Håkon Wium Lie
Encyclopedia
Håkon Wium Lie is a web pioneer, a standards activist, and, , the Chief Technology Officer of Opera Software
.
He is best known for proposing the concept of Cascading Style Sheets
(CSS) while working with Tim Berners-Lee
and Robert Cailliau
at CERN
in 1994. As an employee at W3C, he developed CSS into a W3C Recommendation
with Bert Bos
. As a showcase and testbed
, he integrated CSS into the Arena
web browser
. CSS is one of the fundamental web standards, with profound impact on typography, aesthetics, and accessibility on the web.
Along with his work on the CSS specifications, Wium Lie has been an activist for standards in general. He proposed the Acid2
test which was later developed and published by the Web Standards Project
. Conversely, Wium Lie has targeted Microsoft's Internet Explorer
due to its poor support for standards and argued against the use of formatting objects
on the web.
In 2006, Wium Lie started campaigning for browsers to support downloadable web fonts using common font formats. , all major browser vendors have implemented web fonts this way. In 2007, Wium Lie started campaigning for the
Wium Lie has also promoted the concept of printing from the web. His book on CSS, co-authored with Bert Bos, was produced from HTML and CSS files. These files were then converted to PDF by the Prince XML
formatter.
Building on his experience with web printing, in 2011 Wium Lie proposed to extend CSS to support pagination on screens.
, West Georgia College
, and MIT Media Lab
, receiving an MS in Visual Studies in 1991. On February 17, 2006, he successfully defended his PhD
thesis
at University of Oslo
.
His PhD thesis is an illuminating background to the origins of CSS and a rationale to some of the design decisions behind it—particularly as to why some features were not included and why CSS avoids trying to become DSSSL.
, MIT Media Lab
, and Norwegian
telecom
research in Televerket
.
, Norway
. There, he has started web-based campaigns against high-rise buildings and advertising in the public space.
Opera Software
Opera Software ASA is a Norwegian software company, primarily known for its Opera family of web browsers with over 220 million users worldwide. Opera Software is also involved in promoting Web standards through participation in the W3C. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway and is...
.
He is best known for proposing the concept of Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
(CSS) while working with Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
and Robert Cailliau
Robert Cailliau
Robert Cailliau , born 26 January 1947, is a Belgian informatics engineer and computer scientist who, together with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, developed the World Wide Web.-Biography:...
at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
in 1994. As an employee at W3C, he developed CSS into a W3C Recommendation
W3C recommendation
A W3C Recommendation is the final stage of a ratification process of the World Wide Web Consortium working group concerning a technical standard. This designation signifies that a document has been subjected to a public and W3C-member organization's review. It aims to standardise the Web technology...
with Bert Bos
Bert Bos
Gijsbert Bos is a computer scientist. He studied mathematics at the University of Groningen, and wrote his PhD thesis on Rapid user interface development with the script language Gist....
. As a showcase and testbed
Testbed
A testbed is a platform for experimentation of large development projects. Testbeds allow for rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies.The term is used across many disciplines to describe a development environment that is...
, he integrated CSS into the Arena
Arena (web browser)
The Arena browser was an early testbed web browser and web authoring tool for Unix. Originally authored by Dave Raggett in 1993, the browser continued its development at CERN and the World Wide Web Consortium and subsequently by Yggdrasil Computing...
web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. CSS is one of the fundamental web standards, with profound impact on typography, aesthetics, and accessibility on the web.
Along with his work on the CSS specifications, Wium Lie has been an activist for standards in general. He proposed the Acid2
Acid2
Acid2 is a test page published and promoted by the Web Standards Project to expose web page rendering flaws in web browsers and other applications that render HTML. Named after the acid test for gold, it was developed in the spirit of Acid1, a relatively narrow test of compliance with the Cascading...
test which was later developed and published by the Web Standards Project
Web Standards Project
The Web Standards Project is a group of professional web developers dedicated to disseminating and encouraging the use of the web standards recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium, along with other groups and standards bodies....
. Conversely, Wium Lie has targeted Microsoft's Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
due to its poor support for standards and argued against the use of formatting objects
XSL Formatting Objects
XSL Formatting Objects, or XSL-FO, is a markup language for XML document formatting which is most often used to generate PDFs. XSL-FO is part of XSL , a set of W3C technologies designed for the transformation and formatting of XML data. The other parts of XSL are XSLT and XPath...
on the web.
In 2006, Wium Lie started campaigning for browsers to support downloadable web fonts using common font formats. , all major browser vendors have implemented web fonts this way. In 2007, Wium Lie started campaigning for the
video element to make it easier to publish video on the web.Wium Lie has also promoted the concept of printing from the web. His book on CSS, co-authored with Bert Bos, was produced from HTML and CSS files. These files were then converted to PDF by the Prince XML
Prince XML
Prince is a proprietary software program that converts XML and HTML documents into PDF files by applying Cascading Style Sheets . It is developed by YesLogic, a small company based in Melbourne, Australia.-History:...
formatter.
Building on his experience with web printing, in 2011 Wium Lie proposed to extend CSS to support pagination on screens.
Education
Håkon Wium Lie attended Østfold University CollegeØstfold University College
Østfold University College is a further and higher education institution in south-eastern Norway. It has campuses in Fredrikstad and Halden. Enrollment is approximately 4,000 students ; and 480 staff...
, West Georgia College
University of West Georgia
The University of West Georgia is a comprehensive doctoral-granting university in Carrollton, Georgia, approximately 45 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia. The University is built on 645 acres including a recent land gift of 246 acres from the city of Carrollton in 2003...
, and MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
, receiving an MS in Visual Studies in 1991. On February 17, 2006, he successfully defended his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
at University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
.
His PhD thesis is an illuminating background to the origins of CSS and a rationale to some of the design decisions behind it—particularly as to why some features were not included and why CSS avoids trying to become DSSSL.
Career
He has worked for, among others, the W3C, INRIA, CERNCERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
, MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
, and Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
telecom
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
research in Televerket
Televerket
Televerket is the name of two government telecommunications agencies:*Televerket , former name of Swedish company Telia, later merged to TeliaSonera.*Televerket, former name of Norwegian company Telenor...
.
- In December 1996, he became known as the CSS1 W3C Recommendation editor.
- In April 1999, he joined Opera SoftwareOpera SoftwareOpera Software ASA is a Norwegian software company, primarily known for its Opera family of web browsers with over 220 million users worldwide. Opera Software is also involved in promoting Web standards through participation in the W3C. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway and is...
. - In 1999, he was named to the MITMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe 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...
Technology ReviewTechnology ReviewTechnology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
TR100TR35The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg...
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. - In 2005, he joined the board of YesLogic, the company that makes the Prince XML + CSS formatterPrince XMLPrince is a proprietary software program that converts XML and HTML documents into PDF files by applying Cascading Style Sheets . It is developed by YesLogic, a small company based in Melbourne, Australia.-History:...
.
Personal life
Wium Lie lives in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. There, he has started web-based campaigns against high-rise buildings and advertising in the public space.