Randal L. Schwartz
Encyclopedia
Randal L. Schwartz also known as merlyn, is an American
author, system administrator and programming consultant.
, a programming language, and has written regular columns about Perl for several computer magazines, including UNIX Review
, Web Techniques, and the Perl Journal. He popularized the Just another Perl hacker
signature
programs. He is a founding board member of the Perl Mongers
, the worldwide Perl grassroots advocacy organization. He is currently a member of the Squeak Oversight Board, which oversees the Squeak
programming language.
He has owned and operated Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. since 1985. After joining as co-host of FLOSS Weekly
, a free software
/open source
(FLOSS
) themed podcast
in 2007, he assumed the role of host in 2010. He has done voice work for StarShipSofa
, a science-fiction podcast.
Schwartz's name is also associated with the Schwartzian transform
, an algorithm
to efficiently sort a list according to a computation, without repeating the computation many times for each element of the list.
Schwartz is an influential member of the F/OSS community, and has been named a "Perl Expert" and interviewed by numerous outlets - to discuss his views on Perl, Ruby, Smalltalk and other topics - including Dr. Dobbs Journal, Paul dot Com Security TV, The Command Line, PerlCast, FLOSS Weekly, ONLamp.com, and InfoQ. Schwartz was also a speaker at the 2011 OSCON
conference and a keynote speaker at the 2010 Texas LinuxFest conference.
His various books have been met with positive reviews.
and he is legally no longer a felon.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, system administrator and programming consultant.
Career
Schwartz is the co-author of several widely used books about PerlPerl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
, a programming language, and has written regular columns about Perl for several computer magazines, including UNIX Review
UNIX Review
UNIX Review was an American magazine covering technical aspects of the UNIX operating system and C programming. Recognized for its in-depth technical analyses, the journal also reported on industry confabs and included some lighter fare....
, Web Techniques, and the Perl Journal. He popularized the Just another Perl hacker
Just another Perl hacker
Just another Perl hacker, or JAPH, typically refers to a Perl program which prints "Just another Perl hacker," . Short JAPH programs are often used as signatures in online forums, or as T-shirt designs...
signature
Signature
A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying...
programs. He is a founding board member of the Perl Mongers
Perl Mongers
Perl Mongers is part of The Perl Foundation and provides services to user groups for the Perl programming language.Perl Mongers was created in 1998 as a stand-alone organization by brian d foy who formed the first Perl users group, the New York Perl Mongers, or NY.pm, in 1997 at the First O'Reilly...
, the worldwide Perl grassroots advocacy organization. He is currently a member of the Squeak Oversight Board, which oversees the Squeak
Squeak
The Squeak programming language is a Smalltalk implementation. It is object-oriented, class-based and reflective.It was derived directly from Smalltalk-80 by a group at Apple Computer that included some of the original Smalltalk-80 developers...
programming language.
He has owned and operated Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. since 1985. After joining as co-host of FLOSS Weekly
FLOSS Weekly
FLOSS Weekly is a free software / open source themed podcast from the TWiT Network. The show premiered on April 7, 2006, and features prominent guests from the free software/open source community. It was originally hosted by Leo Laporte; his cohost for the first seventeen episodes was Chris DiBona...
, a 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...
/open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
(FLOSS
Alternative terms for free software
Alternative terms for free software have been a controversial issue among free software users from the late 1990s onwards. Coined in 1983 by Richard Stallman, "free software" is used to describe software which can be used, modified, and redistributed with little or no restriction...
) themed podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
in 2007, he assumed the role of host in 2010. He has done voice work for StarShipSofa
StarShipSofa
StarShipSofa is a Hugo-Award-winning science fiction podcast from the UK hosted and edited by Tony C. Smith. It was the first ever podcast to be both nominated for and win a Hugo Award. StarShipSofa was also nominated for Best Fan Podcast in the 2007 Parsec Awards...
, a science-fiction podcast.
Schwartz's name is also associated with the Schwartzian transform
Schwartzian transform
In computer science, the Schwartzian transform is a Perl programming idiom used to improve the efficiency of sorting a list of items. This idiom is appropriate for comparison-based sorting when the ordering is actually based on the ordering of a certain property of the elements, where computing...
, an algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
to efficiently sort a list according to a computation, without repeating the computation many times for each element of the list.
Schwartz is an influential member of the F/OSS community, and has been named a "Perl Expert" and interviewed by numerous outlets - to discuss his views on Perl, Ruby, Smalltalk and other topics - including Dr. Dobbs Journal, Paul dot Com Security TV, The Command Line, PerlCast, FLOSS Weekly, ONLamp.com, and InfoQ. Schwartz was also a speaker at the 2011 OSCON
O'Reilly Open Source Convention
The O'Reilly Open Source Convention is an annual convention for the discussion of free and open source software. It is organized by the publisher O'Reilly Media and is held each summer in the United States.-Notable events:...
conference and a keynote speaker at the 2010 Texas LinuxFest conference.
His various books have been met with positive reviews.
Intel case
In July 1995, Schwartz was prosecuted in the case of State of Oregon vs. Randal Schwartz, which dealt with compromised computer security during his time as a system administrator for Intel; he cracked a number of passwords on Intel's systems. Schwartz was originally convicted on three felony counts, with one reduced to a misdemeanor, but on February 1, 2007 his arrest and conviction records were sealed through an official expungementExpungement
In the common law legal system, an expungement proceeding is a type of lawsuit in which a first time offender of a prior criminal conviction seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed, thereby making the records unavailable through the state or Federal repositories. If successful, the...
and he is legally no longer a felon.
External links
- Randal Schwartz web page.
- Author page at O'Reilly Media
- Schwartz's current Smalltalk and Seaside blog
- Schwartz's personal photographs FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
Album