James Gosling Computer hardware and software

Created the Java programming language

The Story

Gosling discovered computers at the age of 13, at the University of Calgary, where he later received a BSc in Computer Science in 1977. In 1983 he received a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After Gosling joined Sun Microsystems in 1984, he developed a project called NEWS (Network Extensible Windowing System), a PostScript-interpreter-based system of distributing computer-processing power across a network. In 1991 Gosling began working on Java, a new programming language, as a secret project. The results were released in 1995, adding a new dimension to Internet capabilities. Java allows small programs, or applets, to be distributed over a network and safely used by client software on potentially any platform. Gosling also wrote the first version of Emacs for UNIX. Other accomplishments include: a multiprocessor version of UNIX, several compilers, mail systems and window managers, and a satellite data acquisition system.

Sources: Globe and Mail, October 17, 1995; Sun Microsystems

The Person

Birthdate
May 1, 1956
Birthplace
Calgary, Alberta
Title
Software Engineer
Status
Working
Last Updated
October 15, 2001
Popularity
32535

Profile viewed 32535 times

Other scientists who may be of interest: