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'''Eric Steven Raymond''' (born December 4, 1957), often referred to as '''ESR''', is an American [[software developer]], author of the widely cited<ref>{{cite web|title=Citations for "The Cathedral And The Bazaar"|url=http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=580808|publisher=ACM Digital Library|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> 1997 essay, and 1999 book ''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' and other works, and [[open source software]] advocate. He wrote a guidebook for the [[Roguelike]] game ''[[NetHack]]''.<ref name="nethack"/> In the 1990s, he edited and updated the [[Jargon File]], currently in print as the ''The New Hacker's Dictionary''.<ref>{{cite isbn|0-262-68092-0|noedit}}</ref>
'''Eric Steven Raymond''' (born December 4, 1957), often referred to as '''ESR''', is an American [[software developer]], author of the widely cited<ref>{{cite web|title=Citations for "The Cathedral And The Bazaar"|url=http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=580808|publisher=ACM Digital Library|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> 1997 essay, and 1999 book ''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' and other works, and [[open source software]] advocate. He wrote a guidebook for the [[Roguelike]] game ''[[NetHack]]''.<ref name="nethack"/> In the 1990s, he edited and updated the [[Jargon File]], currently in print as the ''The New Hacker's Dictionary''.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 0-262-68092-0 | title = The New Hacker's Dictionary | last1 = Raymond | first1 = Eric S. | date = {{date|1996-10-11|mdy}} | authorlink1 = Eric S. Raymond }} </ref>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Line 28: Line 28:
Raymond says he began his programming career with writing proprietary software, between 1980 and 1985.<ref name="resume"/> In a 2008 essay he "defended the right of programmers to issue work under proprietary licenses because I think that if a programmer wants to write a program and sell it, it's neither my business nor anyone else's but his customer's what the terms of sale are".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=556 | title = Why I Hate Proprietary Software | first = Eric S. | last = Raymond |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond|date = October 1, 2008 | accessdate = November 5, 2011 }}</ref> In the same essay he also said that the "logic of the system" puts developers into "dysfunctional roles", with bad code the result.
Raymond says he began his programming career with writing proprietary software, between 1980 and 1985.<ref name="resume"/> In a 2008 essay he "defended the right of programmers to issue work under proprietary licenses because I think that if a programmer wants to write a program and sell it, it's neither my business nor anyone else's but his customer's what the terms of sale are".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=556 | title = Why I Hate Proprietary Software | first = Eric S. | last = Raymond |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond|date = October 1, 2008 | accessdate = November 5, 2011 }}</ref> In the same essay he also said that the "logic of the system" puts developers into "dysfunctional roles", with bad code the result.


Raymond also coined an [[aphorism]] he dubbed "[[Linus' Law]]", inspired by [[Linus Torvalds]]: "Given enough eyeballs, all [[Software bug|bugs]] are shallow".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Greenstein|first1=Shane|title=The Range of Linus’ Law|url=http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/greenstein/images/htm/Columns/Linus%20Law.pdf|accessdate=28 August 2014|work=IEEE Micro|issue=Volume 32, Issue 1|publisher=IEEE Computer Society|date=January 2012}}</ref> It first appeared in his book ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar''.<ref>{{cite isbn|0-596-00108-8|noedit}}</ref>{{rp|30}}
Raymond also coined an [[aphorism]] he dubbed "[[Linus' Law]]", inspired by [[Linus Torvalds]]: "Given enough eyeballs, all [[Software bug|bugs]] are shallow".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Greenstein|first1=Shane|title=The Range of Linus’ Law|url=http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/greenstein/images/htm/Columns/Linus%20Law.pdf|accessdate=28 August 2014|work=IEEE Micro|issue=Volume 32, Issue 1|publisher=IEEE Computer Society|date=January 2012}}</ref> It first appeared in his book ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar''.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 1-56592-724-9 | title = The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary | last1 = Raymond | first1 = Eric S. | authorlink1 = Eric S. Raymond | year = 1999 | publisher = O'Reilly Media }} </ref>{{rp|30}}


Raymond became a prominent voice in the open source movement and co-founded the [[Open Source Initiative]] in 1998, taking on the self-appointed role of ambassador of [[open source]] to the press, business and public. The internal white paper by Frank Hecker that led to the release of the [[Mozilla]] (then [[Netscape (web browser)|Netscape]]) source code in 1998 cited ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar'' as "independent validation" of ideas proposed by [[Eric Hahn]] and [[Jamie Zawinski]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.openoffice.org/editorial/ec1May.html| title = Interview: Frank Hecker | last = Suarez-Potts | first = Louis | year = 2001 |accessdate = November 5, 2011}}</ref> Hahn also described the book as "clearly influential".<ref>{{cite isbn|0-7382-0670-9|noedit}}</ref>{{rp|190}} Raymond has refused to speculate on whether the "bazaar" development model could be applied to works such as books and music, not wanting to "weaken the winning argument for open-sourcing software by tying it to a potential loser".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/afterword/ | title = Afterword: Beyond Software? | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond| year = 2000 |accessdate = July 24, 2007}}</ref>
Raymond became a prominent voice in the open source movement and co-founded the [[Open Source Initiative]] in 1998, taking on the self-appointed role of ambassador of [[open source]] to the press, business and public. The internal white paper by Frank Hecker that led to the release of the [[Mozilla]] (then [[Netscape (web browser)|Netscape]]) source code in 1998 cited ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar'' as "independent validation" of ideas proposed by [[Eric Hahn]] and [[Jamie Zawinski]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.openoffice.org/editorial/ec1May.html| title = Interview: Frank Hecker | last = Suarez-Potts | first = Louis | year = 2001 |accessdate = November 5, 2011}}</ref> Hahn also described the book as "clearly influential".<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 0-7382-0670-9 | title = Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution | last1 = Moody | first1 = Glyn | date = 2002-07-25 | publisher = Basic Books }} </ref>{{rp|190}} Raymond has refused to speculate on whether the "bazaar" development model could be applied to works such as books and music, not wanting to "weaken the winning argument for open-sourcing software by tying it to a potential loser".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/afterword/ | title = Afterword: Beyond Software? | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond| year = 2000 |accessdate = July 24, 2007}}</ref>


Raymond has had a number of public disputes with other figures in the [[free software movement]]. As head of the Open Source Initiative, he argued that advocates should focus on the potential for better products. The "very seductive" moral and ethical rhetoric of [[Richard Stallman]] and the [[Free Software Foundation]] fails, he said, "not because his principles are wrong, but because that kind of language ... simply does not persuade anybody".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=June 28, 1999-023-10-NW-SM | title = Shut Up And Show Them The Code | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond| work = Linux Today | date = July 28, 1999 |accessdate = November 23, 2009 }}</ref> Raymond stepped down as the president of the Open Source Initiative in February 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://opensource.org/pressreleases/expansion.php | title = Open Source Initiative (OSI) Announces expanded programs, counsel, AND board | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond| date = January 31, 2005 |accessdate = January 14, 2010 }}</ref>
Raymond has had a number of public disputes with other figures in the [[free software movement]]. As head of the Open Source Initiative, he argued that advocates should focus on the potential for better products. The "very seductive" moral and ethical rhetoric of [[Richard Stallman]] and the [[Free Software Foundation]] fails, he said, "not because his principles are wrong, but because that kind of language ... simply does not persuade anybody".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=June 28, 1999-023-10-NW-SM | title = Shut Up And Show Them The Code | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond| work = Linux Today | date = July 28, 1999 |accessdate = November 23, 2009 }}</ref> Raymond stepped down as the president of the Open Source Initiative in February 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://opensource.org/pressreleases/expansion.php | title = Open Source Initiative (OSI) Announces expanded programs, counsel, AND board | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |authorlink=Eric S._Raymond| date = January 31, 2005 |accessdate = January 14, 2010 }}</ref>

Revision as of 17:13, 18 April 2015

"Eric Raymond" redirects here. For other uses, see Eric Raymond (disambiguation).

Eric S. Raymond
Raymond at Linucon 2004
Born (1957-12-04) December 4, 1957 (age 66)
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania (dropped out)[1]
Occupation(s)Software developer, author
Websitewww.catb.org/~esr/

Eric Steven Raymond (born December 4, 1957), often referred to as ESR, is an American software developer, author of the widely cited[2] 1997 essay, and 1999 book The Cathedral and the Bazaar and other works, and open source software advocate. He wrote a guidebook for the Roguelike game NetHack.[3] In the 1990s, he edited and updated the Jargon File, currently in print as the The New Hacker's Dictionary.[4]

Biography

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA 1957, Raymond lived in Venezuela as a child. His family moved to Pennsylvania, USA in 1971.[5] Raymond said in an interview that his cerebral palsy motivated him to go into computing.[6]

He wrote CML2, a source code configuration system; while originally intended for the Linux kernel, it was rejected by kernel developers.[7] Raymond attributed this rejection to "kernel list politics".[8] Linus Torvalds on the other hand said in a 2007 mailing list post that as a matter of policy, the development team preferred more incremental changes.

In 2000–2002 Raymond wrote a number of HOWTOs still included in the Linux Documentation Project[citation needed]. His personal archive also lists a number of non-technical and very early non-Linux FAQs[citation needed]. His books, The Cathedral and the Bazaar and The Art of Unix Programming, discuss Unix and Linux history and culture, and user tools for programming and other tasks. In 1998 he received and published a Microsoft document expressing worry about the quality of rival open-source software.[9] Eric named this document, together with others subsequently leaked, "the Halloween Documents". Noting that the Jargon File had not been maintained since about 1983, he adopted it in 1990 and currently has a third edition in print. Paul Dourish maintains an archived original version of the Jargon File, because, he says, Raymond's updates "essentially destroyed what held it together."[10]

Raymond is currently the admin of the project page for gpsd, a daemon that makes GPS data from a receiver available in JSON format.[11] Also, some versions of NetHack include his guide.[3] He has also contributed code and content to The Battle for Wesnoth.[12]

Open source

Raymond says he began his programming career with writing proprietary software, between 1980 and 1985.[1] In a 2008 essay he "defended the right of programmers to issue work under proprietary licenses because I think that if a programmer wants to write a program and sell it, it's neither my business nor anyone else's but his customer's what the terms of sale are".[13] In the same essay he also said that the "logic of the system" puts developers into "dysfunctional roles", with bad code the result.

Raymond also coined an aphorism he dubbed "Linus' Law", inspired by Linus Torvalds: "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow".[14] It first appeared in his book The Cathedral and the Bazaar.[15]: 30 

Raymond became a prominent voice in the open source movement and co-founded the Open Source Initiative in 1998, taking on the self-appointed role of ambassador of open source to the press, business and public. The internal white paper by Frank Hecker that led to the release of the Mozilla (then Netscape) source code in 1998 cited The Cathedral and the Bazaar as "independent validation" of ideas proposed by Eric Hahn and Jamie Zawinski.[16] Hahn also described the book as "clearly influential".[17]: 190  Raymond has refused to speculate on whether the "bazaar" development model could be applied to works such as books and music, not wanting to "weaken the winning argument for open-sourcing software by tying it to a potential loser".[18]

Raymond has had a number of public disputes with other figures in the free software movement. As head of the Open Source Initiative, he argued that advocates should focus on the potential for better products. The "very seductive" moral and ethical rhetoric of Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation fails, he said, "not because his principles are wrong, but because that kind of language ... simply does not persuade anybody".[19] Raymond stepped down as the president of the Open Source Initiative in February 2005.[20]

Political activism

Raymond is a member of the Libertarian Party. He is a gun rights advocate.[21] He has endorsed Defense Distributed and its efforts, calling Defense Distributed "friends of freedom" and writing "I approve of any development that makes it more difficult for governments and criminals to monopolize the use of force. As 3D printers become less expensive and more ubiquitous, this could be a major step in the right direction."[22][23]

Bibliography

  • Hamerly, Jim, Paquin, Tom and Walton, Susan; Freeing the Source: The Story of Mozilla, in Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, O'Reilly, 1999. 280pp, ISBN 1-56592-582-3
  • Moody, Glyn; Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Basic Books 2002, 342pp, ISBN 978-0-7382-0333-1
  • Suarez-Potts, Louis; Interview: Frank Hecker, Community Articles, May 1, 2001, www.openoffice.org, OpenOffice website

By Eric Raymond

Books

Writings posted or archived on his website

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Raymond, Eric S. (January 29, 2003). "Resume of Eric Steven Raymond". Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  2. ^ "Citations for "The Cathedral And The Bazaar"". ACM Digital Library. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Raymond, Eric S. (December 8, 2003). "A Guide to the Mazes of Menace (Guidebook of Nethack)". NetHack.org. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Raymond, Eric S. (October 11, 1996). The New Hacker's Dictionary. ISBN 0-262-68092-0.
  5. ^ "Man Against the FUD". Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  6. ^ Leonard, Andrew (April 1998). "Let my software go!". Salon.com. San Francisco: Salon Media Group. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  7. ^ "CML2, ESR, & The LKML". KernelTrap. February 17, 2002.
  8. ^ McMillan, Rob. "Interview: Eric Raymond goes back to basics". IBM developerWorks.
  9. ^ Harmon, Amy (November 3, 1998). "Internal Memo Shows Microsoft Executives' Concern Over Free Software". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "The Original Hacker's Dictionary". dourish.com. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  11. ^ "GPSD – Summary". savannah.nongnu.org. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  12. ^ "People at Gna!: Eric S. Raymond Profile". Gna.org. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  13. ^ Raymond, Eric S. (October 1, 2008). "Why I Hate Proprietary Software". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  14. ^ Greenstein, Shane (January 2012). "The Range of Linus' Law" (PDF). IEEE Micro. No. Volume 32, Issue 1. IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved August 28, 2014. {{cite news}}: |issue= has extra text (help)
  15. ^ Raymond, Eric S. (1999). The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 1-56592-724-9.
  16. ^ Suarez-Potts, Louis (2001). "Interview: Frank Hecker". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  17. ^ Moody, Glyn (July 25, 2002). Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution. Basic Books. ISBN 0-7382-0670-9.
  18. ^ Raymond, Eric S. (2000). "Afterword: Beyond Software?". Retrieved July 24, 2007.
  19. ^ Raymond, Eric S. (July 28, 1999). 28, 1999-023-10-NW-SM "Shut Up And Show Them The Code". Linux Today. Retrieved November 23, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  20. ^ Raymond, Eric S. (January 31, 2005). "Open Source Initiative (OSI) Announces expanded programs, counsel, AND board". Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  21. ^ Richard Stallman, Free Software, and Copyleft 2011
  22. ^ Raymond, Eric (August 23, 2012). "Defense Distributed". Armed and Dangerous. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  23. ^ Kopstein, Joshua (April 12, 2013). "Guns want to be free: what happens when 3D printing and crypto-anarchy collide?". The Verge.

External links

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