Dinechin contributed to
C++, notably a high-performance
exception handling implementation[1] that became a de-facto standard in the industry.[2] de Dinechin was one of the proponents of a portable C++
ABI, initially developed for
Itanium, but now widely used across platforms.[3]
XL programming language
Dinechin is the designer of the XL programming language and associated concept programming methodology.[4] "XL" is named for "eXtensible Language".
XL features programmer-reconfigurable
syntax and
semantics. Compiler
plug-ins can be used to add new features to the language. A base set of plug-ins implements a relatively standard
imperative language. Programmers can write their own plug-ins to implement application-specific notations, such as
symbolic differentiation, which can then be used as readily as built-in language features.
Similar works
There are projects that exploit similar ideas to create code with higher level of abstraction. Among them are:
As initial developer of Alpha Waves, a "groundbreaking"
Atari ST game (listed in the
Guinness World Records as the first 3D platform game[5]), de Dinechin heavily influenced
Frederick Raynal, the main developer of Alone in the Dark.[6] de Dinechin also wrote a few viral games for HP-48 calculators,[7][8] and was the first person to take advantage of hardware-scrolling on these machines.[9]
Operating systems design
In the early 2000s, he worked as a software architect for
HP-UX,[10] and was the initial designer of HP's virtualisation platform for Itanium servers,
HP Integrity Virtual Machines. He was awarded 10 US patents for this work.[11]
Since 2022, he also is the initiator and maintainer of
DB48X, a new implementation of
RPL.[12][13]
Other work
Christophe de Dinechin did the initial port of
Emacs to the
Aqua user interface.[14] He wrote a variety of
open-source drivers for the HP DE200C Digital Entertainment Center,[15] turning it from a web-connected CD Player into a true digital video recorder.
Between 2010 and 2017, Christophe de Dinechin was the CEO of Taodyne, a company developing a 3D animation tool, using a derivative of his XL programming language called Tao3D to describe dynamic documents.[16]
Bibliography
Dinechin has published three books:
A French science-fiction novel called Informagie[17]
A French book about physics called Réunifions la physique[18]
A physics book called A theory of incomplete measurements[19]
^Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2009). Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time. Taylor & Francis. p. 6.
ISBN978-0-24081146-8.
^Ravelin, Antoine; de Dinechin, Christophe (2019-10-15). Informagie. Roman d'anticipation - Ou pas (in French) (1 ed.). Christophe de Dinechin.
ISBN978-1-69985081-7.