Richard Greenblatt (programmer)
Encyclopedia
Richard D. Greenblatt is an American computer programmer. Along with Bill Gosper
, he may be considered to have founded the hacker community, and holds a place of distinction in the Lisp
and the MIT AI Lab communities.
in the fall of 1962, and around his second term as an undergraduate student, he found his way to MIT's famous Tech Model Railroad Club
. At that time, Peter Samson
had written a program in Fortran
for the IBM 709 series machines, to automate the tedious business of writing the intricate timetables for the Railroad Club's vast model train layout. Greenblatt felt compelled to implement a Fortran compiler for the PDP-1, which did not have one at the time. There was no computer time available to debug the compiler, or even to type it in to the computer. Years later, elements of this compiler (combined with some ideas from fellow TMRC member Steven Piner, the author of a very early PDP-4 Fortran compiler while working for Digital Equipment Corporation) were typed in and "showed signs of life". However, the perceived need for a Fortran compiler had evaporated by then, so the compiler was not pursued further. This and other experiences at TMRC, especially the influence of Alan Kotok
, who worked at DEC and was the junior partner of the design team for the PDP-6 computer, led Greenblatt to the AI Lab, where he proceeded to become a "hacker's hacker" noted for his programming acumen as described in Steven Levy
's Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
, and as acknowledged by Gerald Jay Sussman
and Harold Abelson when they said they were fortunate to have been apprentice programmers at the feet of Bill Gosper
and Richard Greenblatt
Indeed, he spent so much time programming the PDP machines there he failed out of MIT as a first-term junior and had to take a job at the Charles Adams Associates firm until the AI Lab hired him about 6 months later.
on the PDP-6
. He wrote Mac Hack, the first computer program to play tournament-level chess and the first to compete in a human chess tournament. AI skeptic Hubert Dreyfus
, who famously made the claim that computers would not be able to play high quality chess, was beaten by the program, marking the beginning of "respectable" computer chess
performances. In 1977, unbeaten chess champion Bobby Fischer
played three games in Cambridge, Massachusetts
against Greenblatt's computer program, and Fischer won all of them. Greenblatt, along with Tom Knight and Stewart Nelson
, co-wrote the Incompatible Timesharing System
, a highly influential timesharing
operating system for the PDP-6
and PDP-10
used at MIT.
. He founded Lisp Machines, Inc.
(which later became Gigamos Systems
), according to his vision of an ideal hacker-friendly computer company, as opposed to the more commercial ideals of Symbolics
.
Bill Gosper
Ralph William Gosper, Jr. , known as Bill Gosper, is an American mathematician and programmer from Pennsauken Township, New Jersey...
, he may be considered to have founded the hacker community, and holds a place of distinction in the Lisp
Lisp programming language
Lisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older...
and the MIT AI Lab communities.
Childhood
He was born in Portland, Oregon on December 25, 1944. His family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when he was a child. He later moved to Columbia, Missouri with his mother and sister when his parents divorced.Becoming a hacker
Greenblatt enrolled in MITMassachusetts 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 the fall of 1962, and around his second term as an undergraduate student, he found his way to MIT's famous Tech Model Railroad Club
Tech Model Railroad Club
The Tech Model Railroad Club is a student organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , and one of the most celebrated model railroad clubs in the world, because of its historic role as a wellspring of hacker culture...
. At that time, Peter Samson
Peter Samson
Peter R. Samson is an American computer scientist, best known for creating pioneering computer software....
had written a program in Fortran
Fortran
Fortran is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative programming language that is especially suited to numeric computation and scientific computing...
for the IBM 709 series machines, to automate the tedious business of writing the intricate timetables for the Railroad Club's vast model train layout. Greenblatt felt compelled to implement a Fortran compiler for the PDP-1, which did not have one at the time. There was no computer time available to debug the compiler, or even to type it in to the computer. Years later, elements of this compiler (combined with some ideas from fellow TMRC member Steven Piner, the author of a very early PDP-4 Fortran compiler while working for Digital Equipment Corporation) were typed in and "showed signs of life". However, the perceived need for a Fortran compiler had evaporated by then, so the compiler was not pursued further. This and other experiences at TMRC, especially the influence of Alan Kotok
Alan Kotok
Alan Kotok was an American computer scientist known for his work at Digital Equipment Corporation and at the World Wide Web Consortium...
, who worked at DEC and was the junior partner of the design team for the PDP-6 computer, led Greenblatt to the AI Lab, where he proceeded to become a "hacker's hacker" noted for his programming acumen as described in Steven Levy
Steven Levy
Steven Levy is an American journalist who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy.-Career:...
's Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is a book by Steven Levy about hacker culture. It was published in 1984 in Garden City, New York by Anchor Press/Doubleday...
, and as acknowledged by Gerald Jay Sussman
Gerald Jay Sussman
Gerald Jay Sussman is the Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He received his S.B. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from MIT in 1968 and 1973 respectively. He has been involved in artificial intelligence research at MIT since 1964...
and Harold Abelson when they said they were fortunate to have been apprentice programmers at the feet of Bill Gosper
Bill Gosper
Ralph William Gosper, Jr. , known as Bill Gosper, is an American mathematician and programmer from Pennsauken Township, New Jersey...
and Richard Greenblatt
Indeed, he spent so much time programming the PDP machines there he failed out of MIT as a first-term junior and had to take a job at the Charles Adams Associates firm until the AI Lab hired him about 6 months later.
Significant software developed
He was the main implementor of MaclispMaclisp
MACLISP is a dialect of the Lisp programming language. It originated at MIT's Project MAC in the late 1960s and was based on Lisp 1.5. Richard Greenblatt was the main developer of the original codebase for the PDP-6; Jonl White was responsible for its later maintenance and development...
on the PDP-6
PDP-6
The PDP-6 was a computer model developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1963. It was influential primarily as the prototype for the later PDP-10; the instruction sets of the two machines are almost identical.The PDP-6 was DEC's first "big" machine...
. He wrote Mac Hack, the first computer program to play tournament-level chess and the first to compete in a human chess tournament. AI skeptic Hubert Dreyfus
Hubert Dreyfus
Hubert Lederer Dreyfus is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley....
, who famously made the claim that computers would not be able to play high quality chess, was beaten by the program, marking the beginning of "respectable" computer chess
Computer chess
Computer chess is computer architecture encompassing hardware and software capable of playing chess autonomously without human guidance. Computer chess acts as solo entertainment , as aids to chess analysis, for computer chess competitions, and as research to provide insights into human...
performances. In 1977, unbeaten chess champion Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
played three games in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
against Greenblatt's computer program, and Fischer won all of them. Greenblatt, along with Tom Knight and Stewart Nelson
Stewart Nelson
Stewart Nelson is an American mathematician and programmer from the Bronx who co-founded Systems Concepts.From a young age, Nelson was tinkering with electronics, aided and abetted by his physicist/engineer father...
, co-wrote the Incompatible Timesharing System
Incompatible Timesharing System
ITS, the Incompatible Timesharing System , was an early, revolutionary, and influential time-sharing operating system from MIT; it was developed principally by the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, with some help from Project MAC.In addition to being technically influential ITS, the...
, a highly influential timesharing
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 for the PDP-6
PDP-6
The PDP-6 was a computer model developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1963. It was influential primarily as the prototype for the later PDP-10; the instruction sets of the two machines are almost identical.The PDP-6 was DEC's first "big" machine...
and PDP-10
PDP-10
The PDP-10 was a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from the late 1960s on; the name stands for "Programmed Data Processor model 10". The first model was delivered in 1966...
used at MIT.
Lisp Machines, Inc.
Later, he and Tom Knight were the main designers of the MIT Lisp machineLisp machine
Lisp machines were general-purpose computers designed to efficiently run Lisp as their main software language. In a sense, they were the first commercial single-user workstations...
. He founded Lisp Machines, Inc.
Lisp Machines
Lisp Machines, Inc. was a company formed in 1979 by Richard Greenblatt of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to build Lisp machines. It was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
(which later became Gigamos Systems
Lisp Machines
Lisp Machines, Inc. was a company formed in 1979 by Richard Greenblatt of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to build Lisp machines. It was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
), according to his vision of an ideal hacker-friendly computer company, as opposed to the more commercial ideals of Symbolics
Symbolics
Symbolics refers to two companies: now-defunct computer manufacturer Symbolics, Inc., and a privately held company that acquired the assets of the former company and continues to sell and maintain the Open Genera Lisp system and the Macsyma computer algebra system.The symbolics.com domain was...
.