Xavier Leroy
Encyclopedia
Xavier Leroy is a French
computer scientist
and programmer
. He is best known for his role as a primary developer of the Objective Caml system. He is senior scientist (directeur de recherche) at the French government research institution INRIA.
Leroy was admitted to the École normale supérieure
in Paris in 1987, where he studied mathematics and computer science. From 1989 to 1992 he did his PhD
in computer science under the supervision of Gérard Huet
.
He is an internationally recognized expert on functional programming
languages and compilers. In recent years, he has taken an interest in formal methods, formal proofs and certified compilation. He is the leader of CompCert
project that develops an optimizing compiler
for C (programming language)
, formally verified
in Coq
.
Leroy was also the original author of LinuxThreads
, the most widely-used threading
package for Linux
versions prior to 2.6. Linux 2.6 introduced NPTL, with much more extensive support from the kernel, to replace LinuxThreads
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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....
and programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
. He is best known for his role as a primary developer of the Objective Caml system. He is senior scientist (directeur de recherche) at the French government research institution INRIA.
Leroy was admitted to the École normale supérieure
École normale supérieure
An école normale supérieure or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education in France. A portion of the student body who are French civil servants are called Normaliens....
in Paris in 1987, where he studied mathematics and computer science. From 1989 to 1992 he did 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...
in computer science under the supervision of Gérard Huet
Gérard Huet
Gérard Pierre Huet is a French computer scientist.- Biography :Gérard Huet graduated from the Université Denis Diderot , Case Western Reserve University, and the Université de Paris....
.
He is an internationally recognized expert on functional programming
Functional programming
In computer science, functional programming is a programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions and avoids state and mutable data. It emphasizes the application of functions, in contrast to the imperative programming style, which emphasizes changes in state...
languages and compilers. In recent years, he has taken an interest in formal methods, formal proofs and certified compilation. He is the leader of CompCert
Compcert
CompCert is a formally verified optimizing compiler for a subset of the C programming language which currently targets PowerPC, ARM and 32-bit x86 architectures. This project, led by Xavier Leroy, started officially in 2005, funded by the French institutes ANR and INRIA. The compiler is...
project that develops an optimizing compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
for C (programming language)
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....
, formally verified
Formal verification
In the context of hardware and software systems, formal verification is the act of proving or disproving the correctness of intended algorithms underlying a system with respect to a certain formal specification or property, using formal methods of mathematics .- Usage :Formal verification can be...
in Coq
Coq
In computer science, Coq is an interactive theorem prover. It allows the expression of mathematical assertions, mechanically checks proofs of these assertions, helps to find formal proofs, and extracts a certified program from the constructive proof of its formal specification...
.
Leroy was also the original author of LinuxThreads
LinuxThreads
In the Linux operating system, LinuxThreads was a partial implementation of POSIX Threads that has since been superseded by the Native POSIX Thread Library ....
, the most widely-used threading
Thread (computer science)
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
package for Linux
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
versions prior to 2.6. Linux 2.6 introduced NPTL, with much more extensive support from the kernel, to replace LinuxThreads
LinuxThreads
In the Linux operating system, LinuxThreads was a partial implementation of POSIX Threads that has since been superseded by the Native POSIX Thread Library ....
.