Patrick Naughton
Encyclopedia
Patrick Naughton is an American software developer
, best known as being one of the original creators of the Java programming language
.
engineer, Patrick Naughton had become increasingly frustrated with the state of Sun's C++ and C
API
s (application programming interfaces) and tools. While considering moving to NeXT
, Naughton was offered a chance to work on new technology and thus the Stealth Project was started.
The Stealth Project was soon renamed to the Green Project with James Gosling
and Mike Sheridan joining Naughton. Together with other engineers, they began work in a small office on Sand Hill Road
in Menlo Park, California
. They were attempting to develop a new technology for programming next generation smart appliances, which Sun expected to be a major new opportunity.
In June and July 1994, after three days of brainstorming with John Gage
, the Director of Science for Sun, James Gosling
, Bill Joy
, Naughton, Wayne Rosing
, and Eric Schmidt, the team re-targeted the platform for the World Wide Web
. They felt that with the advent of the first graphical web browser
, Mosaic
, the Internet was on its way to evolving into the same highly interactive medium that they had envisioned for cable TV. As a prototype, Naughton wrote a small browser, WebRunner, later renamed HotJava
.
(then a property of Paul Allen
) to develop server
Java
applications for high profile web sites (in times when J2EE
frameworks did not exist yet). They developed ESPN.com
, ABCNEWS.com, Outside Online, and Mr. Showbiz.com among other groundbreaking sites, setting the standard for much of the commercial Internet explosion of the late 1990s. He was the author of "The Java Handbook", (ISBN 0-07-882199-1, Osborne, 1995) and co-author of Java: The Complete Reference, with Herbert Schildt
(ISBN 0-07-882231-9, Osborne, 1996)
In 1998, Walt Disney Internet Group acquired Starwave and amalgamated it with Infoseek
in the Go Network
company. As a result, Naughton became executive vice president
of Infoseek
.
After his arrest in 1999, Naughton was fired from Infoseek.
In 2004, he joined Azaleos
as an engineer leaving in 2009 to become the Chief technology officer of L1 Partners
In 2010, he rejoined Azaleos as Vice President of Engineering.
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
, best known as being one of the original creators of the Java programming language
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
.
Working for Sun
As a SunSun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
engineer, Patrick Naughton had become increasingly frustrated with the state of Sun's C++ and C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
s (application programming interfaces) and tools. While considering moving to NeXT
NeXT
Next, Inc. was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets...
, Naughton was offered a chance to work on new technology and thus the Stealth Project was started.
The Stealth Project was soon renamed to the Green Project with James Gosling
James Gosling
James A. Gosling, OC is a computer scientist, best known as the father of the Java programming language.-Education and career:In 1977, Gosling received a B.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Calgary...
and Mike Sheridan joining Naughton. Together with other engineers, they began work in a small office on Sand Hill Road
Sand Hill Road
Sand Hill Road is a road in Menlo Park, California, notable for its concentration of venture capital companies. Its significance as a symbol of private equity in the United States may be compared to that of Wall Street in the stock market...
in Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
. They were attempting to develop a new technology for programming next generation smart appliances, which Sun expected to be a major new opportunity.
In June and July 1994, after three days of brainstorming with John Gage
John Gage
John Burdette Gage was the 21st employee of Sun Microsystems, where he is credited with creating the phrase "the network is the computer." He served as Chief Researcher and Vice President of the Science Office for Sun, until leaving on June 9, 2008 to join Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a...
, the Director of Science for Sun, James Gosling
James Gosling
James A. Gosling, OC is a computer scientist, best known as the father of the Java programming language.-Education and career:In 1977, Gosling received a B.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Calgary...
, Bill Joy
Bill Joy
William Nelson Joy , commonly known as Bill Joy, is an American computer scientist. Joy co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Scott McNealy and Andy Bechtolsheim, and served as chief scientist at the company until 2003...
, Naughton, Wayne Rosing
Wayne Rosing
Wayne Rosing has been involved as a key player in several landmark projects in the computing industry since the late 1970s. Gaining experience as an engineering manager at DEC and Data General in the 1970s, he became a director of engineering at Apple Computer in the early 1980s. There he led the...
, and Eric Schmidt, the team re-targeted the platform for the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. They felt that with the advent of the first graphical 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...
, Mosaic
Mosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
, the Internet was on its way to evolving into the same highly interactive medium that they had envisioned for cable TV. As a prototype, Naughton wrote a small browser, WebRunner, later renamed HotJava
HotJava
HotJava was a modular, extensible web browser from Sun Microsystems implemented in Java. It was the first browser to support Java applets, and was Sun's demonstration platform for the then new technology. It has since been discontinued and is now no longer supported...
.
After Sun
In 1994, Naughton quit Sun for StarwaveStarwave
Starwave was a Seattle, Washington based software and website company, founded in 1993 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. The company produced many original CD-ROM titles, including disks for Clint Eastwood, Sting, and Peter Gabriel...
(then a property of Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
) to develop server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
applications for high profile web sites (in times when J2EE
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition or Java EE is widely used platform for server programming in the Java programming language. The Java platform differs from the Java Standard Edition Platform in that it adds libraries which provide functionality to deploy fault-tolerant, distributed, multi-tier...
frameworks did not exist yet). They developed ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
, ABCNEWS.com, Outside Online, and Mr. Showbiz.com among other groundbreaking sites, setting the standard for much of the commercial Internet explosion of the late 1990s. He was the author of "The Java Handbook", (ISBN 0-07-882199-1, Osborne, 1995) and co-author of Java: The Complete Reference, with Herbert Schildt
Herbert Schildt
Herbert Schildt is an American musician and computing author. His books, particularly on C programming, have been best-sellers in three decades; McGraw-Hill, which published many of his books, calls him "the world's leading programming author".-Life:...
(ISBN 0-07-882231-9, Osborne, 1996)
In 1998, Walt Disney Internet Group acquired Starwave and amalgamated it with Infoseek
Infoseek
Infoseek was a popular search engine founded in 1994 by Steve Kirsch.Infoseek was originally operated by the Infoseek Corporation, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Infoseek was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 1998, and the technology was merged with that of the Disney-acquired Starwave...
in the Go Network
Go.com
Go.com is a web portal first launched by Jeff Gold, and now operated by the Walt Disney Internet Group, which is a part of The Walt Disney Company. The portal includes content from ABC News, ESPN, and FamilyFun.com, all of which are associated with Disney and are hosted under a .go.com name...
company. As a result, Naughton became executive vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of Infoseek
Infoseek
Infoseek was a popular search engine founded in 1994 by Steve Kirsch.Infoseek was originally operated by the Infoseek Corporation, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Infoseek was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 1998, and the technology was merged with that of the Disney-acquired Starwave...
.
After his arrest in 1999, Naughton was fired from Infoseek.
In 2004, he joined Azaleos
Azaleos
Azaleos Corporation is a Seattle-based American corporation. Founded in 2004 by senior executives from Microsoft and IBM, Azaleos provides managed messaging, collaboration and unified communications services for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Lync...
as an engineer leaving in 2009 to become the Chief technology officer of L1 Partners
In 2010, he rejoined Azaleos as Vice President of Engineering.