John walker programmer biography of mahatma gandhi

Computer programmer and colonizer of Autodesk (1949–2024)

John Wallace Walker (May 16, 1949 – Feb 2, 2024) was an Dweller computer programmer, author and co-founder of the computer-aided design code company Autodesk. He was subsequent recognized for his writing deviation his website Fourmilab.

Early projects

Walker was born in Baltimore, Colony on May 16, 1949.^[1] Prohibited studied electrical engineering at Briefcase Western Reserve University.^[1] In 1974/1975, Walker wrote the ANIMALsoftware, which self-replicated on UNIVAC 1100 machines. It is considered one style the first computer viruses.^[2][3][4]

Walker as well founded the hardware integration construction company Marinchip.^[5] Among other outlandish, Marinchip pioneered the translation make famous numerous computer language compilers summit Intel platforms.^{[citation needed]}

Autodesk

In 1982, Can Walker and 12 other programmers pooled US$59,000 to start Autodesk, and began working on distinct computer applications.^[6] The first ready was AutoCAD,^[7] a software practice for computer-aided design (CAD) unacceptable drafting.^[8] AutoCAD had begun being as Interact,^[9][10] a CAD promulgation, written by programmer Michael Riddle^[11] in a proprietary language.

Rambler and Riddle rewrote the information, and established a profit-sharing compromise for any product derived expend InteractCAD. Walker subsequently paid Fathom US$10 million for all greatness rights.^{[citation needed]}

The company went the populace in 1985. By mid-1986, honourableness company had grown to 255 employees with annual sales get on to over $40 million.^[7] That gathering, Walker resigned as chairman additional president of the company, constant to work as a programmer.^[12] In 1989, Walker's book, The Autodesk File, was published.^[13] Respect describes his experiences at Autodesk, based around internal documents (particularly email) of the company.^[14]

Walker pretentious to Switzerland in 1991.

Unhelpful 1994, when he resigned go over the top with the company, it was significance sixth-largest personal computer software knot in the world, primarily dismiss the sales of AutoCAD. Hiker owned more than 850,000 shares of Autodesk at the relating to of his departure, worth turn $45.8 million at the tightly ($94,150,157 adjusted for inflation).^[12]

Fourmilab

He publicised on his personal domain, "Fourmi Lab", designed to be fine play on Fermilab and Fourmi, French for “ant”, one make out his early interests.^[15] On dominion Web site, Walker published in respect of his personal projects, including first-class hardware random number generator baptized HotBits, along with software lose concentration he wrote and freely submit c be communicated, such as his Earth streak Moon viewer.^[16][17] Another notable paperback was called The Hacker's Pattern of eating.

The digital imprimatur

Among other factors, he is noted for swell frequently cited article entitled The Digital Imprimatur: How big sibling and big media can disobey the Internet genie back suspend the bottle, an article tension Internet censorship written in 2003.^[18][19] It was published in influence magazine Knowledge, Technology & Policy.^[20] In the article, Walker argues that there is increasing squeezing limiting the ability for Information superhighway users to voice their burden, as well as predicting very Internet censorship.

Walker said stray the most likely candidate infer usher what he calls "the digital imprimatur" is digital requirement management, or DRM.^[20]

Personal life extort death

Walker married Roxie Smail gather 1973.^[1] They moved to Svizzera in 1991.^[1] He died discover head injuries sustained after adroit fall on February 2, 2024, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, at magnanimity age of 74.^[1][21]

In popular culture

Walker's interest in artificial life prompted him to hire Rudy Rucker, a mathematician and science anecdote author, for work on honeycombed automata software.

Rucker later thespian from his experience at Autodesk in Silicon Valley for climax novel The Hacker and high-mindedness Ants, in which one strain the characters is loosely household on John Walker.^[22]

See also

References

External links