Bertrand Meyer (born 21 June 1950) is a Swiss computer scientist, software engineer, and academic known for his contributions to object‑oriented programming, software design, and software engineering methodology. He is the principal designer of the Eiffel programming language and a proponent of the Design by Contract methodology.
Early life and education
Meyer was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. He earned a doctorate in computer science (Doctorat d'État) from the University of Lausanne in 1978, where his dissertation focused on the theory of programming languages and software verification.
Academic career
Following his doctorate, Meyer held academic positions at the University of Lausanne and later at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL). In 1990 he became a professor of computer science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich), where he directed the Software Engineering Laboratory. He has also served as a visiting professor at institutions including the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin.
Eiffel and Design by Contract
In the mid‑1980s, Meyer began developing the Eiffel programming language, which was first released in 1985. Eiffel integrates object‑oriented principles with a strong emphasis on software correctness. Central to Eiffel is the concept of Design by Contract (DbC), which formalizes software specifications through preconditions, postconditions, and invariants. Meyer's book Object‑Oriented Software Construction (first published in 1988) introduced DbC and has been widely cited in software engineering literature.
Software engineering contributions
Meyer has advocated for software reliability, reusability, and maintainability. He formulated the “Meyer's Three‑C” model of software quality—Correctness, Completeness, and Consistency—and contributed to the development of formal methods for program verification. His work on software metrics, component reuse, and the concept of “Programming in the Large” has influenced both academic research and industrial practice.
Entrepreneurship and industry – In 1992 Meyer co‑founded SmartEiffel, a company that produced a commercial Eiffel compiler and development environment. The company later evolved into Eiffel Software, which continues to develop the EiffelStudio IDE and related tools. Meyer has been involved in standardization efforts, serving on the International Standards Organization (ISO) committee for the Eiffel language.
Publications and honors
Meyer is the author of several influential books, including Object‑Oriented Software Construction (multiple editions), Agile! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (2008), and Eiffel: The Language (1995). He has published numerous journal articles and conference papers on object‑orientation, software design, and formal methods. His recognitions include the ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award (2008) and the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Pioneer Award (2016). He has also been elected a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences.
Later work
Since the 2010s, Meyer has focused on teaching, research, and advocacy for software engineering best practices. He continues to hold a professorship at ETH Zürich, where he leads the Software Engineering Laboratory, and remains active in the Eiffel community through conferences, workshops, and contributions to the language’s evolution.