James Gosling (born May 19, 1955) is a Canadian
computer scientist, best known as the founder and lead designer behind the
Java programming language
Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let programmers ''write once, run anywh ...
.
Gosling was elected a member of the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
in 2004 for the conception and development of the architecture for the Java programming language and for contributions to
window systems.
Early life
Gosling attended
William Aberhart High School
William Aberhart High School is a public senior high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which teaches grades 10, 11, and 12. It is operated by the Calgary Board of Education. It is a comprehensive English and French Immersion school of 1300 stude ...
in Calgary, Alberta. While in high school, he wrote some of the software to analyze data from the
ISIS 2 satellite, working for the
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
physics department.
He received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
from the University of Calgary and his M.A. and Ph.D. from
Carnegie Mellon University, all in
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...
.
He wrote a version of
Emacs called
Gosling Emacs
Gosling Emacs (often shortened to "Gosmacs" or "gmacs") is a discontinued Emacs implementation written in 1981 by James Gosling in C.
Gosling initially allowed Gosling Emacs to be redistributed with no formal restrictions, as required by the "E ...
(Gosmacs) while working toward his doctorate. He built a multi-processor version of Unix for a 16-way computer system while at Carnegie Mellon University, before joining
Sun Microsystems. He also developed several
compiler
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...
s and
mail systems there.
Gosling has two children, Katie and Kelsey, who are half siblings from Gosling's two marriages.
Career & contributions
Gosling was with Sun Microsystems between 1984 and 2010 (26 years). At Sun he invented an early Unix windowing system called
NeWS
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
, which became a lesser-used alternative to the still used
X Window
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wit ...
, because Sun did not give it an open source license.
He is known as the father of the
Java programming language
Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let programmers ''write once, run anywh ...
.
He got the idea for the
Java VM
A Java virtual machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that enables a computer to run Java programs as well as programs written in other languages that are also compiled to Java bytecode. The JVM is detailed by a specification that formally describe ...
while writing a program to port software from a
PERQ
The PERQ, also referred to as the Three Rivers PERQ or ICL PERQ, was a pioneering workstation computer produced in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. In June 1979, the company took its very first order from the UK's Rutherford Appleton La ...
by translating Perq Q-Code to VAX assembler and emulating the hardware. He is generally credited with having invented the
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
programming language in 1994.
He created the original design of Java and implemented the language's original compiler and
virtual machine
In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization/ emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized h ...
. Gosling traces the origins of the approach to his early graduate student days, when he created a
p-code virtual machine for the lab's
DEC VAX
VAX (an acronym for Virtual Address eXtension) is a series of computers featuring a 32-bit instruction set architecture (ISA) and virtual memory that was developed and sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the late 20th century. The V ...
computer, so that his professor could run programs written in
UCSD Pascal
UCSD Pascal is a Pascal programming language system that runs on the UCSD p-System, a portable, highly machine-independent operating system. UCSD Pascal was first released in 1977. It was developed at the University of California, San Diego (U ...
. In the work leading to Java at Sun, he saw that architecture-neutral execution for widely distributed programs could be achieved by implementing a similar philosophy: always program for the same virtual machine.
Another contribution of Gosling's was co-writing the "
bundle
Bundle or Bundling may refer to:
* Bundling (packaging), the process of using straps to bundle up items
Biology
* Bundle of His, a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction
* Bundle of Kent, an extra conduction pat ...
" program, known as "shar", a utility thoroughly detailed in
Brian Kernighan
Brian Wilson Kernighan (; born 1942) is a Canadian computer scientist.
He worked at Bell Labs and contributed to the development of Unix alongside Unix creators Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie. Kernighan's name became widely known through co- ...
and
Rob Pike
Robert "Rob" Pike (born 1956) is a Canadian programmer and author. He is best known for his work on the Go (programming language), Go programming language and at Bell Labs, where he was a member of the Unix team and was involved in the creation o ...
's book ''
The Unix Programming Environment''.
He left Sun Microsystems on April 2, 2010, after it was acquired by the
Oracle Corporation,
citing reductions in pay, status, and decision-making ability, along with change of role and ethical challenges. He has since taken a very critical stance towards Oracle in interviews, noting that "during the integration meetings between Sun and Oracle, where we were being grilled about the patent situation between Sun and Google, we could see the Oracle lawyer's eyes sparkle."
[Shankland, Stephen. (2011-03-28]
Java founder James Gosling joins Google
CNET Retrieved on 2012-02-21. He clarified his position during the ''
Oracle v. Google
''Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.'', 593 U.S. ___ (2021), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision related to the nature of computer code and copyright law. The dispute centered on the use of parts of the Java programming language's application progr ...
'' trial over Android: "While I have differences with Oracle, in this case they are in the right. Google totally slimed Sun. We were all really disturbed, even
Jonathan chwartz he just decided to put on a happy face and tried to turn lemons into lemonade, which annoyed a lot of folks at Sun." However, he approved of the court's ruling that APIs should not be copyrightable.
In March 2011, Gosling joined
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
. Six months later, he followed his colleague Bill Vass and joined a startup called
Liquid Robotics
Liquid Robotics is an American marine robotics corporation that designs, manufactures and sells the Wave Glider, a wave and solar powered unmanned surface vehicle (USV). The Wave Glider harvests energy from ocean waves for propulsion. With thi ...
.
In late 2016, Liquid Robotics was acquired by
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
. Following the acquisition, Gosling left Liquid Robotics to work at
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. These cloud computing web services provide d ...
as Distinguished Engineer in May 2017.
He is an advisor at the
Scala company
Lightbend, Independent Director at
Jelastic
Jelastic is a cloud platform software vendor that provides multi-cloud Platform as a Service-based on container technology for hosting service providers, ISVs, telecommunication companies, enterprises and developers. The platform is available as ...
, and Strategic Advisor for
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...
, and is a board member of DIRTT Environmental Solutions.
Awards
For his achievement, the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
elected him as a Foreign Associate member.
*2002: awarded ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' Innovation Award.
*2002: awarded ''
The Flame Award'' USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award.
*2007: made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
. The Order is Canada's second highest civilian honor. Officers are the second highest grade within the Order.
*2013: became a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of the
Association for Computing Machinery.
*2015: awarded
IEEE John von Neumann Medal
The IEEE John von Neumann Medal was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1990 and may be presented annually "for outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology." The achievements may be theoretical, technological, or ...
*2019: named a
Computer History Museum Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
for the conception, design, and implementation of the
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
programming language.
Computer History Museum names James Gosling a 2019 Fellow
/ref>
Books
* Ken Arnold
Kenneth Cutts Richard Cabot Arnold (born 1958) is an American computer programmer well known as one of the developers of the 1980s dungeon-crawling video game ''Rogue'', for his contributions to the original Berkeley ( BSD) distribution of Uni ...
, James Gosling, David Holmes, ''The Java Programming Language, Fourth Edition'', Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005,
* James Gosling, Bill Joy
William Nelson Joy (born November 8, 1954) is an American computer engineer and venture capitalist. He co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Scott McNealy, Vinod Khosla, and Andy Bechtolsheim, and served as Chief Scientist and CTO at ...
, Guy L. Steele Jr.
Guy Lewis Steele Jr. (; born October 2, 1954) is an American computer scientist who has played an important role in designing and documenting several computer programming languages and technical standards.
Biography
Steele was born in Missouri ...
, Gilad Bracha
Gilad Bracha is a software engineer at F5 Networks, and formerly at Google, where he was on the Dart programming language team. He is creator of the Newspeak language, and co-author of the second and third editions of the Java Language Specificati ...
, ''The Java Language Specification, Third Edition'', Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005,
* Ken Arnold, James Gosling, David Holmes, ''The Java Programming Language, Third Edition'', Addison-Wesley Professional, 2000,
* James Gosling, Bill Joy, Guy L. Steele Jr., Gilad Bracha, ''The Java Language Specification, Second Edition'', Addison-Wesley, 2000,
* Gregory Bollella (Editor), Benjamin Brosgol, James Gosling, Peter Dibble, Steve Furr, David Hardin, Mark Turnbull, ''The Real-Time Specification for Java'', Addison Wesley Longman, 2000,
* Ken Arnold, James Gosling, ''The Java programming language Second Edition'', Addison-Wesley, 1997,
* Ken Arnold, James Gosling, ''The Java programming language'', Addison-Wesley, 1996,
* James Gosling, Bill Joy, Guy L. Steele Jr., ''The Java Language Specification'', Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1996,
* James Gosling, Frank Yellin, The Java Team, ''The Java Application Programming Interface, Volume 2: Window Toolkit and Applets'', Addison-Wesley, 1996,
* James Gosling, Frank Yellin, The Java Team, ''The Java Application Programming Interface, Volume 1: Core Packages'', Addison-Wesley, 1996,
* James Gosling, Henry McGilton,
The Java language Environment: A white paper
', Sun Microsystems, 1996
* James Gosling, David S. H. Rosenthal
David Stuart Holmes Rosenthal (born 1948 in Cambridge, United Kingdom) is a British-American computer scientist.
Biography
Rosenthal is the son of Michael David Holmes Rosenthal and Marjorie Mary "Molly" Rosenthal (both deceased). His brother M ...
, Michelle J. Arden, ''The NeWS Book : An Introduction to the Network/Extensible Window System (Sun Technical Reference Library)'', Springer, 1989,
See also
* History of Java
* Fallacies of distributed computing
James Gosling's personal weblog
Presentation
by James Gosling about the origins of Java, from the JVM Languages Summit 2008
– James Gosling's talk at Stanford University
video archive
James Gosling interview
on Triangulation (TWiT.tv
TWiT.tv, which is the operating trade name of TWiT LLC, is a podcast network that broadcasts many technology news podcasts, founded by technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte in 2005, and run by his wife and company CEO Lisa Laporte. ...
). Recorded 2016-04-11
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosling, James
1955 births
Canadian bloggers
Canadian computer programmers
Canadian computer scientists
Canadian inventors
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Emacs
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Free software programmers
Java (programming language)
Living people
Officers of the Order of Canada
Open source people
People from Calgary
Programming language designers
Solaris people
Sun Microsystems people
University of Calgary alumni
Winners of The Economist innovation awards
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering