Jerome H. Saltzer
Encyclopedia
Jerome H. Saltzer is a computer scientist
who has made many notable contributions.
from MIT
in 1966. Starting in 1966, he was a faculty member of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.
One of his earliest involvements with computers was with MIT's CTSS time-sharing
operating system
in the early 1960s.
In the later 1960s and early 1970s, he was one of the team leaders of the Multics
operating system project. Multics, though not particularly commercially successful in itself, has had a major impact on all subsequent operating systems; in particular, it was an inspiration for Ken Thompson to develop Unix
. His contributions to Multics included the now-standard kernel stack switching method of process switching, as well as often-cited work on the security architecture for shared information systems.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the research group he led, the Computers Systems Research group of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, was one of the key players in the development of the Internet
, and ring network technology for local area network
s. One of his notable accomplishments was a key patent used by the Proteon ProNet ring network. Perhaps his most notable contribution in that area was his contribution to the End-to-end principle
in systems design, which is one of the important underlying principles that governs the operation of the Internet.
From 1984 through 1988 he served as Technical Director of MIT Project Athena
. Saltzer@mit.edu is one of the few Athena usernames with a capital letter, and legend has it that several special case hacks were required to support this functionality. In September 1995 he retired from his full-time faculty position, but continued writing and teaching part-time at MIT.
of the paintings of the painter Frederick Ferdinand Schafer.
Additionally, while technical director of Project Athena
, he was supportive of the development of the X Window System
, an open windowing system, still used and developed to this day on Linux and UNIX.
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....
who has made many notable contributions.
Career
He received an Sc. D in Electrical EngineeringElectrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1966. Starting in 1966, he was a faculty member of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.
One of his earliest involvements with computers was with MIT's CTSS time-sharing
Time-sharing
Time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking. Its introduction in the 1960s, and emergence as the prominent model of computing in the 1970s, represents a major technological shift in the history of computing.By allowing a large...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
in the early 1960s.
In the later 1960s and early 1970s, he was one of the team leaders of the Multics
Multics
Multics was an influential early time-sharing operating system. The project was started in 1964 in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
operating system project. Multics, though not particularly commercially successful in itself, has had a major impact on all subsequent operating systems; in particular, it was an inspiration for Ken Thompson to develop Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
. His contributions to Multics included the now-standard kernel stack switching method of process switching, as well as often-cited work on the security architecture for shared information systems.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the research group he led, the Computers Systems Research group of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, was one of the key players in the development of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and ring network technology for local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
s. One of his notable accomplishments was a key patent used by the Proteon ProNet ring network. Perhaps his most notable contribution in that area was his contribution to the End-to-end principle
End-to-end principle
The end-to-end principle is a classic design principle of computer networking which states that application specific functions ought to reside in the end hosts of a network rather than in intermediary nodes, provided they can be implemented "completely and correctly" in the end hosts...
in systems design, which is one of the important underlying principles that governs the operation of the Internet.
From 1984 through 1988 he served as Technical Director of MIT Project Athena
Project Athena
Project Athena was a joint project of MIT, Digital Equipment Corporation, and IBM to produce a campus-wide distributed computing environment for educational use. It was launched in 1983, and research and development ran until June 30, 1991, eight years after it began...
. Saltzer@mit.edu is one of the few Athena usernames with a capital letter, and legend has it that several special case hacks were required to support this functionality. In September 1995 he retired from his full-time faculty position, but continued writing and teaching part-time at MIT.
Pedagogical influence
He has had significant impact on the development of computer systems through the influence of a legion of students, both graduate students, as well as undergraduates who took his famous MIT course in information systems, 6.033.Family
He is known to all (colleagues, students, friends and family) as "Jerry". In 1961 he married Marlys Anne Hughes. They have three children: Rebecca (born 1962), Sarah (born 1963), and Mark (born 1967). He has two grandchildren: Hannah(born 1997), and Caroline(born 1999), both born to Sarah.Other interests
He is also very interested in 19th century landscape art of the western United States; he has prepared the catalogue raisonnéCatalogue raisonné
The typical catalogue raisonné is a monograph giving a comprehensive catalogue of artworks by an artist.The essential elements of a catalogue raisonné are that it purports to be an exhaustive list of works for a defined subject matter describing the works in a way so that they may be reliably...
of the paintings of the painter Frederick Ferdinand Schafer.
Software
Saltzer has been a designer or the inspiration for a number of important pieces of systems software, which are either still in use or have descendants still being used today.- RUNOFFRUNOFFRUNOFF was the first computer text formatting program to see significant use. It was written in 1964 for the CTSS operating system by Jerome H. Saltzer in MAD assembler....
, a very early text-formatting program which was the basis for RoffRoffroff was the first Unix text-formatting computer program, the most important application run on the first machine specifically purchased to run UNIX, and a predecessor of the nroff and troff document processing systems....
and NroffNroffnroff is a Unix text-formatting program; it produces output suitable for simple fixed-width printers and terminal windows...
. - PC/IP, the first TCP/IP stack for the IBM PC, which became the basis for a company called FTP SoftwareFTP SoftwareFTP Software was a software company incorporated in 1986 by James van Bokkelen, John Romkey , Nancy Connor, Roxanne van Bokkelen , Dave Bridgham and several other founding shareholders. It was the first of many companies to name themselves after an Internet protocol...
. - Kerberos, an authentication protocol, part of Project AthenaProject AthenaProject Athena was a joint project of MIT, Digital Equipment Corporation, and IBM to produce a campus-wide distributed computing environment for educational use. It was launched in 1983, and research and development ran until June 30, 1991, eight years after it began...
, still used today.
Additionally, while technical director of Project Athena
Project Athena
Project Athena was a joint project of MIT, Digital Equipment Corporation, and IBM to produce a campus-wide distributed computing environment for educational use. It was launched in 1983, and research and development ran until June 30, 1991, eight years after it began...
, he was supportive of the development of the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
, an open windowing system, still used and developed to this day on Linux and UNIX.
External links
- Jerome H. Saltzer. System for regenerating a data word on a communications ring. United States Patent 4,438,520. LCS/TM-202, December, 1981.
- Jerome H. Saltzer's home page