See what Stroustroup has to say about C++ and grad students

Dr. Bjarne Stroustrup is the inventor of C++ programming language.

Read the full interview here :http://www.app2us.com/interviews/bjarne_stroustrup.htm.

Excerpts:

about applications that use C++

"
app2us: We understand that C++ is used in a wide variety of devices like cell phones, cameras and elevators. What is the most interesting device or application that uses C++?
Dr. Stroustrup: I'd say the Mars Rovers. Those are most interesting "gadgets". The Mars Rover project is one of the most impressive engineering feats to date and I'm proud that C++ is a prominent part of the systems involved; not just on the Rovers themselves, but also in the communications systems, testing, and image processing, and more. Obviously, more mundane applications, such as photoshop, the iPod GUI, and google's search engine, are more important in everyday life, but I find something like the Mars Rovers most inspiring. For a short list of applications, see http://www.research.att.com/~bs/applications.html

"

and tips about grad students

"

app2us: What is your advice to graduate students aspiring to pursue a career in research?
Dr. Stroustrup: Focus on problems. Don't get obsessed with tools and convention; instead learn about some yet unsolved real-world problems and build a research program around principled approaches to solving such problems. Don't get obsessed with having a solution tomorrow. Learn to communicate well. It does not matter how good your ideas are if you cannot explain them to others. You need to communicate well (both giving information and taking it) both verbally and in writing. For those of us who do not have English as our native language, it is essential to get a good grasp of both professional and colloquial English. One nice thing about that is that there is so much good literature that can be of help: http://www.research.att.com/~bs/literature.html
I find that CS grad students *always* underestimate the importance of colloquial English and writing. They consequently loose out on much that could have been a pleasure as well as of great utility.

"

Truly, thoughts of a great mind indeed!