David H. Ahl (born May 17, 1939) is an American author who is the founder of Creative Computing magazine.

This group became caught up in building a computer that was smaller than any yet built, intending to bring the new product into new markets such as schools.

The decision ultimately fell to Ken Olsen, who finally stated that "I can't see any reason that anyone would want a computer of his own."

Frustrated, Ahl left DEC in 1974, and started Creative Computing, one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution.

In 2010, David Ahl helped re-publish a Special 25th and 30th Anniversary Edition of two of his classic programming books, specifically for a new development environment for beginners, called Microsoft Small Basic.