Matthias Ettrich
Encyclopedia
Matthias Ettrich is a German
computer scientist
known for his contributions to the KDE
and LyX
projects.
, as he lived with his parents in Oberstenfeld
, not too far away from the place he was born. He passed the Abitur
in 1991. Ettrich studied for his MSc in Computer Science at the Wilhelm Schickard
Institute for Computer Science at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
.
on the Qt graphical widget toolkit
and the Qt Creator
IDE
.
project in 1995, initially conceived as a university term project. LyX is a graphical frontend to LaTeX
.
Since LyX's main target platform was Linux
, he started to explore different ways to improve the graphical user interface
, which ultimately led him to the KDE
project. Ettrich founded KDE in 1996, when he proposed on Usenet
a "consistent, nice looking free desktop-environment" [sic] for Unix-like
systems using Qt as its widget toolkit.
On 6 Nov 2009, Ettrich was decorated with the Federal Cross of Merit for his contributions to Free Software
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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....
known for his contributions to the KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
and LyX
LyX
LyX is a document processor following the self-coined "what you see is what you mean" paradigm , as opposed to the WYSIWYG ideas used by word processors...
projects.
School
Matthias went to School in BeilsteinBeilstein
Beilstein may refer to:*places in Germany:**Beilstein, Württemberg, in Baden-Württemberg**Beilstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, in Rhineland-Palatinate**Beilstein, Hessen*a 2270-metre mountain of the Hochschwab Plateau, Northern Limestone Alps, Styria...
, as he lived with his parents in Oberstenfeld
Oberstenfeld
Oberstenfeld is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is located about 40 km north of Stuttgart.-Geography:...
, not too far away from the place he was born. He passed the Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in 1991. Ettrich studied for his MSc in Computer Science at the Wilhelm Schickard
Wilhelm Schickard
Wilhelm Schickard was a German polymath who designed a calculating machine in 1623, twenty years before the Pascaline of Blaise Pascal. Unfortunately a fire destroyed the machine as it was being built in 1624 and Schickard decided to abandon his project...
Institute for Computer Science at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen is a public university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of Germany's oldest universities, internationally noted in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. In the area of German Studies it has been ranked first among...
.
Career
He currently resides in Berlin, Germany. He works for NokiaNokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
on the Qt graphical widget toolkit
Widget toolkit
In computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...
and the Qt Creator
Qt Creator
Qt Creator is a cross-platform C++ integrated development environment which is part of the Qt SDK. It includes a visual debugger and an integrated GUI layout and forms designer. The editor's features includes syntax highlighting and autocompletion, but not tabs. Qt Creator uses the C++ compiler...
IDE
Integrated development environment
An integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
.
Free software projects
Ettrich founded and furthered the LyXLyX
LyX is a document processor following the self-coined "what you see is what you mean" paradigm , as opposed to the WYSIWYG ideas used by word processors...
project in 1995, initially conceived as a university term project. LyX is a graphical frontend to LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
.
Since LyX's main target platform was Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, he started to explore different ways to improve the graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
, which ultimately led him to the KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
project. Ettrich founded KDE in 1996, when he proposed 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...
a "consistent, nice looking free desktop-environment" [sic] for 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....
systems using Qt as its widget toolkit.
On 6 Nov 2009, Ettrich was decorated with the Federal Cross of Merit for his contributions to 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...
.