Michael A. Jackson
Encyclopedia
Michael Anthony Jackson (born 1936) is a British computer scientist
, and independent computing
consultant in London
, England. He is also part-time researcher at AT&T
Research, Florham Park, NJ, U.S.
, and visiting research professor
at the Open University
in the UK
.
where he was taught by Christopher Strachey
and wrote his first program under Strachey's guidance. He then studied classics at Oxford University (known as "Greats"), where he was a fellow student with C. A. R. Hoare
, two years ahead of him. They had a shared interest in logic
, which was studied as part of Greats at Oxford.
In the 1970s, Jackson developed Jackson Structured Programming
(JSP). In the 1980s, with John Cameron, he developed Jackson System Development
(JSD). Then, in the 1990s, he developed the Problem Frames Approach
. In collaboration with Pamela Zave, he created "Distributed Feature Composition", a virtual architecture for specification and implementation of telecommunication services.
Jackson received the Stevens Award
for Software Development Methods in 1997. His son Daniel Jackson
is also a computer scientist based at MIT.
(JSP) was the first software development method that Jackson developed. It is a program design method, and was described in his book Principles of Program Design. JSP covers the design of individual programs, but not systems.
(JSD) was the second software development method that Jackson developed. JSD is a system development method not just for individual programs, but for entire systems. JSD is most readily applicable to information systems, but it can easily be extended to the development of real-time embedded systems. JSD was described in his book System Development.
was the third software development method that Jackson developed. It concerns itself with aspects of developing all kinds of software, not just information systems. It was first sketched in his book Software Requirements and Specifications, and described much more fully in his book Problem Frames. The First International Workshop on Applications and Advances in Problem Frames was held as part of ICSE’04 held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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....
, and independent computing
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
consultant in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England. He is also part-time researcher at AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Research, Florham Park, NJ, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and visiting research professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Biography
Jackson was educated at Harrow SchoolHarrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
where he was taught by Christopher Strachey
Christopher Strachey
Christopher Strachey was a British computer scientist. He was one of the founders of denotational semantics, and a pioneer in programming language design...
and wrote his first program under Strachey's guidance. He then studied classics at Oxford University (known as "Greats"), where he was a fellow student with C. A. R. Hoare
C. A. R. Hoare
Sir Charles Antony Richard Hoare , commonly known as Tony Hoare or C. A. R. Hoare, is a British computer scientist best known for the development of Quicksort, one of the world's most widely used sorting algorithms...
, two years ahead of him. They had a shared interest in logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, which was studied as part of Greats at Oxford.
In the 1970s, Jackson developed Jackson Structured Programming
Jackson Structured Programming
Jackson Structured Programming or JSP is a method for structured programming based on correspondences between data stream structure and program structure...
(JSP). In the 1980s, with John Cameron, he developed Jackson System Development
Jackson System Development
Jackson System Development is a linear software development methodology developed by Michael A. Jackson and John Cameron in the 1980s.- History :...
(JSD). Then, in the 1990s, he developed the Problem Frames Approach
Problem Frames Approach
Problem analysis or the problem frames approach is an approach to software requirements analysis. It was developed by British software consultant Michael A...
. In collaboration with Pamela Zave, he created "Distributed Feature Composition", a virtual architecture for specification and implementation of telecommunication services.
Jackson received the Stevens Award
Stevens Award
The Stevens Award is a software engineering award given in memory of Wayne Stevens. The international Stevens Award was created to recognize outstanding contributions to the literature or practice of methods for software and systems development...
for Software Development Methods in 1997. His son Daniel Jackson
Daniel Jackson (computer scientist)
Daniel Jackson is a Professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He is the principal designer of the Alloy modelling language, and author of the book Software Abstractions: Logic, Language, and Analysis....
is also a computer scientist based at MIT.
Work
Jackson has developed a series of methods. Each of these methods covers a wider scope than the previous one, and builds on ideas that appeared, but were not fully developed, in the previous one. Reading his books in sequence allows you to follow the evolution of his thinking.Jackson Structured Programming
Jackson Structured ProgrammingJackson Structured Programming
Jackson Structured Programming or JSP is a method for structured programming based on correspondences between data stream structure and program structure...
(JSP) was the first software development method that Jackson developed. It is a program design method, and was described in his book Principles of Program Design. JSP covers the design of individual programs, but not systems.
Jackson System Development
The Jackson System DevelopmentJackson System Development
Jackson System Development is a linear software development methodology developed by Michael A. Jackson and John Cameron in the 1980s.- History :...
(JSD) was the second software development method that Jackson developed. JSD is a system development method not just for individual programs, but for entire systems. JSD is most readily applicable to information systems, but it can easily be extended to the development of real-time embedded systems. JSD was described in his book System Development.
Problem Frames Approach
Problem Analysis or the Problem Frames ApproachProblem Frames Approach
Problem analysis or the problem frames approach is an approach to software requirements analysis. It was developed by British software consultant Michael A...
was the third software development method that Jackson developed. It concerns itself with aspects of developing all kinds of software, not just information systems. It was first sketched in his book Software Requirements and Specifications, and described much more fully in his book Problem Frames. The First International Workshop on Applications and Advances in Problem Frames was held as part of ICSE’04 held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Publications
His books include:- 1974. Principles of Program Design ISBN 0-12-379050-6.
- 1983. System Development ISBN 0-13-880328-5.
- 1995. Software Requirements & Specifications ISBN 0-201-87712-0.
- 1997. Business Process Implementation
- 2001. Problem Frames: Analysing and Structuring Software Development Problems ISBN 0-201-59627-X.