Andrew Tridgell
Born	February 28, 1967 (1967-02-28) (age 40)
Nationality	Australian
Known for	rsync, Samba
Employer	IBM
Occupation	Programmer

Andrew "Tridge" Tridgell (born February 28, 1967) is an Australian computer programmer best known as the creator of and contributor to the Samba file server, and co-inventor of the rsync algorithm. Tridge in the Winter The Tridge is the formal name of a three-way footbridge located above the joining of Chippewa and Titabawassee rivers in downtown Midland, Michigan, United States of America. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 1600 pixels, file size: 436 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... In computing, rsync is a computer program for Unix systems which synchronizes files and directories from one location to another while minimizing data transfer using delta encoding when appropriate. ... Samba logo. ... For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation) and Big Blue. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... In computing, a programmer is someone who does computer programming and develops computer software. ... Samba logo. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In computing, rsync is a computer program for Unix systems which synchronizes files and directories from one location to another while minimizing data transfer using delta encoding when appropriate. ...

He is known for his analysis of complex proprietary protocols and algorithms, to allow compatible free software implementations. It has been suggested that closed source be merged into this article or section. ... For other senses of this word, see protocol. ... In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related disciplines, an algorithm is a finite list of well-defined instructions for accomplishing some task that, given an initial state, will terminate in a defined end-state. ... Clockwise from top: The logo of the GNU Project, the Linux kernel mascot Tux, and the BSD Daemon Free 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 only...

Projects

Tridgell was a major developer of the Samba software, analysing the Server Message Block protocol used for workgroup and network file sharing by Microsoft Windows products. He developed the talloc hierarchical memory allocator, originally as part of Samba. Server Message Block (SMB) is an application-level network protocol mainly applied to shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. ... A computer network is a system for communication among two or more computers. ... “Windows” redirects here. ...

For his PhD thesis, he co-developed rsync, including the rsync algorithm, a highly efficient file transfer and synchronization tool. He also was the original author of rzip, which uses a similar algorithm to rsync. In computing, rsync is a computer program for Unix systems which synchronizes files and directories from one location to another while minimizing data transfer using delta encoding when appropriate. ... A protocol for file transfer or file transfer protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the transfer of files between two computing endpoints. ... File synchronization (or syncing) in computing is the process of making sure that two or more locations contain the same up-to-date files. ... Rzip is a data compression program based on bzip2. ...

Tridgell was also a leader in hacking the TiVo to make it work in Australia, which uses the PAL video format. This article is about computer hacking. ... TiVo (pronounced tee-voh, IPA: ) is a popular brand of digital video recorder (DVR) in the United States. ... For other uses, see PAL (disambiguation). ...

In April 2005, Tridgell tried to produce free software (now known as SourcePuller) that interoperated with the BitKeeper source code repository. It was a source of controversy and was cited^[1] as the reason that BitMover revoked the license that allowed Linux developers free usage of their BitKeeper product. This resulted in a messy public falling-out between Tridgell and Linus Torvalds, in which Tridgell stated that he had never had a BitKeeper license so he couldn't violate it and had acted entirely ethically in analysing and implementing the protocol, something he'd previously done with the Samba protocol. Tridgell's involvement in the project resulted in Linus accusing him of playing dirty tricks with BitKeeper^[2]. The broad extent of Tridgell's analysis started by telneting to a BitKeeper and typing HELP^[3], something that, seemingly, no-one else had previously thought to try. ^{[citation needed]} BitKeeper is a software tool for revision control (configuration management, SCM, etc. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... Linus Benedict Torvalds  ; born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland, is a Finnish software engineer best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel. ... For the packet switched network, see Telenet. ...

Academic achievements

Attending Barker College Hornsby, NSW, Tridgell completed his HSC in 1985. Tridgell completed a science degree with majors in applied mathematics and physics at the University of Sydney in 1988, before moving to Canberra to complete an Honours degree at the Australian National University, in which he received first class honours in theoretical physics. Barker College is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school situated in Hornsby, an Upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with the mathematical techniques typically used in the application of mathematical knowledge to other domains. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... The University of Sydney, established in Sydney in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, Australia. ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics, as opposed to experimental processes, in an attempt to understand nature. ...

Tridgell completed a Ph.D. at the Computer Sciences Laboratory of the Australian National University. His original doctorate work was in the area of speech recognition but was never completed. His submitted thesis, on "Efficient Algorithms for Sorting and Synchronization", was based on his work on the rsync algorithm. (link to thesis below) Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, Australia. ... Speech recognition (in many contexts also known as automatic speech recognition, computer speech recognition or erroneously as Voice Recognition) is the process of converting a speech signal to a sequence of words, by means of an algorithm implemented as a computer program. ...

Employment

Tridgell started his career working for Efam Resources from 1987 to 1988, designing computer models of financial markets. His work led to a product named The Options Analyst, which he marketed and sold for five years. A computer simulation or a computer model is a computer program which attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. ... In finance, financial markets facilitate: The raising of capital (in the capital markets); The transfer of risk (in the derivatives markets); and International trade (in the currency markets). ...

From 1988 to 1989, Tridgell worked as a software developer for a company named Sonartech Pty Ltd (now Sonartech Atlas), which developed sonar technologies for Australian submarines. He worked on passive sonar technology. This article is about underwater sound propagation. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... This article is about underwater sound propagation. ...

Between 1989 and 1990, Tridgell was employed at the Research School of Biological Sciences in the Australian National University, creating computer models of physical and biological events and environments such as bushfire spread and population dynamics. Population dynamics is the study of marginal and long-term changes in the numbers, individual weights and age composition of individuals in one or several populations, and biological and environmental processes influencing those changes. ...

From 1991 to 1999, Tridgell held various other positions at the Australian National University, such as UNIX administration, satellite control, and supercomputer research. During this period he was seconded to the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Computational Systems, where he headed the PIOuS (Parallel Input/Output System) project - later HiDIOS (High-performance Distributed Input/Output System) - for parallel file systems on the Fujitsu AP1000 and AP+ supercomputers. Tridgell also went on to lecture, first as an associate lecturer, and then as a casual lecturer, in the university's Computer Science division. He remains a Visiting Fellow of the University. Filiation of Unix and Unix-like systems Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®, sometimes also written as or ® with small caps) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. ... For other uses, see Satellite (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Supercomputer (disambiguation). ...

In mid-1999, Tridgell joined the LinuxCare company's office in Canberra as their first Australian employee. He helped to assemble 14 staff for a research and development team known as OzLabs. Linux and open-source companies were quite a new concept at this stage. Tridgell was made a research fellow of Linuxcare in 2000. Levanta (previously Linuxcare) is a San Francisco-based company founded in 1998 by Dave Sifry, Arthur Tyde and Dave LaDuke. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ...

In March 2001, Tridgell joined VA Linux Systems. He worked in the network attached storage division for VA Linux Systems, making enhancements to Samba and the Linux kernel to provide enhanced performance for their network-attached storage device range. LNUX stock price (09-Dec-1999 through 09-Dec-2000) VA Software Corporation (NASDAQ: LNUX), formerly VA Linux Systems, is the provider of the SourceForge Development Intelligence application. ... Network-attached storage (NAS) systems are generally computing-storage devices that can be accessed over a computer network, rather than directly being connected to the computer (via a computer bus). ... The Linux kernel is a Unix-like operating system kernel. ...

Tridgell continued his work with network-attached storage technologies when he joined Quantum Corporation as a Senior Engineer in the Systems Storage Group. His role once again involved developing functionality and efficiency modifications into Samba to enhance Quantum's Guardian network-attached storage device range. One of the features that he added to Samba at this time was support for Microsoft's Active Directory technology, a new authentication system introduced with Microsoft's Windows 2000 Server product range. Quantum Corporation is a manufacturer of tape drive products, based in San Jose, California. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Typically Active Directory is managed using the graphical Microsoft Management Console. ... Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptive, interruptible, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. ...

In 2004, Tridgell was employed by IBM working remotely for the Almaden Research Center. In January 2005, he joined the OSDL on a one-year fellowship^[4]; he then returned to IBM.^[5] For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation) and Big Blue. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: A page of links If you disagree with its speedy deletion, please explain why on its talk page or at Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. ... The Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) is a non-profit organization supported by a global consortium dedicated to advancement of Linux, an operating system. ...

Awards

• In October 2003, The Bulletin magazine judged Tridgell to be Australia's smartest Information and Communications Technology person.^[6][7]
• In January 2006, the Free Software Foundation awarded Tridgell its 2005 Award for the Advancement of Free Software, for his work on Samba, the Linux kernel, and rsync. Tridgell was considered to have furthered an important goal of the free software movement since the founding of GNU, analyzing ways for free software to interact with widespread proprietary systems to allow people to more easily move away from those systems.

Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bulletin is an Australian weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney since 1880. ... Information technology (IT) or information and communication technology (ICT) is the technology required for information processing. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit corporation founded in October 1985 by Richard Stallman to support the free software movement (free as in freedom), and in particular the GNU project. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Free Software Foundation Award for the Advancement of Free Software is annually presented to a person who has made a great contribution to the progress and development of free software, through activities that accord with the spirit of free software. ... GNU (pronounced ) is a computer operating system composed entirely of free software. ...

References

1. ^ http://lwn.net/Articles/169178/
2. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/14/torvalds_attacks_tridgell/
3. ^ http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050421023821174
4. ^ http://www.osdl.org/newsroom/press_releases/2005/2005_01_17_beaverton.html
5. ^ http://www.osdl.org/newsroom/press_releases/2006/2006_Feb_01_beaverton.html
6. ^ http://sites.ninemsn.com.au/smart100/default.asp
7. ^ http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=135066

External links

• Andrew Tridgell's website
• Efficient Algorithms for Sorting and Synchronization (PhD thesis) - (406kB PDF)