Acknowledgments

I have many people to thank for this book coming to life. In not quite chronological order...

From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, David Stotts, my Ph.D. advisor who oversaw the birth of SPQR and the EDPs over many years; also my committee, who, even though they were convinced it was probably infeasible, thought it would be an interesting journey and let me go for the brass ring anyway: Jan Prins, David Plaisted, Al Segars, and Sid Chatterjee. You each added invaluable help at critical times.

From my years at IBM Watson Research in New York, Sid Chatterjee again, who convinced me to come play in the Big Blue Playpen; Clay Williams, who gave me free rein to pursue these crazy ideas further and with whom I still miss having coffee; Peter Santhanam, who championed those ideas and from whom I learned a greater appreciation for legacy systems; Brent Hailpern, from whom I learned many valuable lessons in management, the dark humor of corporate life and simple humanity; Edith Schonberg, who put up with my shenanigans more than any manager should have to; and many others who listened to me maniacally talk about this body of work at every turn. My friends, I miss you all.

Also from IBM but deserving a special mention, Grady Booch, who took me under his wing for a wild ride that I wouldn’t have traded for anything. Grady, your guidance, mentoring, and advocacy have been immeasurable, and I look forward to future collaborations and continued friendship.

From The Software Revolution, Inc., in Kirkland, Washington, where I am now Senior Computer Scientist, I have to thank everyone for being understanding and supportive of my need to commit this information to paper. It has been a true pleasure working with all of you, and I am eager to see where we can take our company.

To my many reviewers, your advice and comments were highly insightful and helpful. You made this book a much better product, and you have my deepest thanks: Lee Ackerman, Lars Bishop, Robert Bogetti, Robert Couch, Bernard Farrell, Mary Lou Hines Fritts, Gail Murphy, Jeffrey Overbey, Ethan Roberts, Carlota Sage, Davie Sweis, Peri Tarr, and Rebecca Wirfs-Brock. Elizabeth Ryan, Raina Chrobak, Chris Zahn, and Chris Guzikowski at Addison-Wesley were the model of compassionate support during the trials of this process—my thanks to you and the rest of the crew there, with a special thanks to Carol Lallier, whose expert polish on this book was invaluable.

On a personal note, I thank my friends and family, who have been incredibly patient while I have put in seemingly endless hours on this, even though they were hoping to see more of me now that I’ve moved back to the Seattle area.

Finally, my wife Leah. You have supported me in so many large and small ways throughout our time together. You have given your time, your patience, and your love, and you have my immense love and gratitude. Thank you. Words are simply inadequate.

Thank you all. Every one of you contributed in some way to the refinement of these ideas and this text. This may have been my baby, but it had many midwives.

— Jason McC. Smith
Seattle
September 4, 2011