Information | Detail |
---|---|
Date of birth | July 4, 1961 |
Nationality | American |
Residence | San Francisco, California |
Education | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
Occupation | Computer programmer, software engineer, inventor |
Brendan Eich is an American computer programmer, software engineer, and inventor. He is best known as the creator of the JavaScript programming language. He is also the co-founder of the Mozilla Corporation, the Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla open source project.
Eich was born on July 4, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he earned a bachelor's degree in computer science in 1983. He then went on to work for Silicon Graphics, Netscape Communications, and Mozilla.
In 1995, Eich created the JavaScript programming language while working at Netscape. JavaScript is a high-level, dynamic, untyped, and interpreted programming language. It is used to create interactive web pages and is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.
In 1998, Eich co-founded the Mozilla Corporation, the Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla open source project. The Mozilla Corporation is a for-profit organization that develops and markets the Firefox web browser. The Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the development of open source software. The Mozilla open source project is a global community of developers who work together to create and maintain open source software, such as the Firefox web browser.
In 2014, Eich was appointed CEO of the Mozilla Corporation. He resigned from the position in April 2014, following controversy over his support of California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state.
Eich has worked with many prominent figures in the tech industry, including Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape; Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; and Mitchell Baker, former CEO of the Mozilla Corporation.
"The web is a platform for human expression, creativity, and communication. It's a platform for innovation, for learning, and for problem solving. It's a platform for collaboration and for sharing. It's a platform for freedom and for opportunity." - Brendan Eich
Eich's support of California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state, sparked controversy and led to his resignation from the Mozilla Corporation in April 2014.
Eich is also an avid cyclist and has competed in several long-distance cycling events, including the Race Across America.
Eich is a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). He is also a board member of the Open Source Initiative (OSI).