Joel Spolsky
Encyclopedia
Avram Joel Spolsky is a software engineer
and writer
. He is the author of Joel on Software, a blog
on software development. He was a Program Manager on the Microsoft Excel
team between 1991 and 1994. He later founded Fog Creek Software
in 2000 and launched the Joel on Software blog. In 2008 he launched the now successful Stack Overflow
programmer Q&A site in collaboration with Jeff Atwood
. Using the Stack Exchange software product which powers Stack Overflow, The Stack Exchange Network now hosts over 60 Q&A sites.
, New Mexico
and lived there until he was 15. He then moved with his family to Jerusalem, Israel
, where he attended high school and did his military service as a paratrooper
. He was one of the founders of Kibbutz
Hanaton
in Upper Galilee
. In 1987, he returned to the United States
to attend college. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania
for a year before transferring to Pierson College
, Yale University
, where he graduated in 1991 with a BS
summa cum laude in Computer Science
.
Spolsky started working at Microsoft
in 1991 as a Program Manager on the Microsoft Excel
team, where he designed Excel Basic
and drove Microsoft's Visual Basic for Applications
strategy. He moved to New York City
in 1995 where he worked for Viacom
and Juno
. In 2000, he founded Fog Creek Software and created the Joel on Software weblog
. Joel on Software was "one of the first blogs set up by a business owner".
In 2005 Spolsky co-produced and appeared in Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks with Geeks
, a documentary documenting Fog Creek's development of Project Aardvark, a remote assistance tool.
Spolsky also co-founded Stack Overflow
with Jeff Atwood
, a question and answer community website for software developers.
He is the author of five books, including User Interface Design for Programmers and Smart and Gets Things Done. He is also the creator of The Joel Test.
Software 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...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He is the author of Joel on Software, a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on software development. He was a Program Manager on the Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
team between 1991 and 1994. He later founded Fog Creek Software
Fog Creek Software
Fog Creek Software is a software company specializing in project management tools. Its main products are FogBugz, a web-based project management tool, Fog Creek Copilot, a remote assistance tool, CityDesk, a desktop-based content management system, Kiln, a source control and code review tool built...
in 2000 and launched the Joel on Software blog. In 2008 he launched the now successful Stack Overflow
Stack overflow
In software, a stack overflow occurs when too much memory is used on the call stack. The call stack contains a limited amount of memory, often determined at the start of the program. The size of the call stack depends on many factors, including the programming language, machine architecture,...
programmer Q&A site in collaboration with Jeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood is a software developer, book author, podcaster and writer of the popular blog Coding Horror. Together with Joel Spolsky, he founded the question-and-answer website network Stack Exchange, which includes Stack Overflow for programmers, Server Fault for system administrators, and Super...
. Using the Stack Exchange software product which powers Stack Overflow, The Stack Exchange Network now hosts over 60 Q&A sites.
Biography
Spolsky grew up in AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and lived there until he was 15. He then moved with his family to Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he attended high school and did his military service as a paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
. He was one of the founders of Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Hanaton
Hanaton
Hanaton is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located twelve kilometers north of Nazareth near the Arab town of Shefaram, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council...
in Upper Galilee
Upper Galilee
The Upper Galilee is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period, originally referring to a mountainous area overlapping the present northern Israel and southern Lebanon, its borders being the Litani river in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Beit...
. In 1987, he returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to attend college. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
for a year before transferring to Pierson College
Pierson College
Pierson College is a residential college founded in 1933 at Yale University. The College takes its name from Abraham Pierson , one of the founders of the Collegiate School, which later became Yale University. A statue of Abraham Pierson stands on Yale's Old Campus...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he graduated in 1991 with a BS
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
summa cum laude in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
.
Spolsky started working at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in 1991 as a Program Manager on the Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
team, where he designed Excel Basic
Visual Basic for Applications
Visual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
and drove Microsoft's Visual Basic for Applications
Visual Basic for Applications
Visual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
strategy. He moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1995 where he worked for Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
and Juno
Juno Online Services
Juno is an Internet service provider based in the United States. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which also owns NetZero and Kmart's BlueLight internet service.-History:...
. In 2000, he founded Fog Creek Software and created the Joel on Software weblog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. Joel on Software was "one of the first blogs set up by a business owner".
In 2005 Spolsky co-produced and appeared in Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks with Geeks
Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks with Geeks
Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks with Geeks is a 2005 documentary film about the development of Fog Creek Copilot, a remote assistance software tool. Conceptualization of the film began when Fog Creek Software CEO Joel Spolsky announced on his blog that he was seeking a filmmaker to document the development of...
, a documentary documenting Fog Creek's development of Project Aardvark, a remote assistance tool.
Spolsky also co-founded Stack Overflow
Stack overflow
In software, a stack overflow occurs when too much memory is used on the call stack. The call stack contains a limited amount of memory, often determined at the start of the program. The size of the call stack depends on many factors, including the programming language, machine architecture,...
with Jeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood is a software developer, book author, podcaster and writer of the popular blog Coding Horror. Together with Joel Spolsky, he founded the question-and-answer website network Stack Exchange, which includes Stack Overflow for programmers, Server Fault for system administrators, and Super...
, a question and answer community website for software developers.
He is the author of five books, including User Interface Design for Programmers and Smart and Gets Things Done. He is also the creator of The Joel Test.
Publications
- User Interface Design for Programmers, Apress, 2001. ISBN 1-893115-94-1
- Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity, Apress, 2004. ISBN 1-59059-389-8
- The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky, Apress, 2005. ISBN 1-59059-500-9
- Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky's Concise Guide to Finding the Best Technical Talent, Apress, 2007. ISBN 1-59059-838-5
- More Joel on Software: Further Thoughts on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity, Apress, 2008. ISBN 1430209879