Mark Davis (Unicode)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mark E. Davis is a co-founder of Unicode, Inc registered in the State of California, U.S.A. on 4th January 1991, and has been leading the company since then as the president that started Unicode
project.
He is one of the key technical contributors to the Unicode
specifications, being the primary author or co-author of the Bi-directional
Algorithm (used worldwide to display Arabic and Hebrew text), Collation
(used for sorting and searching), Normalization, Scripts, Text segmentation
, Identifiers, Regular Expressions, Compression
, Character Conversion, and Security
.
Mark founded and was responsible for the overall architecture of ICU
(the premier Unicode software internationalization library), and designed the core of the Java internationalization classes. He also founded and is the chair of the Unicode CLDR project, and is a co-author of BCP 47 "Tags for Identifying Languages" (RFC 4646 and RFC 5646), used for identifying languages in all XML
and HTML
documents.
Since the start of 2006, Mark has been working on software internationalization at Google
, focusing on effective and secure use of Unicode
(especially in the index and search pipeline), overall improvement and adoption of the software internationalization libraries (including ICU), and the introduction and maintenance of stable identifiers for languages, scripts, regions, timezones, and currencies.
Mark has specialized in internationalization
and text software for many years. After getting his doctorate from Stanford University
, he worked in Switzerland for several years, then returned to California to join Apple, where he co-authored the Macintosh KanjiTalk
and Script Manager, and authored the Macintosh Arabic and Hebrew systems. He also worked on parts of the Mac OS, including contributions to the design of TrueType
. Later, he was the manager and architect for the Taligent
international frameworks, and was then the architect for a large part of the Java international libraries. At IBM
, he was the Chief Software Globalization Architect. He is the author of a number of patents, primarily in internationalization. At various times he has also managed groups or departments covering text, internationalization, operating system services, porting, and technical communications.
Currently he is employed by Google
.
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
project.
He is one of the key technical contributors to the Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
specifications, being the primary author or co-author of the Bi-directional
Bi-directional text
Bi-directional text is text containing text in both text directionalities, both right-to-left and left-to-right . It generally involves text containing different types of alphabets, but may also refer to boustrophedon, which is changing text directionality in each row.Some writing systems of the...
Algorithm (used worldwide to display Arabic and Hebrew text), Collation
Collation
Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. One common type of collation is called alphabetization, though collation is not limited to ordering letters of the alphabet...
(used for sorting and searching), Normalization, Scripts, Text segmentation
Text segmentation
Text segmentation is the process of dividing written text into meaningful units, such as words, sentences, or topics. The term applies both to mental processes used by humans when reading text, and to artificial processes implemented in computers, which are the subject of natural language processing...
, Identifiers, Regular Expressions, Compression
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
, Character Conversion, and Security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
.
Mark founded and was responsible for the overall architecture of ICU
International Components for Unicode
International Components for Unicode is an open source project of mature C/C++ and Java libraries for Unicode support, software internationalization and software globalization. ICU is widely portable to many operating systems and environments. It gives applications the same results on all...
(the premier Unicode software internationalization library), and designed the core of the Java internationalization classes. He also founded and is the chair of the Unicode CLDR project, and is a co-author of BCP 47 "Tags for Identifying Languages" (RFC 4646 and RFC 5646), used for identifying languages in all XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
and HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
documents.
Since the start of 2006, Mark has been working on software internationalization at Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, focusing on effective and secure use of Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
(especially in the index and search pipeline), overall improvement and adoption of the software internationalization libraries (including ICU), and the introduction and maintenance of stable identifiers for languages, scripts, regions, timezones, and currencies.
Mark has specialized in internationalization
Internationalization
In economics, internationalization has been viewed as a process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization or international entrepreneurship...
and text software for many years. After getting his doctorate from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, he worked in Switzerland for several years, then returned to California to join Apple, where he co-authored the Macintosh KanjiTalk
KanjiTalk
KanjiTalk was the name given by Apple to its Japanese language localization of Mac OS. It consisted of translated applications, a set of Japanese fonts, and a Japanese input method called Kotoeri. The software was sold and supported only in Japan...
and Script Manager, and authored the Macintosh Arabic and Hebrew systems. He also worked on parts of the Mac OS, including contributions to the design of TrueType
TrueType
TrueType is an outline font standard originally developed by Apple Computer in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe's Type 1 fonts used in PostScript...
. Later, he was the manager and architect for the Taligent
Taligent
Taligent was the name of an object-oriented operating system and the company dedicated to producing it...
international frameworks, and was then the architect for a large part of the Java international libraries. At IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, he was the Chief Software Globalization Architect. He is the author of a number of patents, primarily in internationalization. At various times he has also managed groups or departments covering text, internationalization, operating system services, porting, and technical communications.
Currently he is employed by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.