Jean Ichbiah

Jean Ichbiah was a smart computer scientist. He helped make special tools for machines. He led a team to build a language called Ada. This language helps computers follow rules. He also made a new way to type on screens. It was made for pens and fingers. He started a company to help with his work. He also worked for the US Army and NASA. He lived in France and America. He was a very important worker for computers.

Jean Ichbiah was a famous computer scientist. He was born in 1940. His family came from Greece and Turkey. They moved to France.

Ichbiah did a lot of work with computer languages. A language is a way for people to talk to machines. In 1978, his team won a big contest. They made a language called Ada. The United States Department of Defense chose it. Ichbiah was the chief designer for Ada. He led the work to make Ada 83. This was a standard version of the language.

He started a company called Alsys in 1980. His company made tools for Ada. They sold these tools to NASA and the US Army. Later, he moved to the United States.

He also helped make a new keyboard layout. It is called FITALY. This layout helps people type with a stylus or a finger. A stylus is a small pen for a screen. He also made software for tablets and medical use.

Ichbiah won many awards. He was a knight in the French Legion of Honour. He died in 2007 from a brain tumor.

Jean Ichbiah was a very important computer scientist. He helped create ways for people to talk to machines. He was born on March 25, 1940. His family came from Greece and Turkey. They moved to France to live. Ichbiah spent his life solving hard jobs in technology. He worked on many different computer systems throughout his life.

One of his biggest jobs was designing a language called Ada. A programming language is a set of rules for computers. Ichbiah's team created a design named "Green." In 1978, the United States Department of Defense chose it. They renamed the language Ada to honor a person. Ichbiah served as the chief designer for this language. He led the work to make Ada 83 a standard version.

Ichbiah began his career working on several early computer projects. From 1972 to 1974, he worked on a language called LIS. This language was based on others called Pascal and Simula. He later joined a company in Louveciennes, France. There, he worked on the Siris 8 operating system. He also worked on the CII Iris 80 mainframe computer. These early steps helped him become a leader in his field.

In 1980, Ichbiah started his own company called Alsys. He founded it in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France. Alsys made special tools to help people use the Ada language. They even sold these tools to NASA and the US Army. In 1995, Alsys merged into Thomson Software Products. Later, it merged into a company named Aonix in 1996. Ichbiah eventually moved to Waltham, Massachusetts, to continue his work.

He did not stop with programming languages. In the 1990s, he designed a keyboard layout called FITALY. This layout is made for using a stylus or a finger. It is very helpful for tablets and touch screens. He also started Textware Solutions to make software for medical use. Ichbiah was named a knight in the French Legion of Honour. He died on January 26, 2007, from a brain tumor.

Jean David Ichbiah was a highly influential French and American computer scientist. He is best known for his work in creating programming languages. A programming language is a specific set of rules used to give instructions to a computer. Ichbiah's work helped ensure that complex computer systems could operate reliably. His most famous achievement was serving as the chief designer of Ada. Ada is a general-purpose, strongly typed programming language. This means the language has strict rules to prevent errors during coding.

Ichbiah's journey into advanced computing began with several experimental projects. From 1972 to 1974, he worked on an experimental system implementation language called LIS. This language was built using concepts from two other languages, Pascal and Simula. During this time, he also served as the chairman of the Simula User's Group. He was a founding member of IFIP WG 2.4, which focused on systems implementation languages. These early roles helped him master the foundations of how software communicates with hardware.

After his work on LIS, Ichbiah joined the company CII Honeywell Bull in Louveciennes, France. He became a member of the Programming Research division. While there, he worked on several major technical projects. He helped rewrite the Siris 7 operating system into the newer Siris 8 version. He also worked on the CII Iris 80, which was a mainframe computer. A mainframe is a large, powerful computer used by big organizations. This experience with large-scale systems prepared him for his work with the United States Department of Defense.

In 1978, Ichbiah led a team that entered a major competition. The United States Department of Defense needed a new embedded programming language. Embedded programming languages are used to control specific hardware inside devices. Ichbiah's team submitted a design called "Green." The Department of Defense selected Green as the winner. Following this selection, Ichbiah continued as the chief designer. The language was then renamed Ada. He led the effort to standardize the language into what became known as Ada 83.

To support his work on Ada, Ichbiah founded a company called Alsys in 1980. He established the corporation in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France. Alsys focused on defining the Ada language and creating validated compilers. A compiler is a special program that translates human-readable code into machine code. These compilers were so reliable that they were supplied to major organizations. This included NASA, the US Army, and other large entities. In July 1995, Alsys merged with Thomson Software Products. This company later merged into Aonix in 1996.

Ichbiah's innovation extended into how humans interact with mobile technology. In the 1990s, he designed a keyboard layout called FITALY. This layout was specifically optimized for stylus or touch-based input. This was important for the early development of handheld devices. He later started a company called Textware Solutions. This company sells text entry software for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and tablet PCs. They also provide software used for medical transcription on personal computers.

Throughout his career, Ichbiah received many prestigious honors for his scientific contributions. In 1979, he was named a chevalier, or knight, of the French Legion of Honour. He also became a correspondent of the French Academy of Sciences. The United States Department of Defense gave him a Certificate of Distinguished Service for his work on Ada. These awards recognized his massive impact on the field of computer science. Ichbiah passed away on January 26, 2007, due to complications from a brain tumor. His legacy lives on through the languages and tools he built.