Bill Atkinson won the respect of Steve Jobs by creating a high-level programming language in just 6 days.

The article focuses on the life and contributions of Bill Atkinson, an early Apple employee who passed away on June 5 at the age of 74 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Atkinson, who joined Apple in 1978, was instrumental in developing key software such as QuickDraw and HyperCard, and he played a significant role in creating the graphical user interfaces for the Apple Lisa and Macintosh. He gained the respect of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs by successfully developing a specialized version of the Pascal programming language for the Apple II in just six days. After leaving Apple in 1990, Atkinson co-founded General Magic and later worked on AI development at Numenta, while also pursuing a passion for nature photography. He is survived by his family, including his wife and two daughters. [Extracted from the article]