computer science

Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut

Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut rather than just read about it. In short: Johannes Lambertus Adriana van de Snepscheut (Dutch: [ˈsnɛpsxøːt]; 12 September 1953 – 23 February 1994) was a Dutch computer scientist and educator. He was a student of Martin Rem and Edsger Dijkstra.

Key takeaways

Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Johannes Lambertus Adriana van de Snepscheut (Dutch: [ˈsnɛpsxøːt]; 12 September 1953 – 23 February 1994) was a Dutch computer scientist and educator. He was a student of Martin Rem and Edsger Dijkstra. At the time of his death, he was a professor of Computing Science at the California Institute of Technology. He was also developing an editor for proving theorems called "Proxac".

Biography Van de Snepscheut graduated from the Eindhoven University of Technology as an electrical engineer in 1977, with a thesis advised by Frans E. J. Krusman Aretz from the mathematics department. During this time, he also co-founded a microprocessor company, and he would later found a second. After working for a year at the University of Twente, he returned to Eindhoven, where he earned his PhD in 1983. He then spent a year visiting the California Institute of Technology before starting as faculty at the University of Groningen. In 1988, van de Snepscheut moved with his family back to Caltech, where he continued his research career and published his book, What Computing Is All About. In the early morning hours of February 23, 1994, van de Snepscheut attacked his sleeping wife, Terre (elsewhere given as Trees), supposedly with an axe later found at the site. He then set their house on fire, and died as it burned around him. Terre and their three children, aged 14, 12, and 10, escaped their burning home.

Selected bibliography Trace Theory and VLSI Design, PhD thesis, entirely handwritten, including the index. Later published as Volume 200 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science. What computing is all about, a survey of selected fundamental topics in computer science, described by Dijkstra as "an absolute treasure, strongly reflecting both [van de Snepscheut's] excitement as a scientist and his dedication as an educator".

References

External links Quotations related to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut at Wikiquote

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut

In research: Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1953 births, 1994 deaths, Academic staff of the University of Groningen, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut in simple terms?

Why does Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut.