Andries Brouwer
Encyclopedia
Andries Evert Brouwer is a Dutch
mathematician and computer programmer, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology
(TU/e). His varied research interests include several branches of discrete mathematics
, particularly graph theory
and coding theory
. Brouwer is known as the creator of the greatly expanded 1984–5 versions of the roguelike
computer game Hack that formed the basis for NetHack
. He is also a Linux kernel
hacker.
Brouwer received his Ph.D.
in mathematics in 1976 from Vrije Universiteit
under the supervision of Maarten Maurice and Pieter Baayen, both of whom were in turn students of Johannes De Groot
. He has published dozens of papers in graph theory and other areas of combinatorics
, many of them in collaboration with other researchers. His co-authors include at least 9 of the co-authors of Paul Erdős
, giving him an Erdős number
of 2.
In December 1984, while at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), he made the first public release of Hack on Usenet
. Hack was an implementation of Rogue
originally written in 1982 by Jay Fenlason and a few others, but Brouwer heavily modified and expanded it. He distributed a total of four versions of Hack between December 1984 and July 1985. The source code
was released as free software
, and it was widely copied, played, and ported
to multiple computer platforms. When Mike Stephenson brought together a large development team via Usenet to produce an enhanced version in 1987 incorporating changes from many of the Hack derivatives, they respected Brouwer's wishes by renaming their game NetHack, as Brouwer might "...eventually release a new version of his own."
Brouwer has also been involved with the development of Unix-like
computer operating system
s based on the Linux kernel. He was previously the maintainer
of the man pager program
. Brouwer also serves as specialist in security aspects of Unix and Linux for EiPSI (Eindhoven Institute for the Protection of Systems and Information), TU/e's information security
research institute.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
mathematician and computer programmer, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology
Eindhoven University of Technology
The ' is a university of technology located in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The motto of the university is: Mens agitat molem . The university was the second of its kind in the Netherlands, only Delft University of Technology existed previously. Until mid-1980 it was known as the...
(TU/e). His varied research interests include several branches of discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather than continuous. In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not...
, particularly graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
and coding theory
Coding theory
Coding theory is the study of the properties of codes and their fitness for a specific application. Codes are used for data compression, cryptography, error-correction and more recently also for network coding...
. Brouwer is known as the creator of the greatly expanded 1984–5 versions of the roguelike
Roguelike
The roguelike is a sub-genre of role-playing video games, characterized by randomization for replayability, permanent death, and turn-based movement. Most roguelikes feature ASCII graphics, with newer ones increasingly offering tile-based graphics. Games are typically dungeon crawls, with many...
computer game Hack that formed the basis for NetHack
NetHack
NetHack is a single-player roguelike video game originally released in 1987. It is a descendant of an earlier game called Hack , which is a descendant of Rogue...
. He is also a Linux kernel
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
hacker.
Brouwer received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in mathematics in 1976 from Vrije Universiteit
Vrije Universiteit
The Vrije Universiteit is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch name is often abbreviated as VU and in English the university uses the name "VU University". The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern part of Amsterdam in the Buitenveldert district...
under the supervision of Maarten Maurice and Pieter Baayen, both of whom were in turn students of Johannes De Groot
Johannes De Groot
Johannes de Groot was a Dutch mathematician, the leading Dutch topologist for more than two decades following World War II.-Biography:...
. He has published dozens of papers in graph theory and other areas of combinatorics
Combinatorics
Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite or countable discrete structures. Aspects of combinatorics include counting the structures of a given kind and size , deciding when certain criteria can be met, and constructing and analyzing objects meeting the criteria ,...
, many of them in collaboration with other researchers. His co-authors include at least 9 of the co-authors of Paul Erdős
Paul Erdos
Paul Erdős was a Hungarian mathematician. Erdős published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. He worked on problems in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, classical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory...
, giving him an Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
of 2.
In December 1984, while at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), he made the first public release of Hack on Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
. Hack was an implementation of Rogue
Rogue (computer game)
Rogue is a dungeon crawling video game first developed by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman around 1980. It was a favorite on college Unix systems in the early to mid-1980s, in part due to the procedural generation of game content. Rogue popularized dungeon crawling as a video game trope, leading...
originally written in 1982 by Jay Fenlason and a few others, but Brouwer heavily modified and expanded it. He distributed a total of four versions of Hack between December 1984 and July 1985. The source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
was released as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, and it was widely copied, played, and ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to multiple computer platforms. When Mike Stephenson brought together a large development team via Usenet to produce an enhanced version in 1987 incorporating changes from many of the Hack derivatives, they respected Brouwer's wishes by renaming their game NetHack, as Brouwer might "...eventually release a new version of his own."
Brouwer has also been involved with the development of Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
computer 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...
s based on the Linux kernel. He was previously the maintainer
Software maintainer
In free and open source software, a software maintainer is usually one or more people who build source code into a binary package for distribution, commit patches, or organize code in a source repository....
of the man pager program
man, and he is a kernel maintainer in the areas of disk geometry and partition handlingDisk partitioning
Disk partitioning is the act of dividing a hard disk drive into multiple logical storage units referred to as partitions, to treat one physical disk drive as if it were multiple disks. Partitions are also termed "slices" for operating systems based on BSD, Solaris or GNU Hurd...
. Brouwer also serves as specialist in security aspects of Unix and Linux for EiPSI (Eindhoven Institute for the Protection of Systems and Information), TU/e's information security
Information security
Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
research institute.