This is an archive copy of the Crystallography World Wide component of the IUCr web site dating from 2008. For current content please visit the NEWS, PEOPLE and RESOURCES sections of https://www.iucr.org.

hello, world

The basic fundamental hurdle in learning the C programming language according to the gospel of Kerninghan and Ritchie is to overcome the difficulty of making the words hello, world appear on your computer screen. You do it like this:

  main()
  {
        printf("hello, world\n");
  }

Usually it does not work the first time. On a second try, the novice is rewarded by seeing the sacred words appear. Ah! I know how to programme in C. However K and R forgot an essential component in their system design. `world' does not reply. A heavy silence ensues. Communication with `world' is non-existant.

Tim Berners-Lee of CERN knew much better how to design and create an information system using a few thousand or so computers all tied up in a net. The World Wide Web. Reaction to this system is very favourable. Silence only means the person did not yet try. For example:

From: Brian McMahon, 4th Feb. 1994

  I've just had a very quick glance at the crystallography section of your W3
  server - it looks *very* nice under mosaic.

From: Gervais Chapuis, 7th Feb. 1994

  >cristallographie. Donc il faudrait que tu disposes d'un client MOSAIC sur ton
  >mac et tu te connectes sur l'URL
  >
  >  http://www.unige.ch/crystal/w3vlc/crystal.index.html
  >

  J'avoue que c'est impressionnant!! bravo

From: Jussi Valkonen, 15th and 16th March 1994

  RGVhciBIb3dhcmQsDQoNCk5pY2UgdG8gaGVhciBzb21ldGhpbmcgZnJvbSB5b3Uu
  IEl0IGlzIGFib3V0IG9uZSB5ZWFyIGFnbyB5b3UgdmlzaXRlZCB1cyANCmFuZCBJ
  IHN0aWxsIGFwcHJlY2lhdGUgaXQuIFdlIGhhdmUgaGFkIG5pY2Ugd2ludGVyLCB0
  aGVyZSBpcyBzbm93IGluIA0KSnl2YXNreWxhIGFib3V0IDgwIGNtLiBVbnRpbCBm
  aXJzdCB3ZWVrIG9mIG1hcmNoIHdlIGhhZCBjb2xkLCANCnRlbXBlcmF0dXJlIHdh

Translated means:

  About WWW. As you remember I have Mac and I have Mosaic program to read
  WWW. I immediately looked your Crystallography in Europe and it is 
  fantastic. I have so far waited something like that.

From: Ralf Grosse Kunstleve, 22nd March 1994

  last week Christian received a message from you, saying
  something about WWW. Well, he got very alarmed and started
  installing everything he could get on his Mac. Afterwards
  he sent a letter to everyone, which I will append.
  Short - www fortunately is no longer "mumbo-jumbo" for people at our 
  institute.

From: Christian Bärlocher, 18th March 1994

  Howard Flack has drawn my attention to the World Wide Web (abbreviated WWW
  or W3), which is an information distribution system developed at CERN and
  now widely used also in other areas (including the IUCr). It is based on the
  Internet.

  WWW is a fantastic way of browsing though all kinds of files which can
  contain not only text but also pictures (still and animated) and sound. The
  software is really easy to use. Just point and click.  There is good
  software available for the Mac as well as for Xwindows. 

  Have fun!

From: Yvon Le Page, 15th April 1994

  Subject: I tried WWW. It's super!!! We are getting organized to put ACA'95 on it.

  Dear Howard,
  Merci pour tous ces excellents tuyaux. Je viens de consulter l'Annuaire des 
  cristallographes a Chester, les resumes d'Aperiodic '94 en Suisse, et 
  d'ecouter le chant du kookaburra en Australie, tout ca en quelques minutes.

  Je suis tout enthousiasme!

There will be a demonstration of WWW at the SGK 1994 meeting in Les Diablerets 21-22 September 1994. If you can't wait until then to know more about WWW, come and see me or e-mail me on Howard.Flack@cryst.unige.ch. Tommorrow I'm off for three days to the First World Wide Web conference at CERN. In Les Diablerets I'll tell you what I found out there.

Reference: The C Programming Languaage by Brian W. Kerninghan and Dennis M. Ritchie (1978), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.