Rebecca Wirfs-Brock
Encyclopedia
Rebecca J. Wirfs-Brock (born 1953 in Portland
, Oregon
) is an author and consultant in object-oriented programming
and object-oriented design, the founder of the information technology
consulting firm Wirfs-Brock Associates, and inventor of Responsibility-Driven Design
, the first behavioral approach to object design.
Wirfs-Brock first coined the "-driven" meme in an OOPSLA 1989 paper she co-authored with Brian Wilkerson. Before that time, the most prevalent way of structuring objects was based on entity-relationship model
ing ideas (popularized by James Rumbaugh
, Steve Mellor
and Sally Shlaer
).
She wrote about object role stereotypes in 1992 in a Smalltalk
Report article and this influenced the UML
notion of stereotypes. Her invention of the conversational (two-column) form of use case
s that was then popularized by Larry Constantine
. Most of the more recent "driven" design approaches acknowledge their roots and the influence of RDD, of which Class-responsibility-collaboration card
s are one popular technique. She was the Design Columnist for IEEE Software
until December 2009.
Wirfs-Brock holds a B.A. in Computer Science and Psychology from the University of Oregon
. She worked at Tektronix
for 15 years as a software engineer before moving on to Instantiations (founded by her husband Allen Wirfs-Brock), which was acquired by Digitalk which merged with Parc Place Systems
to become ParcPlace-Digitalk in 1995. She was the Chief Technologist for the professional services organization of a Smalltalk
language vendor.
She holds a U.S. Patent #4,635,049 "Apparatus for Presenting Image Information for Display Graphically" together with Warren Dodge.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
) is an author and consultant in object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
and object-oriented design, the founder of the information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
consulting firm Wirfs-Brock Associates, and inventor of Responsibility-Driven Design
Responsibility-driven design
Responsibility-driven design is a design technique in Object-oriented programming. It was proposed by Rebecca Wirfs-Brock and Brian Wilkerson who defined it as follows:Responsibility-driven design is inspired by the client/server model...
, the first behavioral approach to object design.
Wirfs-Brock first coined the "-driven" meme in an OOPSLA 1989 paper she co-authored with Brian Wilkerson. Before that time, the most prevalent way of structuring objects was based on entity-relationship model
Entity-relationship model
In software engineering, an entity-relationship model is an abstract and conceptual representation of data. Entity-relationship modeling is a database modeling method, used to produce a type of conceptual schema or semantic data model of a system, often a relational database, and its requirements...
ing ideas (popularized by James Rumbaugh
James Rumbaugh
James E. Rumbaugh is an American computer scientist and object methodologist who is best known for his work in creating the Object Modeling Technique and the Unified Modeling Language .- Biography :...
, Steve Mellor
Stephen J. Mellor
Stephen J. Mellor is a computer scientist, developer of the Shlaer-Mellor method and signatory to the Agile Manifesto.Together with Sally Shlaer he founded Project Technology in 1985. That company was acquired by Mentor Graphics in 2004....
and Sally Shlaer
Sally Shlaer
Sally Shlaer was the co-author of the Shlaer-Mellor approach to software development and co-founder of Project Technology Inc.With Stephen J. Mellor, she founded Project Technology Inc. in 1985, with the goal of making software development a rational, controllable, predictable, engineering process...
).
She wrote about object role stereotypes in 1992 in a Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
Report article and this influenced the UML
Unified Modeling Language
Unified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
notion of stereotypes. Her invention of the conversational (two-column) form of use case
Use case
In software engineering and systems engineering, a use case is a description of steps or actions between a user and a software system which leads the user towards something useful...
s that was then popularized by Larry Constantine
Larry Constantine
Larry LeRoy Constantine is an American software engineer and professor in the Mathematics and Engineering Department at the University of Madeira Portugal, who is considered one of the pioneers of computing...
. Most of the more recent "driven" design approaches acknowledge their roots and the influence of RDD, of which Class-responsibility-collaboration card
Class-Responsibility-Collaboration card
Class Responsibility Collaboration cards are a brainstorming tool used in the design of object-oriented software. They were proposed by Ward Cunningham and Kent Beck....
s are one popular technique. She was the Design Columnist for IEEE Software
IEEE Software
IEEE Software is a broad-based practitioner-oriented magazine of IEEE Computer Society targeting software professionals, including business analysts, requirements engineers, designers, architects, developers, process improvement experts, testers, quality engineers, and project managers...
until December 2009.
Wirfs-Brock holds a B.A. in Computer Science and Psychology from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. She worked at Tektronix
Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc. is an American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. In November 2007, Tektronix became a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....
for 15 years as a software engineer before moving on to Instantiations (founded by her husband Allen Wirfs-Brock), which was acquired by Digitalk which merged with Parc Place Systems
Parc Place Systems
Software spinoff from Xerox PARC, founded to commercialize the Smalltalk programming language and related technology.- Timeline of ParcPlace Systems :1989 - Founded by Adele Goldberg and others from PARC...
to become ParcPlace-Digitalk in 1995. She was the Chief Technologist for the professional services organization of a Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
language vendor.
She holds a U.S. Patent #4,635,049 "Apparatus for Presenting Image Information for Display Graphically" together with Warren Dodge.