Adele Goldberg (computer scientist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dr. Adele Goldberg
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Dr. Adele Goldberg at Python Conference (PyCon) 2007
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| Born | July 22, 1945 |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan University of Chicago |
| Known for | Smalltalk System |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | Xerox PARC, Association for Computing Machinery, Stanford University |
| Thesis | Computer-Assisted Instruction: The Application of Theorem-proving to Adaptive Response Analysis (1973) |
Adele Goldberg (born July 22, 1945) is an American computer scientist. She helped create Smalltalk-80, a special computer language. Smalltalk made programming easier and influenced languages like Python and Java. She also developed ideas for object-oriented programming. This happened while she worked at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in the 1970s.
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Early Life and Learning
Adele Goldberg was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 22, 1945. Her family moved to Chicago, Illinois, when she was 11. She loved problem solving and math from a young age. Her teachers encouraged her to study mathematics.
In 1963, Goldberg started at the University of Michigan. She found it hard to adapt to college life at first. Math and science gave her a way to focus on her studies. She earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1967.
Goldberg worked as an intern at IBM during college. There, she learned how to program early computer machines. After graduating, she went to the University of Chicago. She earned her master's degree in 1969 and her PhD in 1973. Her PhD was in information science. She also worked as a researcher at Stanford University. After her PhD, she taught briefly in Brazil. Then, in 1973, she joined Xerox PARC.
Career Highlights
Working at Xerox PARC
Goldberg started at PARC in 1973. She became a manager in the System Concepts Laboratory. There, she, Alan Kay, and others created the Smalltalk-80 programming language. Smalltalk-80 used an "object-oriented" way of programming. It also introduced a new computer screen with windows that overlapped. This was a big step for personal computers. Smalltalk aimed for computers that were portable and could connect to networks.
Smalltalk was easy to use and change. You could move parts of programs between different applications. Goldberg and Kay also worked on design templates. These were early versions of design patterns used in software today. Smalltalk took ideas from an older language called Simula. Smalltalk 72, an early version, had simple animations and music. Adele and her team worked with Douglas Engelbart, who invented the computer mouse. They wanted to use the mouse with Smalltalk to make it easier to use.
Sharing the Vision
In 1976, Goldberg and Kay wrote an important article. It was called "Personal Dynamic Media." This paper imagined a future where everyone would use small notebook computers. These computers would help people share and change media. This idea was the vision for the Dynabook. She believed in a small device that could be carried anywhere. It would give out information in many ways, better than newspapers.
Adele was very passionate about Smalltalk. She spent a lot of time promoting it. In 1981, BYTE magazine featured Smalltalk. She helped write an article to introduce object-oriented programming to the world.
Smalltalk's Influence on Apple
Many ideas from Goldberg's team at PARC led to graphical user interfaces (GUIs). These are the visual ways we interact with computers today. Steve Jobs of Apple wanted to see the Smalltalk System. Goldberg first said no, but her bosses told her to show it. Apple then used many ideas from the Xerox Alto and Smalltalk. These ideas became the basis for the Apple Macintosh desktop environment.
Steve Jobs saw an early version of Smalltalk (Model 76). He quickly used its ideas for Apple's new computer, the Macintosh. This led to a famous commercial in 1984 during the Super Bowl. The commercial showed how important GUIs were for making computers simple to use.
Later Career and Leadership
From 1984 to 1986, Adele Goldberg was President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). She also received the 1987 ACM Software Systems Award. She shared this award with her colleagues Ingalls and Kay for their work on Smalltalk.
In 1988, Goldberg left PARC. She cofounded ParcPlace Systems. This company made tools for Smalltalk programs. She was the chairwoman and CEO until 1995. Her work at PARC is the foundation for today's graphical user interfaces. These replaced older systems that used only text commands. She also cofounded Neometron, Inc. in 1999. She continues to teach computer science courses. She is also an adviser at Cognito Learning Media, which makes science education software.
Impact on Programming
One of Goldberg’s biggest impacts was helping to develop object-oriented programming (OOP). This way of programming is now a basic part of making software. Before Smalltalk-80, programming was often rigid. Goldberg's work helped make OOP a more flexible way to build software.
Smalltalk-80 introduced key ideas:
- Objects are like self-contained units of code.
- Message passing is how objects talk to each other.
- Dynamic memory allocation means programs can get memory as needed.
These ideas have influenced almost all modern programming languages. Languages like Java, Python, C++, and Ruby use these OOP principles. Java, for example, uses Smalltalk's ideas for how objects work. Python's class structure shows the modularity that Goldberg supported.
Smalltalk's interactive development environment also set the stage for modern integrated development environments (IDEs). These are tools that help programmers write code. Features like real-time debugging and live code execution are now standard. These tools help programmers work faster and more efficiently.
Smalltalk also influenced how software is designed. Goldberg's work helped create best practices in software design. An example is the Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework. MVC is widely used in web development today.
Smalltalk also introduced "just-in-time" (JIT) compilation. This technique helps programs run faster. It is now a key part of modern virtual machines, like the Java Virtual Machine. Goldberg’s work has also played a role in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Many AI tools use object-oriented principles to manage complex data.
Awards and Recognition
Adele Goldberg has received many awards for her work. She was president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) from 1984 to 1986. In 1987, she, Alan Kay, and Dan Ingalls received the ACM Software Systems Award. Forbes magazine also named her one of "Twenty Who Matter."
In 1994, she became a Fellow of the ACM. She received PC Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. In 2002, she shared the Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming Award with Dan Ingalls. She was inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame in 2010. She also received honorary doctorates from the Open University and the University of Michigan. In 2021, she received the University of Chicago Alumni Professional Achievement Award.
The Computer History Museum (CHM) has many of Goldberg's documents and videos. These are related to her work on Smalltalk. In 2022, she and Dan Ingalls became Fellows of the CHM. This was for their work on Smalltalk and for helping computers be used in education.
Why Her Work Matters Today
Even though Smalltalk-80 is not widely used today, its ideas still shape modern computing. The concepts of object-oriented programming and interactive development environments were started by Goldberg. These ideas are now used in almost all major programming languages. Her work goes beyond just programming languages. OOP is now the main way to build complex software systems. This makes it easier for developers to create programs that can grow and be maintained.
You can see Smalltalk's influence in many industry standards. This includes Java's virtual machine and Python's flexibility. Also, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), first developed with Smalltalk, are key to modern computing. This includes everything from desktop apps to mobile phones. The fact that software is so easy to use today comes from the innovations Goldberg helped create at Xerox PARC.
Goldberg’s work has also impacted education. Smalltalk was one of the first languages made for learning and teaching. Its influence can be seen in modern educational coding tools like Scratch. Scratch teaches kids coding using a visual, block-based approach. This approach is inspired by Smalltalk's visual and object-oriented ideas. This means new generations of programmers still benefit from her work.
Finally, with the growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning, object-oriented principles are more important than ever. AI tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch use modular code structures. This is similar to the approach pioneered in Smalltalk. As software keeps changing, Goldberg’s contributions remain a basic part of how we use and create technology today.
Images for kids
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Dr. Adele Goldberg at Python Conference (PyCon) 2007
External links
- Some of Goldberg's publications at ResearchGate
See also
In Spanish: Adele Goldberg para niños
