The Many Dimensions of Kristen Nygaard, Creator of Object-Oriented Programming and the Scandinavian School of System Development - History of Computing: Learning from the Past - page 41

leading Dahl and Nygaard to the two versions of the SIMULA language, the ensuing
work on compilers, and the spreading of the SIMULA ideas and its use. As for the
complementing qualities of the two pioneers, Stein Krogdahl [11] who worked with
them both, writes “ Nygaard had the idea to start with, and even if Dahl indeed par-
ticipated in developing the concepts, Nygaard probably remained the one that most
naturally expressed the high-level dreams and hopes for the project. On the other
hand, Dahl was the one who immediately saw the implementational consequences of
the different proposals, and could thereby mould them into a form that, to the largest
possible extent, took care of both implementational and conceptual aspects ”. Nygaard
saw SIMULA as a language that would give him the concepts he needed for express-
ing system properties and describe his understanding to others, including the possibil-
ity to “ educate the machine ”, i.e. run the description on a computer. For Nygaard,
compilers and program execution were important and necessary, but after a while
object-orientation for him was not about programming, it was a tool for modelling
and understanding. That is what he devoted his later language work to after the initial
success of SIMULA.
4 Working with Trade Unions
In the late sixties the Trade Union School (LO-skolen) asked Nygaard to lecture on
modern technology. It was considered important that the workers should acquire the
knowledge and competence necessary to influence the design of the workplace and
their own working conditions. Nygaard was concerned that operations research and
other IT-tools should not only be used for the benefit of the owners and the employ-
ers. The Norwegian Iron- and Metal Workers Union (NJMF) was at that time
approached by many anxious local unions in connection with the introduction of
numerically controlled machines.
In 1970 the NJMF union congress made the following resolution:
“In connection with the development and use of computers, the congress underlines
that a deliberate effort should be put forward to counteract the tendency to establish
systems where humans are treated as a mechanical and programmable production
factor. Where management is not willing to cooperate, the union must by themselves
carry out such studies as will be necessary to strengthen the work place under the
objectives of the workers and demand that the proposals that are brought forth shall
be considered by the business management.”
The time was therefore ripe when Nygaard suggested that NJMF should apply for
research funding from NTNF [5]. The purpose of the application was “ to build a base
of knowledge at least equal to that which is available to the employers ”. This was the
first time that a trade union had applied for funding for this kind of a project 5 .
5 The application was to be handled by the NTNF Research Committee for Mechanical Indus-
try. The committee held its meetings in the premises of The National Mechanical Industry
Organization (MVL), i.e. the employer organization for this sector of Norwegian industry.
MVL did not want a project where NJMF cooperated with “ the radical researchers of the
Norwegian Computing Center ”. The NCC reputation was a result of the well published
dispute between NCC and NTNF in 1969-1970 [4]. The leadership of NJMF, with the full
support of the NJMF leader Leif Skau, opposed this attempt by MVL to move the project.