Alan Kay: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|American computer scientist (born 1940)}} | {{Short description|American computer scientist (born 1940)}} | ||
{{Other people}} | {{Other people}} | ||
{{distinguish|Allan K | {{distinguish|Allan K}} | ||
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}} | {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}} | ||
{{BLP sources|date=April 2023}} | {{BLP sources|date=April 2023}} | ||
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| birth_name = Alan Curtis Kay | | birth_name = Alan Curtis Kay | ||
| image = Alan Kay and the prototype of the Dynabook (3009206205).jpg | | image = Alan Kay and the prototype of the Dynabook (3009206205).jpg | ||
| caption = Alan Kay holding the | | caption = Alan Kay holding the mockup of the [[Dynabook]] | ||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|05|17}} | | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|05|17}} | ||
| birth_place = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], U.S. | | birth_place = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], U.S. | ||
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He attended [[Brooklyn Technical High School]]. Having accumulated enough credits to graduate, he then attended [[Bethany College (West Virginia)|Bethany College]] in [[Bethany, West Virginia]], where he majored in [[biology]] and minored in mathematics. | He attended [[Brooklyn Technical High School]]. Having accumulated enough credits to graduate, he then attended [[Bethany College (West Virginia)|Bethany College]] in [[Bethany, West Virginia]], where he majored in [[biology]] and minored in mathematics. | ||
Kay then taught guitar in [[Denver]], Colorado for a year. He was drafted | Kay then taught guitar in [[Denver]], Colorado for a year. He was drafted into the [[United States Army]], then qualified for officer training in the [[United States Air Force]], where he became a [[computer programmer]] after passing an aptitude test. | ||
After his discharge, he enrolled at the [[University of Colorado Boulder]] and earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in mathematics and [[molecular biology]] in 1966. | After his discharge, he enrolled at the [[University of Colorado Boulder]] and earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in mathematics and [[molecular biology]] in 1966. | ||
In the autumn of 1966, he began graduate school at the [[University of Utah College of Engineering]]. He earned a [[Master of Science]] in [[electrical engineering]] in 1968, then a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] in [[computer science]] in 1969. His doctoral dissertation, ''FLEX: A Flexible Extendable Language'', described the invention of a [[computer language]] named [[Flex (language)|FLEX]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kay |first=Alan |year=1968 |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/761962.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208052455/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/761962.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 8, 2017 |title=FLEX: A Flexible Extendable Language |website=University of Utah}}</ref><ref name="H. Peter Alesso, C.F. Smith">{{cite book |last1=Alesso |first1=H. Peter |last2=Smith |first2=C.F. |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxGyOaAyd6gC&q=Connections:+Patterns+of+Discovery |title=Connections: Patterns of Discovery |page=61 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-11881-8 |series=Wiley Series on Systems Engineering and Analysis, 29 |access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Barnes |first=S. B. |url=http://ethw.org/images/2/23/Barnes.pdf |title=Alan Kay: Transforming the Computer Into a Communication Medium |publisher=Engineering & Technology History Wiki |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701083057/http://ethw.org/Images/2/23/Barnes.pdf |archive-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref> While there, he worked with "fathers of [[computer graphics]]" [[David C. Evans (computer scientist)|David C. Evans]] (who had recently been recruited from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] to start Utah's computer science department) and [[Ivan Sutherland]] (best known for writing such pioneering programs as [[Sketchpad]]). Kay credits Sutherland's 1963 thesis for influencing his views on [[Object (computer science)|objects]] and [[computer programming]]. As he grew busier with research for the [[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (DARPA), he ended his musical career. | In the autumn of 1966, he began graduate school at the [[University of Utah College of Engineering]]. He earned a [[Master of Science]] in [[electrical engineering]] in 1968, then a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] in [[computer science]] in 1969. His doctoral dissertation, ''FLEX: A Flexible Extendable Language'', described the invention of a [[computer language]] named [[Flex (language)|FLEX]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kay |first=Alan |year=1968 |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/761962.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208052455/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/761962.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 8, 2017 |title=FLEX: A Flexible Extendable Language |website=University of Utah}}</ref><ref name="H. Peter Alesso, C.F. Smith">{{cite book |last1=Alesso |first1=H. Peter |last2=Smith |first2=C.F. |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxGyOaAyd6gC&q=Connections:+Patterns+of+Discovery |title=Connections: Patterns of Discovery |page=61 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-11881-8 |series=Wiley Series on Systems Engineering and Analysis, 29 |access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Barnes |first=S. B. |url=http://ethw.org/images/2/23/Barnes.pdf |title=Alan Kay: Transforming the Computer Into a Communication Medium |publisher=Engineering & Technology History Wiki |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701083057/http://ethw.org/Images/2/23/Barnes.pdf |archive-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref> While there, he worked with the "fathers of [[computer graphics]]" [[David C. Evans (computer scientist)|David C. Evans]] (who had recently been recruited from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] to start Utah's computer science department) and [[Ivan Sutherland]] (best known for writing such pioneering programs as [[Sketchpad]]). Kay credits Sutherland's 1963 thesis for influencing his views on [[Object (computer science)|objects]] and [[computer programming]]. As he grew busier with research for the [[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (DARPA), he ended his musical career. | ||
In 1968, he met [[Seymour Papert]] and learned of the programming language [[Logo (programming language)|Logo]], a [[Dialect (computing)|dialect]] of [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]] optimized for educational purposes. This led him to learn of the work of [[Jean Piaget]], [[Jerome Bruner]], [[Lev Vygotsky]], and of [[Constructionism (learning theory)|constructionist learning]], further influencing his professional orientation. On December 9 of that same year he was present in San Francisco for the [[The Mother of All Demos|Mother of all Demos]], a landmark computer demonstration by [[Douglas Engelbart]]. Even though he was sick with a high fever on that day, the event was very influential in Kay's career. He recalled later: "It was one of the greatest experiences in my life".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Pagan |title=Inventology: How we dream up things that change the world |publisher=Mariner Books |year=2016 |isbn=9780544811928 |location=Boston |pages=115}}</ref> | In 1968, he met [[Seymour Papert]] and learned of the programming language [[Logo (programming language)|Logo]], a [[Dialect (computing)|dialect]] of [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]] optimized for educational purposes. This led him to learn of the work of [[Jean Piaget]], [[Jerome Bruner]], [[Lev Vygotsky]], and of [[Constructionism (learning theory)|constructionist learning]], further influencing his professional orientation. On December 9 of that same year he was present in San Francisco for the [[The Mother of All Demos|Mother of all Demos]], a landmark computer demonstration by [[Douglas Engelbart]]. Even though he was sick with a high fever on that day, the event was very influential in Kay's career. He recalled later: "It was one of the greatest experiences in my life".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Pagan |title=Inventology: How we dream up things that change the world |publisher=Mariner Books |year=2016 |isbn=9780544811928 |location=Boston |pages=115}}</ref> | ||
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<blockquote>I'm sorry that I long ago coined the term "objects" for this topic because it gets many people to focus on the lesser idea. The big idea is "[[Message passing|messaging]]".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://lists.squeakfoundation.org/pipermail/squeak-dev/1998-October/017019.html |title=AlanKayOnMessaging}}</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>I'm sorry that I long ago coined the term "objects" for this topic because it gets many people to focus on the lesser idea. The big idea is "[[Message passing|messaging]]".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://lists.squeakfoundation.org/pipermail/squeak-dev/1998-October/017019.html |title=AlanKayOnMessaging}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
While at PARC, Kay conceived the [[Dynabook]] concept, a key progenitor of laptop and [[tablet computer|tablet]] computers and the [[e-book]]. He is also the architect of the modern overlapping windowing [[graphical user interface]] (GUI).<ref>{{Cite book | last1=Bergin | first1=Thomas J. Jr. | last2=Gibson | first2=Richard G. Jr. |place=New York, NY |year=1996 |publisher=ACM Press, Addison-Wesley |title=History of Programming Languages II |url=http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=234286 | isbn=978-0-201-89502-5 | doi=10.1145/234286}}</ref> Because the Dynabook was conceived as an educational platform, he is considered one of the first researchers into [[mobile learning]]; many features of the Dynabook concept have been adopted in the design of the [[One Laptop Per Child]] educational platform,<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/project/index.shtml|title=History|publisher=One Laptop Per Child|access-date=July 18, 2020|archive-date=July 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706231744/http://laptop.org/en/vision/project/index.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> with which Kay | While at PARC, Kay conceived the [[Dynabook]] concept, a key progenitor of laptop and [[tablet computer|tablet]] computers and the [[e-book]]. He is also the architect of the modern overlapping windowing [[graphical user interface]] (GUI).<ref>{{Cite book | last1=Bergin | first1=Thomas J. Jr. | last2=Gibson | first2=Richard G. Jr. |place=New York, NY |year=1996 |publisher=ACM Press, Addison-Wesley |title=History of Programming Languages II |url=http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=234286 | isbn=978-0-201-89502-5 | doi=10.1145/234286}}</ref> Because the Dynabook was conceived as an educational platform, he is considered one of the first researchers into [[mobile learning]]; many features of the Dynabook concept have been adopted in the design of the [[One Laptop Per Child]] educational platform,<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/project/index.shtml|title=History|publisher=One Laptop Per Child|access-date=July 18, 2020|archive-date=July 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706231744/http://laptop.org/en/vision/project/index.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> with which Kay was actively involved. | ||
== Subsequent work == | == Subsequent work == | ||
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=== Tweak === | === Tweak === | ||
In 2001, it became clear that the Etoy architecture in Squeak had reached its limits in what the Morphic interface infrastructure could do. [[Andreas Raab]], a researcher in Kay's group then at Hewlett-Packard, proposed defining a "script process" and providing a default scheduling mechanism that avoided several more general problems.<ref>{{cite web |last=Raab |first=Andreas |author-link=Andreas Raab |url=http://tweakproject.org/ABOUT/FAQ/OriginalTweakMemo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002012532/http://tweakproject.org/ABOUT/FAQ/OriginalTweakMemo/ |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |title=Events, Scripts & Multiple Processes |date=July 6, 2001 |access-date=June 7, 2009}}</ref> The result was a new user interface, proposed to replace the Squeak Morphic user interface. [[Tweak programming environment|Tweak]] added mechanisms of islands, asynchronous messaging, players and costumes, language extensions, projects, and tile scripting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tweakproject.org/TECHNOLOGY/Whitepapers/ |title=Tweak: Whitepapers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002012629/http://tweakproject.org/TECHNOLOGY/Whitepapers/ |archive-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref> Its underlying object system is [[Class ( | In 2001, it became clear that the Etoy architecture in Squeak had reached its limits in what the Morphic interface infrastructure could do. [[Andreas Raab]], a researcher in Kay's group then at Hewlett-Packard, proposed defining a "script process" and providing a default scheduling mechanism that avoided several more general problems.<ref>{{cite web |last=Raab |first=Andreas |author-link=Andreas Raab |url=http://tweakproject.org/ABOUT/FAQ/OriginalTweakMemo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002012532/http://tweakproject.org/ABOUT/FAQ/OriginalTweakMemo/ |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |title=Events, Scripts & Multiple Processes |date=July 6, 2001 |access-date=June 7, 2009}}</ref> The result was a new user interface, proposed to replace the Squeak Morphic user interface. [[Tweak programming environment|Tweak]] added mechanisms of islands, asynchronous messaging, players and costumes, language extensions, projects, and tile scripting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tweakproject.org/TECHNOLOGY/Whitepapers/ |title=Tweak: Whitepapers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002012629/http://tweakproject.org/TECHNOLOGY/Whitepapers/ |archive-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref> Its underlying object system is [[Class (programming)|class-based]], but to users (during programming) it acts as if it were [[Prototype-based programming|prototype-based]]. Tweak objects are created and run in Tweak project windows. | ||
=== The Children's Machine === | === The Children's Machine === | ||
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He also is an amateur classical [[pipe organ]]ist.<ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-0974313115 |language=en |author1=Vint Cerf |author2=Bran Ferren |author3=Greg Harrold |author4=Quincy Jones |author5=Gordon Bell | display-authors=etal |author1-link=Vint Cerf |author2-link=Bran Ferren |author4-link=Quincy Jones |author5-link=Gordon Bell |title=Points of View — a tribute to Alan Kay |url=https://users.cs.duke.edu/~rodger/articles/AlanKay70thpoints-of-view.pdf |publisher=Viewpoints Research Institute, Inc., Glendale, California |access-date=5 November 2024 |pages=173,190-191,205-216,218,228-229 |date=2010}}</ref> | He also is an amateur classical [[pipe organ]]ist.<ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-0974313115 |language=en |author1=Vint Cerf |author2=Bran Ferren |author3=Greg Harrold |author4=Quincy Jones |author5=Gordon Bell | display-authors=etal |author1-link=Vint Cerf |author2-link=Bran Ferren |author4-link=Quincy Jones |author5-link=Gordon Bell |title=Points of View — a tribute to Alan Kay |url=https://users.cs.duke.edu/~rodger/articles/AlanKay70thpoints-of-view.pdf |publisher=Viewpoints Research Institute, Inc., Glendale, California |access-date=5 November 2024 |pages=173,190-191,205-216,218,228-229 |date=2010}}</ref> | ||
Kay is a grandson of author, illustrator, and photographer [[Clifton Johnson (author)|Clifton Johnson]], and a nephew of sailor, adventurer, and writer [[Irving Johnson]]. | |||
Kay is married to the writer, actress, and producer [[Bonnie MacBird]]. | |||
== Awards and honors == | == Awards and honors == | ||
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:– Computer History Museum "for his fundamental contributions to personal computing and human-computer interface development."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Alan,Kay/ |title=Alan Kay: 1999 Fellow Awards Recipient |publisher=Computer History Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003012618/http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Alan,Kay/ |archive-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> (1999) | :– Computer History Museum "for his fundamental contributions to personal computing and human-computer interface development."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Alan,Kay/ |title=Alan Kay: 1999 Fellow Awards Recipient |publisher=Computer History Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003012618/http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Alan,Kay/ |archive-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> (1999) | ||
:– Association for Computing Machinery "For fundamental contributions to personal computing and object-oriented programming."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189 |title=ACM Fellows|publisher=Association for Computing Machinery|year=2008}}</ref> (2008) | :– Association for Computing Machinery "For fundamental contributions to personal computing and object-oriented programming."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189 |title=ACM Fellows|publisher=Association for Computing Machinery|year=2008}}</ref> (2008) | ||
:– [[Hasso Plattner Institute]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/news/beitrag/-9f25d717d8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724070627/http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/news/beitrag/-9f25d717d8.html|archive-date=July 24, 2011|url-status=dead|title=Alan Kay as HPI fellow appreciated |date=July 21, 2011|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tele-task.de/archive/video/flash/14029/ |title=Programming and Scaling |last1=Kay |first1=Alan |date=July 21, 2011 |publisher=HPI Potsdam |location=Germany, Potsdam, Hasso-Plattner Institute}}</ref> (2011) | :– [[Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering|Hasso Plattner Institute]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/news/beitrag/-9f25d717d8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724070627/http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/news/beitrag/-9f25d717d8.html|archive-date=July 24, 2011|url-status=dead|title=Alan Kay as HPI fellow appreciated |date=July 21, 2011|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tele-task.de/archive/video/flash/14029/ |title=Programming and Scaling |last1=Kay |first1=Alan |date=July 21, 2011 |publisher=HPI Potsdam |location=Germany, Potsdam, Hasso-Plattner Institute}}</ref> (2011) | ||
His other honors include the J-D Warnier Prix d'Informatique, the ACM Systems Software Award, the NEC Computers & Communication Foundation Prize, the Funai Foundation Prize, the Lewis Branscomb Technology Award, and the ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education. | His other honors include the J-D Warnier Prix d'Informatique, the ACM Systems Software Award, the NEC Computers & Communication Foundation Prize, the Funai Foundation Prize, the Lewis Branscomb Technology Award, and the ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education. | ||
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[[Category:Draper Prize winners]] | [[Category:Draper Prize winners]] | ||
[[Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science]] | [[Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery]] | ||
[[Category:Hewlett-Packard people]] | [[Category:Hewlett-Packard people]] | ||
[[Category:Human–computer interaction researchers]] | [[Category:Human–computer interaction researchers]] | ||