Butler Lampson
Encyclopedia
Butler W. Lampson is a renowned computer scientist
.
After graduating from the Lawrenceville School
(where in 2009 he was awarded the Aldo Leopold Award, also known as the Lawrenceville Medal, Lawrenceville's highest award to alumni), Lampson received his Bachelor's degree
in Physics from Harvard University
in 1964, and his Ph.D.
in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1967.
During the 1960s, Lampson and others were part of Project GENIE at UC Berkeley. In 1965, several Project GENIE
members, specifically Lampson and Peter Deutsch
, developed the Berkeley Timesharing System
for Scientific Data Systems
' SDS 940
computer.
Lampson was one of the founding members of Xerox PARC
in 1970, where he worked in the Computer Science Laboratory (CSL). His now-famous vision of a personal computer
was captured in the 1972 memo entitled "Why Alto?". In 1973, the Xerox Alto
, with its three-button mouse and full-page-sized monitor
was born.
It is now considered to be the first actual personal computer (at least in terms of what has become the 'canonical' GUI mode of operation).
All the subsequent computers built at Xerox PARC followed a general blueprint called "Wildflower", written by Lampson, and this included the D-Series Machines, the "Dolphin" (used in the Xerox 1100 LISP machine), "Dandelion" (used in the Xerox 8010 model of the Xerox Star
and Xerox 1108 LISP machine), "Dandetiger" (used in the Xerox 1109 LISP machine), "Dorado" (used in the Xerox 1132 LISP machine), "Daybreak" Xerox 6085
, and "Dragon" (a 4-processor 6085 with one of the first snoopy caches, though never released to production).
At PARC, Lampson helped work on many other revolutionary technologies, such as laser printer
design; two-phase commit protocols; Bravo
, the first WYSIWYG
text formatting program; Ethernet
, the first high-speed local area network
(LAN); and designed several influential programming languages such as Euclid
.
By the early 1980s, Lampson left Xerox PARC for Digital Equipment Corporation
; he now works for Microsoft Research
. Lampson is also an adjunct professor at MIT
.
In 1992, he won the distinguished ACM
Turing Award
for his contributions to personal computing and computer science
and in 1994 he was inducted as a Fellow
of the ACM
. In 2004, he won the Charles Stark Draper Prize
along with Alan C. Kay, Robert W. Taylor
, and Charles P. Thacker
for their work on Alto. In 2006 he was inducted as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum
.
Lampson is often quoted as saying, "Any problem in computer science can be solved with another level of indirection
," but in his Turing Award Lecture in 1993, Lampson himself attributes this saying to David Wheeler.
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
.
After graduating from the Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
(where in 2009 he was awarded the Aldo Leopold Award, also known as the Lawrenceville Medal, Lawrenceville's highest award to alumni), Lampson received his Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Physics from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1964, and his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1967.
During the 1960s, Lampson and others were part of Project GENIE at UC Berkeley. In 1965, several Project GENIE
Project Genie
Project Genie was a computer research project started in 1964 at the University of California, Berkeley.It produced an early time-sharing system including the Berkeley Timesharing System, which was then commercialized as the SDS 940.-History:...
members, specifically Lampson and Peter Deutsch
L. Peter Deutsch
L Peter Deutsch or Peter Deutsch is the founder of Aladdin Enterprises and creator of Ghostscript, a free software PostScript and PDF interpreter....
, developed the Berkeley Timesharing System
Berkeley Timesharing System
The Berkeley Timesharing System was a pioneering time-sharing operating system implemented between 1964 and 1967 at the University of California, Berkeley...
for Scientific Data Systems
Scientific Data Systems
Scientific Data Systems, or SDS, was an American computer company founded in September 1961 by Max Palevsky, a veteran of Packard Bell and Bendix, along with eleven other computer scientists. SDS was an early adopter of integrated circuits in computer design and the first to employ silicon...
' SDS 940
SDS 940
The SDS 940 was Scientific Data Systems' first machine designed to support time sharing directly, and was based on the SDS 930's 24-bit CPU built primarily of integrated circuits. It was announced in February 1966 and shipped in April, becoming a major part of Tymshare's expansion during the 1960s...
computer.
Lampson was one of the founding members of Xerox PARC
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
in 1970, where he worked in the Computer Science Laboratory (CSL). His now-famous vision of a personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
was captured in the 1972 memo entitled "Why Alto?". In 1973, the Xerox Alto
Xerox Alto
The Xerox Alto was one of the first computers designed for individual use , making it arguably what is now called a personal computer. It was developed at Xerox PARC in 1973...
, with its three-button mouse and full-page-sized monitor
Computer display
A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure...
was born.
It is now considered to be the first actual personal computer (at least in terms of what has become the 'canonical' GUI mode of operation).
All the subsequent computers built at Xerox PARC followed a general blueprint called "Wildflower", written by Lampson, and this included the D-Series Machines, the "Dolphin" (used in the Xerox 1100 LISP machine), "Dandelion" (used in the Xerox 8010 model of the Xerox Star
Xerox Star
The Star workstation, officially known as the Xerox 8010 Information System, was introduced by Xerox Corporation in 1981. It was the first commercial system to incorporate various technologies that today have become commonplace in personal computers, including a bitmapped display, a window-based...
and Xerox 1108 LISP machine), "Dandetiger" (used in the Xerox 1109 LISP machine), "Dorado" (used in the Xerox 1132 LISP machine), "Daybreak" Xerox 6085
Xerox Daybreak
Xerox Daybreak is a workstation computer marketed by Xerox from 1985 to 1989. It ran the ViewPoint GUI and was used extensively throughout Xerox until being replaced by Suns and PCs...
, and "Dragon" (a 4-processor 6085 with one of the first snoopy caches, though never released to production).
At PARC, Lampson helped work on many other revolutionary technologies, such as laser printer
Laser printer
A laser printer is a common type of computer printer that rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper. As with digital photocopiers and multifunction printers , laser printers employ a xerographic printing process, but differ from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced...
design; two-phase commit protocols; Bravo
Bravo (software)
Bravo was the first WYSIWYG document preparation program. It provided multi-font capability using the bitmap displays on the Xerox Alto personal computer...
, the first WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
text formatting program; Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
, the first high-speed local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
(LAN); and designed several influential programming languages such as Euclid
Euclid programming language
Euclid is an imperative programming language for writing verifiable programs. It was designed by Butler Lampson and associates at the Xerox PARC lab in the mid 1970s. The implementation was led by Ric Holt at the University of Toronto and James Cordy was the principal programmer for the first...
.
By the early 1980s, Lampson left Xerox PARC for Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
; he now works for Microsoft Research
Microsoft Research
Microsoft Research is the research division of Microsoft created in 1991 for developing various computer science ideas and integrating them into Microsoft products. It currently employs Turing Award winners C.A.R. Hoare, Butler Lampson, and Charles P...
. Lampson is also an adjunct professor at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
In 1992, he won the distinguished ACM
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
Turing Award
Turing Award
The Turing Award, in full The ACM A.M. Turing Award, is an annual award given by the Association for Computing Machinery to "an individual selected for contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community. The contributions should be of lasting and major technical importance to the...
for his contributions to personal computing and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and in 1994 he was inducted as a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the ACM
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
. In 2004, he won the Charles Stark Draper Prize
Charles Stark Draper Prize
The National Academy of Engineering annually awards the Charles Stark Draper Prize, which is given for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about engineering. It is one of three prizes that constitute the "Nobel Prizes of Engineering" - the others being the Academy's Russ...
along with Alan C. Kay, Robert W. Taylor
Robert Taylor (computer scientist)
Robert William Taylor , known as Bob Taylor, is an Internet pioneer, who led teams that made major contributions to the personal computer, and other related technologies....
, and Charles P. Thacker
Charles P. Thacker
Charles P. Thacker is an American pioneer computer designer.-Biography:Thacker was born in Pasadena, California on February 26, 1943.He received his B.S...
for their work on Alto. In 2006 he was inducted as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum
Computer History Museum
The Computer History Museum is a museum established in 1996 in Mountain View, California, USA. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the stories and artifacts of the information age, and exploring the computing revolution and its impact on our lives.-History:The museum's origins...
.
Lampson is often quoted as saying, "Any problem in computer science can be solved with another level of indirection
Fundamental theorem of software engineering
The fundamental theorem of software engineering is a term originated by Andrew Koenig to describe a remark by Butler Lampson:The term is facetious, in the sense that it doesn't describe an actual theorem that can be proved, and the problems it solves are not fundamental. Rather, it's a principle...
," but in his Turing Award Lecture in 1993, Lampson himself attributes this saying to David Wheeler.