Brian Randell
Encyclopedia
Brian Randell is a British
computer scientist
, and Emeritus Professor at the School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, U.K. He specializes in research in software fault tolerance and dependability
, and is a noted authority on the early prior to 1950 history of computers.
from 1957 to 1964 where he was working on compiler
s. His work on Algol 60
is particularly known, including the development of a compiler for the English Electric KDF9
, an early stack machine. . In 1964 he joined IBM
, where he worked at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
on high performance computer architecture
s and also on operating system
design methodology. In May 1969 he became a Professor of Computing Science at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he has been working ever since in the area of software fault tolerance and dependability
.
He is a member of the Special Interest Group on Computers, Information and Society (SIGCIS) of the Society for the History of Technology CIS, and a founder member of the Editorial Board of the Annals: the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
journal. He was also a founder-member of IFIP WG2.3 Programming Methodology, and is a founder-member of IFIP WG10.4 about Dependability and Fault Tolerance. He is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
(2008).
He is married (to Liz, a teacher of French) and has four children
. This was over thirty years ago, when he was preparing an inaugural lecture, and led on to producing the book "The Origins of Computers". This triggered him to further investigate the Colossus wartime code-breaking machines".
, at the time he was working at IBM in the very secret Project Y and then ACS super-computer projects.
, the web portal for Genealogy
in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He maintains the pages relating to the county of Devon
, and has transcribed and made available online many documents of genealogical interest.
Articles
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
, and Emeritus Professor at the School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, U.K. He specializes in research in software fault tolerance and dependability
Dependability
Dependability is a value showing the reliability of a person to others because of his/her integrity, truthfulness, and trustfulness, traits that can encourage someone to depend on him/her.The wider use of this noun is in Systems engineering....
, and is a noted authority on the early prior to 1950 history of computers.
Biography
Randell was employed at English ElectricEnglish Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
from 1957 to 1964 where he was working on compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
s. His work on Algol 60
ALGOL 60
ALGOL 60 is a member of the ALGOL family of computer programming languages. It gave rise to many other programming languages, including BCPL, B, Pascal, Simula, C, and many others. ALGOL 58 introduced code blocks and the begin and end pairs for delimiting them...
is particularly known, including the development of a compiler for the English Electric KDF9
English Electric KDF9
KDF9 was an early British computer designed and built by English Electric, later English Electric Leo Marconi, EELM, later still incorporated into ICL. It first came into service in 1964 and was still in use in 1980 in at least one installation...
, an early stack machine. . In 1964 he joined 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...
, where he worked at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
on high performance computer architecture
Computer architecture
In computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....
s and also on 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...
design methodology. In May 1969 he became a Professor of Computing Science at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he has been working ever since in the area of software fault tolerance and dependability
Dependability
Dependability is a value showing the reliability of a person to others because of his/her integrity, truthfulness, and trustfulness, traits that can encourage someone to depend on him/her.The wider use of this noun is in Systems engineering....
.
He is a member of the Special Interest Group on Computers, Information and Society (SIGCIS) of the Society for the History of Technology CIS, and a founder member of the Editorial Board of the Annals: the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
The IEEE Annals of the History of Computing is a quarterly journal published by the IEEE Computer Society. It contains peer-reviewed articles and other contributions on the history of computing, computer science and computer hardware by computer scientists and historians...
journal. He was also a founder-member of IFIP WG2.3 Programming Methodology, and is a founder-member of IFIP WG10.4 about Dependability and Fault Tolerance. He is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
(2008).
He is married (to Liz, a teacher of French) and has four children
Work
Brian Randell's main research interests are in the field of "computer science, specifically on system dependability and fault tolerance. His interest in the history of computing was kick-started by coming across the then almost unknown work of Percy LudgatePercy Ludgate
Percy Edwin Ludgate was an accountant in Dublin and designer of an Analytical Engine.Working alone, Ludgate designed an Analytical Engine while unaware of Charles Babbage's designs, although he later went on to write about Babbage's machine...
. This was over thirty years ago, when he was preparing an inaugural lecture, and led on to producing the book "The Origins of Computers". This triggered him to further investigate the Colossus wartime code-breaking machines".
Software engineering
In the 1960s Randell was "involved in the original "NATO Software Engineering conferences" in 1968 on Software engineeringSoftware engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
, at the time he was working at IBM in the very secret Project Y and then ACS super-computer projects.
Software fault tolerance
Beginning in the 1970s, Randell "set up the project that initiated research into the possibility of software fault tolerance, and introduced the "recovery block" concept. Subsequent major developments included the Newcastle Connection, and the prototype distributed Secure System".Northern Informatics Applications Agency
In the 1990s Randell "became involved in a project to improve data networking provisions in the North of England, and to promote their effective use by all sectors of the community. This project resulted in the setting up of NiAA, the Northern Informatics Applications Agency". He wrote: "I served for several years as a member of NiAA's Management Group, until my attempts to delegate this to others bore fruit! NiAA existed, and worked to good effect, for seven years."Work in Genealogy
Brian Randell has for many years been one of the leading members of the team of volunteers responsible for GENUKIGENUKI
GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. Its aim is "to serve as a "virtual reference library" of genealogical information that is of particular relevance to the UK & Ireland"...
, the web portal for Genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He maintains the pages relating to the county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, and has transcribed and made available online many documents of genealogical interest.
See also
- Analytical engineAnalytical engineThe Analytical Engine was a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English mathematician Charles Babbage. It was first described in 1837 as the successor to Babbage's difference engine, a design for a mechanical calculator...
- ALGOLALGOLALGOL is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in the mid 1950s which greatly influenced many other languages and became the de facto way algorithms were described in textbooks and academic works for almost the next 30 years...
- ALGOL 68ALGOL 68ALGOL 68 isan imperative computerprogramming language that was conceived as a successor to theALGOL 60 programming language, designed with the goal of a...
- Colossus computerColossus computerNot to be confused with the fictional computer of the same name in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.Colossus was the world's first electronic, digital, programmable computer. Colossus and its successors were used by British codebreakers to help read encrypted German messages during World War II...
- DependabilityDependabilityDependability is a value showing the reliability of a person to others because of his/her integrity, truthfulness, and trustfulness, traits that can encourage someone to depend on him/her.The wider use of this noun is in Systems engineering....
- Fault-tolerant systemFault-tolerant systemFault-tolerance or graceful degradation is the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of some of its components. A newer approach is progressive enhancement...
- Friedrich L. BauerFriedrich L. BauerFriedrich Ludwig Bauer is a German computer scientist and professor emeritus at Technical University of Munich.-Life:...
- National Programme for IT
Publications
Randell published several articles and books. A selection:- 1964. Algol 60 Implementation. With L. J. Russell, Academic Press, London.
- 1973. The Origins of Digital Computers: Selected Papers. Ed. Springer-Verlag.
Articles
- 1971. "Ludgate's Analytical Machine of 1909", Computer J., 14 (3), pp. 317-26.
- 1972. "On Alan Turing and the Origins of Digital Computers", in Machine Intelligence 7 (B. Meltzer and D. Michie, Eds.), pp. 3-20, Edinburgh Univ. Press.
- 1979. "Software Engineering in 1968", in Proc. of the 4th Int. Conf. on Software Engineering, (Munich), pp. 1-10.
- 1982. "From Analytical Engine to Electronic Digital Computer: The Contributions of Ludgate, Torres and Bush", Annals of the History of Computing, 4 (4), pp. 327-41, October.
- 1998. "Memories of the NATO Software Engineering Conferences". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 20 (1), pp. 51-54.