About the Authors

Stephen Blair-Chappell has been working for Intel in the Software and Services Group (SSG) for the past 15 years. During his time with Intel, Stephen has worked on the compiler team as a developer and, more recently, as a technical consulting engineer helping users make the best use of the Intel software tools. Prior to working with Intel, Stephen was managing director of the UK office of CAD-UL, a German-based compiler and debugger company. During his time at CAD-UL Stephen was primarily responsible for technical support in the UK. Projects he worked on during that time included the design and specification of a graphical linker; the development and teaching of protected mode programming courses to programmers; and support to many varied companies in the telecoms, automotive, and embedded industries.

Stephen first studied electronics as a technician at Matthew Boulton Technical College, and later studied Applied Software Engineering at Birmingham City University (BCU), where he also eventually taught. Outside work, Stephen is a regular contributor to the life of his local church, St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, where he plays the organ, preaches, and leads the occasional service.

Andrew Stokes is a retired lecturer in software and electronics at Birmingham City University (BCU), UK. Prior to lecturing, Andrew was a software developer in the research and commercial fields. He first started software development in the 1980s at Cambridge University Engineering Laboratory, where he worked on software for scanning electron microscopes. These software developments continued in the commercial field, where he worked on graphical programs in support of a Finite Element Analysis package.

During his time at BCU, Andrew developed many software simulation tools, including programs for artificial neural network simulation, CPU simulation, processor design, code development tools, and a PROLOG expert system. Andrew continues these software interests during retirement, with a healthy interest in games programming, such as 3-D chess, where parallel programming is paramount. Away from computing, Andrew is a keen gardener and particularly likes the vibrant colors of the typical English garden.