Audrey Tang
Encyclopedia
Audrey Tang is a Taiwanese
free software
programmer
, who has been described as one of the "ten greats of Taiwanese computing."
at age 12. Two years later, Tang dropped out of high school, unable to adapt to student life. By the year 2000, at the age of 19, Tang had already held positions in software companies, and worked in California's Silicon Valley
as an entrepreneur. In late 2005, she changed both her English and Chinese names from male to female ones and began to live her life as a woman, citing a need to "reconcile [her] outward appearance with [her] self-image". Taiwan's Eastern Television
reports that she has an IQ
of 180. She is a vocal proponent for autodidacticism
and individualist anarchism
.
project, a joint effort from the Haskell
and Perl
communities to implement the Perl 6
language; she has also made contributions to internationalization and localization
efforts for several Free Software
programs, including SVK
, Request Tracker
(for which she also wrote a large portion of the code) and Slash, as well as heading Traditional Chinese translation efforts for various Open Source
-related books.
On CPAN
, Tang initiated over 100 Perl projects between June 2001 and July 2006, including the popular Perl Archive Toolkit
(PAR), a cross-platform packaging and deployment tool for Perl 5. She is also responsible for setting up smoke test
and digital signature
systems for CPAN. In October 2005, she was a speaker at O'Reilly Media
's European Open Source Convention in Amsterdam
.
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
, who has been described as one of the "ten greats of Taiwanese computing."
Biography
Tang showed an early interest in computers, beginning to learn PerlPerl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
at age 12. Two years later, Tang dropped out of high school, unable to adapt to student life. By the year 2000, at the age of 19, Tang had already held positions in software companies, and worked in California's Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
as an entrepreneur. In late 2005, she changed both her English and Chinese names from male to female ones and began to live her life as a woman, citing a need to "reconcile [her] outward appearance with [her] self-image". Taiwan's Eastern Television
Eastern Television
Eastern Television is a nationwide cable TV network in Taiwan that is operated by the Eastern Broadcasting Group, which also operates the online news site .-ETTV Channels:Eastern Television operates several channels:*ETTV Variety *ETTV News...
reports that she has an IQ
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
of 180. She is a vocal proponent for autodidacticism
Autodidacticism
Autodidacticism is self-education or self-directed learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a person who teaches him or herself something. The term has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός and διδακτικός...
and individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
.
Free software contributions
Tang is best known for initiating and leading the PugsPugs
Pugs is a compiler and interpreter for the Perl 6 programming language, started on February 1, 2005 by Audrey Tang.Pugs development is now placed on hiatus, with most Perl 6 implementation efforts now taking place on Rakudo; however, its source repository is still used for storing the official Perl...
project, a joint effort from the Haskell
Haskell (programming language)
Haskell is a standardized, general-purpose purely functional programming language, with non-strict semantics and strong static typing. It is named after logician Haskell Curry. In Haskell, "a function is a first-class citizen" of the programming language. As a functional programming language, the...
and Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
communities to implement the Perl 6
Perl 6
Perl 6 is a major revision to the Perl programming language. It is still in development, as a specification from which several interpreter and compiler implementations are being written. It is introducing elements of many modern and historical languages. Perl 6 is intended to have many...
language; she has also made contributions to internationalization and localization
Internationalization and localization
In computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...
efforts for several Free Software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
programs, including SVK
SVK
SVK is a decentralized version control system written in Perl, with a hierarchical distributed design comparable to centralized deployment of BitKeeper and GNU arch. The primary author of svk is Kao Chia-liang...
, Request Tracker
Request Tracker
Request Tracker, commonly abbreviated to RT, is a ticket-tracking system written in Perl used to coordinate tasks and manage requests among a community of users. RT's first release in 1996 was written by Jesse Vincent, who later formed Best Practical Solutions LLC to distribute, develop, and...
(for which she also wrote a large portion of the code) and Slash, as well as heading Traditional Chinese translation efforts for various Open Source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
-related books.
On CPAN
CPAN
CPAN, the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, is an archive of nearly 100,000 modules of software written in Perl, as well as documentation for it. It has a presence on the World Wide Web at and is mirrored worldwide at more than 200 locations...
, Tang initiated over 100 Perl projects between June 2001 and July 2006, including the popular Perl Archive Toolkit
Perl Archive Toolkit
Perl Archive Toolkit is a cross-platform packaging and deployment tool for computer applications and libraries written in the Perl programming language. Its name is inspired by Java's JAR technology...
(PAR), a cross-platform packaging and deployment tool for Perl 5. She is also responsible for setting up smoke test
Smoke test
Smoke testing refers to physical tests made to closed systems of pipes to test for leaks. By metaphorical extension, the term is also used for the first test made after assembly or repairs to a system, to provide some assurance that the system under test will not catastrophically fail...
and digital signature
Digital signature
A digital signature or digital signature scheme is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital message or document. A valid digital signature gives a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender, and that it was not altered in transit...
systems for CPAN. In October 2005, she was a speaker at O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media is an American media company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books and Web sites and produces conferences on computer technology topics...
's European Open Source Convention in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.