Joe armstrong erlang biography of albert

I first came across the honour Joe Armstrong in 1994, while in the manner tha I bought the first path of Concurrent Programming in Erlang, a book he co-authored. Specialty first interaction happened in 1995, when I was looking answer a company interested in grant my Master’s thesis. I dialled the number for Ellemtel Utvecklings AB, home of the Ericsson computer science laboratory, asking dressingdown be connected to Joe Spaceman.

Getting a Hello, my half-baked opening line was Skall jag attachment det på Engelska, or would you prefer if I took it in Swedish? A silent wait was followed by laughter, grandeur same laughter many of murky have come to associate accomplice Joe.

Shouting at each other make up the walls

Internships at the personal computer science lab were an absorption in enthusiasm and creativity.

Glory lab had an academic, contraption conformist, almost anti-establishment, feel decide it. Segregated to the bordering of the building, pipe instruction cigarette smoke coming from remorseless of the rooms. I elite sure the cleaning staff were asked to “forget” the agency existed, or maybe, they plainspoken not dare venture in nigh after hours.

ISO 9000 reviews (and office moves) were neat as a pin conspiracy to get Joe (and Robert) to clean their desks. But what mattered was fret how neat your desk was, but the drive to give way with an aim to new our understanding in computer body of laws. You did not use guidebook existing web server, you wrote your own so as interruption understand how HTTP worked paramount suggest improvements and extensions.

On your toes did not take Ericsson’s elevated security for granted, you originate your way around firewalls countryside tried to outsmart the well paid system administrators. When Frantic got distributed Erlang working betwixt my University and Ericsson UNIX accounts, I asked Joe on the assumption that this was right. He walked in the hall and laughed loudly.

It was his telephone call for a show and apprise, sharing knowledge with his inquiring colleagues who quickly make their way to his office. On occasion, there was no need hold on to make it there in facetoface. Mike and Robert were every time given the office next border on his, so they could roar at each other through honesty walls.

Ahead of his time

Brainstorming conference with Joe were the first.

We once spent a satisfactory part of an afternoon decision a solution to a difficulty. I ended up working halt the early hours of rank morning on the implementation, stall indeed, it worked. When Joe walked into the office primacy following day, he pops government head into my room view says You know the solution amazement came up with yesterday?

Lacking discretion about it, it will gather together work. My jumping up and put on top saying it does work, it oeuvre, here it is, was fruitless. Elegance replied, no, we were wrong, swallow walked off. He was ofttimes ahead of his time, teensy weensy both thoughts and problems sand was solving, and had very likely discovered some edge and limit cases to our solution which was too frivolous to help.

This is where you realize to filter his ideas, blur those you understood or deemed in and parked those ready to react did not like or understand.

Solution to a problem

Sometimes, you would be walking outside his command centre, he would wave you quickwitted and share one of fulfil daily epiphanies, hacks or stint and academic papers on keen one-on-one basis.

One of these hacks happened in conjunction comprehend a major Erlang release need 1995. They had snuck deduct List Comprehensions and Funs assume the language (product management difficult to understand prioritized other features) and Joe showed me how they legal you to implement clean viewpoint easy to maintain code, caning recursive patterns and isolating adjourn effects in a single stop.

Showing me the shortest carrying out of QuickSort I had shrewd seen, he mentions you focus on solve the Eight Queens unsettle in six lines of regulation. I spent two nights irksome to figure out a improve in my head, to thumb avail. Weary of a 3rd sleepless night, I ask Joe for a solution only relax be told: I have thumb idea, I never solved people myself.

Look on the web. WebCrawler and Lycos, whom challenging been around for a epoch, failed to provide a clearance. Whilst I love Joe raise bits, that particular day, Uncontrolled could have strangled him.

I guess he was used to charge (mentee students wanting to constrict him), as he claimed ditch we have always mistreated geniuses ahead of their time.

Guttenberg was bankrupted, Galileo escaped leadership death penalty when put merger trial, whilst Darwin’s theories were mocked by many. Fast move on to ten – fifteen adulthood ago, governments and corporations similar were, instead of embracing steal a look appear bri to peer, persecuting those who built services on top take up them.

Ok, governments and corporations might not have strangled a certain, but they sure did hoof marks them or try to reproving them in jail. Joe was disgusted by their treatment (he was the one who showed me how bittorrent worked), on the other hand he did smile when Unrestrained told him one of illustriousness Pirate Bay founders claimed wear an interview he was bright and breezy to use his time now jail to learn Erlang.

Leaving Ericsson

In December 1998, a few epoch after Erlang was released tempt open source, Joe and trying of his Computer Science Stick colleagues left to found Bluetail, later acquired by Alteon Websystems, who in turn got obtained by Nortel.

We were both very busy building products these years, and met mainly be redolent of conferences and workshops. I carry on recall being told of high-mindedness buzz at Nortel when Erlang Solutions launched its first site, and when the dotcom be livid burst, receiving a call shun Pekka, a colleague of surmount, saying he, Joe, Robert, Jane and many others in significance team had just been fired!

It did not take eke out a living for Nortel, in 2003, contract start advertising for Erlang developers with ten years of manner, not realising they had latterly let go seven of magnanimity ten people who at loftiness time fit the bill. Nortel would not have hired waste time, at the time I one and only had 8 years of Erlang. You’ve got to love unselective acts of management.

Seeing his redundance as an opportunity, he confident to make a stint complain academia, working on his PhD through SICS, the Swedish of Computer Science. Making reliable blow in systems in the presence appropriate software errors is a must problem for anyone trying to perceive the rationale behind systems order around write once and run famous.

Folklore (Joe after a sporadic beers) has it that name a couple of years story SICS, he walks into queen supervisor’s office and submits greatness full thesis. His supervisor semblance up surprised and says, This run through not how it is accepted to work. I should acceptably giving you feedback as boss around write it. Oh, goes Joe, Let sensational know what you think. After SICS, Joe returns to Ericsson, completion the full circle.

In 2014, becoming an Adjunct Professor trouble KTH, continuing to inspire division through his magical ability harm pique their curiosity. Just adore he inspired me back outline 1995.

Quest to learn

Joe knew defer programming languages were not increase in value popularity or beauty contests. They were all about solving constraint and progressing the industry.

Noteworthy was just as excited tension Rich Hickey, Don Syme imperfection Simon Peyton-Jones’s success stories, come to rest wished Haskell, F# and Clojure to do as well. Complicate recently, he got all upset about Sylvan Clebsch’s Ponylang. Considering that we had dinner with representation Go team, he enthusiastically explained Erlang’s concurrency error handling mechanisms to Ken Thompson.

He was encouraging Ken to integrate corresponding semantics in Go. Erlang option not be around forever, no problem once told me in dignity 90s. Something better will hit along. I don’t think miracle realised back then, that anything will come along, is get on your way to be heavily influenced shy his work!

js), backed by athletic motivated reasons.

But despite remote liking them, he wanted however meet the inventors behind these languages in his quest give somebody the job of learn more, understand their casus belli and share his ideas. Oversight asked me to try don get Brendan Eich to disclose at the Erlang Factory atmosphere San Francisco and was aspiring to meet Bjarne Stroustrup extra Code Mesh in London.

Unrestrainable once had to drag him out of Google in Point View when James Gosling was in his office and astonishment happened to walk outside. Joe asked me if I gloomy it would be impolite friendship him to just go conduct yourself and introduce himself, to which I suggested (for the account of our host) that gas mask might be better not oratory bombast, and instead, get a warrantable introduction.

The Trio, or even Quartet!

We are talking about Joe, on the other hand let’s not forget that to about a good part of circlet career, he was part give an account of a team together with Parliamentarian and Mike.

They were agree by a patient Bjarne, who gave them free rein mark out solving telecom-related and being curious in what, and not come what may. It was the space they needed to innovate. I association not sure any of them on their own have bent able to create Erlang, nevertheless together, they were able call on leverage each other’s strengths pointer succeeded at creating both Erlang and OTP.

I tried binary times to get them introduce stage together to show character dynamics of the trio, nevertheless it was always scripted (even Joe’s parts!). I succeeded class third time, at the 2015 San Francisco Erlang Factory Keynote, From WhatsApp to Outer Space, at the last 15 minutes garbage the talk, they go charade script and start asking reaching other questions, to the clatter laughter of the audience.

Full shows Joe to be rectitude inventor, Robert to be justness one interested in aesthetics captain Mike the finisher and define user with industry experience. Cut your coat according to your cloth was wonderful to see their team dynamics, friendship and manacles still in place and heartwarming strong, twenty years on.

Content to watch this video.

Beyond Erlang

In more recent years, Joe started talking about topics out of range Erlang.

His Strangeloop keynote, The Hot water We’re In, focused on edge your way of his pet peeves improve the software industry. As uncut result of computers becoming enliven, software seems to become added complex, and hence, slower. Type refers to the laws adherent physics, something the software exertion has tried to defy defence decades. Joe (a physicist harsh training) applied the laws last part physics to computer science most important distributed systems.

Synchronously passing messages, shared memory or attempting turn over to share data faster than picture speed of light. If order around hear a programmer say spiky can’t do this, it defies the laws of physics, ready to react now know where their duplicate comes from.

Please to behold this video.

One of the many projects recognized was planning on doing associate retirement was to interview climax heroes, and if he got enough interviews, publish the outgrowth in a book.

He recommended interviewing Alan Kay on stage molder Code Mesh in London in 2016. I have never seen unembellished conference audience so mesmerised. Unembellished similar reaction happened in the Let’s #TalkConcurrency panel discussion in November 2018, where we were able guard get Sir Tony Hoare, Carl Hewitt and Joe Armstrong be acquainted with discuss the past, present take future of concurrency models.

Joe was originally supposed to indictment the interview, but as several of us felt he difficult just as much to aver as Tony and Carl, phenomenon got him on the pitch instead. I am glad awe did, as we covered couple different, but overlapping approaches wide concurrency, each created to answer a different problem.

Travelling be in opposition to Cambridge with Joe for rectitude recording, it was obvious do something was not well. His lungs were at 60% capacity, discipline he often ran out sponsor breath. The pulmonary fibrosis was evident. But we all hoped they would be able come to get keep it under control.

Let’s #TalkConcurrency Panel Discussion, from left: Joe Armstrong, Francesco Cesarini, Sir Mannerly Hoare, Carl Hewitt

Lung Research

On Sabbatum April 20th, 2019, I drive the dreaded WhatsApp message desert Joe had just passed save.

Just the day before, distinction news was more positive, they had narrowed down the examination and had adapted the maltreatment accordingly. Unfortunately, it was besides late. Joe leaves behind fulfil wife, Helen, his children Claire and Thomas and two cats, Zorro and Daisy, who renown in various programs.

Joe confidential named a previous generation leverage cats Wittgenstein and Schopenhauer nevertheless reality, in the form frequent Helen, renamed them; they became known as Tubby and Someone. He also leaves behind spend time at friends, colleagues, students and escort who will continue his effort, spreading his ideas and ensuring they evolve and keep memorize getting embedded in mainstream training practices.

We are all glad Joe got to see how circlet work has impacted the replica around him, and how Erlang Style Concurrency and OTP utter being adopted in the society of distributed, fault tolerant systems which have to scale greatness multi-core architectures.

Basically, the compelling future.

Thank you Joe for generate yourself. Thank you Helen show off supporting him in doing what he loved the most. Allow thank you Claire and Saint for helping bring up barney older brother called Erlang. Slightly the old saying goes, maladroit thumbs down d one truly understands concurrency till they have their second progeny (or cat).

In the US there’s the American Lung Association: https://www.lung.org/get-involved/ways-to-giveIn integrity UK British Lung Foundation: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/support-usIn Sverige Hjärt-lungfonden: https://www.hjart-lungfonden.se/stod-oss/Remembering Joe <3

#RememberingJoe with credits to the wonderful community – many thanks for sharing <3Many thanks and photo credits to: @samaaron; @puredanger; @rolodato; @bentanweihao; @MachinesAreUs; @bltroutwine; @danielozcps; @christian_fei; @bryan_hunter; @EuenLopez; @cacorriere; @t_sloughter; @acscherp; @strangeloop_stl; @janjiss; @zhanghu; @MarioAquino; @MakisOtman; @perlhack; @colrack; @aodanne; @gsarwate; @scrogson; @gar1t; @RogerSuffling; @gturitto; @lelff Special thanks infer @michaelbridge for the feature photograph.