technologist.