Allen Holub

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Allen I. Holub (born 1955) is a computer author who was published in Dr. Dobb's Journal in the 1980s and then again in the 2010s. He also wrote for SD Times. His 1990 book Compiler Design in C was universally praised as an accessible reference. He is also a teacher, consultant, and speaker.

Career[edit]

Allen Holub received double Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, in Computer Science and Medieval European History.[1] In 1982, he became an instructor for the University of California Berkeley Extension,[2] where he has continued teaching periodically to the present day.[3] He started his consulting company "Holub Associates" in 1983,[2] which has also continued to the present day.[3][4]

Holub was the Chan-Norris Distinguished Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Mills College for the 2021-2022 academic year,[5][6] teaching a computer science elective course among other duties.[5][7]

Writing[edit]

Holub is a prolific author and has written many books and articles. His "C Chest" column appeared in Dr. Dobb's Journal from 1984 to 1988.[8] His "Java Toolbox" column appeared in JavaWorld from 1998 to 2004. His bi-monthly "JavaWatch" column was in SD Times from May 2004 to September 2006. Holub also blogged on Agile for Dr. Dobb's Journal from 2011 until its shutdown in 2014.[9]

Compiler Design in C
AuthorAllen I. Holub
Cover artistAllen I. Holub and Lundgren Graphics Ltd.
PublisherPrentice Hall, Inc.
Publication date
1990
Pages984
ISBN0-13-155045-4
LC ClassQA76.76.C65H65
Websitehttps://holub.com/compiler/

His 1990 book Compiler Design in C is a 984-page reference book, recommended by several library services at the time,[10][11] as well as trade publications[12][13][14] and the comp.compiler Usenet group FAQ.[15] It is now out of print, but available as a download on his website.[16] One reviewer stated he preferred it to the "dragon book", Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools, as its code examples made the material more approachable.[12]

Holub's book Taming Java Threads is an edited re-print of a 9-part series from his Java Toolbox column.[9] It has some good information, although is not as broad in coverage as other books.[17] Holub's book Holub on Patterns: Learning Design Patterns by Looking at Code contains a few of his more popular Java Toolbox articles, but is mostly new content.[18] It is a valuable resource for Java software developers.[19]

Speaking and advocacy[edit]

Holub signed the Agile Manifesto in March 2014.[20] As of 2023, Holub positions himself as well-versed in Lean/Agile methodology.[1] He has made several controversial statements, such as that software development teams do not need a bug tracking system,[21] do not need estimates,[22] and indeed should avoid most of the practices of Scrum.[23]

Personal life[edit]

In addition to his work in the software industry, Holub is also a composer, musician, artist, and pilot. As of 2023 he resides in Berkeley, CA.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Holub, Allen. "Allen Holub". Allen Holub. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Allen I. Holub, Biography". 5 November 1996. Archived from the original on 1996-11-05. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  3. ^ a b "Allen Holub - Principal - Holub Associates". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Allen Holub: Clients". 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-22.
  5. ^ a b "Allen Holub | Mills College". Archived from the original on 27 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Allen Holub". Archived from the original on 24 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Mills College Job Posting: Distinguished Visiting Professor of Computer Science - Essential". Archived from the original on 4 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Allen Holub: Published works". 22 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-08-22.
  9. ^ a b "Allen Holub: Online publications". holub.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  10. ^ Computer Book Review. CBR Publications. 1990.
  11. ^ Choice: Publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a Division of the American Library Association. American Library Association. 1990.
  12. ^ a b Schulman, Andrew (October 1992). "Programmer's Bookshelf: Slaying the Dragon". Dr. Dobb's Journal.
  13. ^ CommUNIXations. UniForum. 1990.
  14. ^ Blunden, Bill (2002). Virtual Machine Design and Implementation in C/C++. Wordware Pub. ISBN 978-1-55622-903-9.
  15. ^ "Reading list from comp.compilers FAQ". www.cs.man.ac.uk.
  16. ^ Holub, Allen (17 March 2017). "Compiler Design in C". Allen Holub.
  17. ^ Zukowski, John (15 December 2000). "Java threads: A comparative book review". InfoWorld.
  18. ^ Holub, Allen (27 September 2004). Holub on Patterns: Learning Design Patterns by Looking at Code. Apress. ISBN 978-1-4302-0725-2.
  19. ^ Dave, Maulik A. (13 April 2005). "Holub on patterns: learning design patterns by looking at code". Computing Reviews.
  20. ^ "Agile Manifesto Signatories". agilemanifesto.org. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  21. ^ Holub, Allen (25 February 2022). "Don't track bugs, fix them". Allen Holub.
  22. ^ Holub, Allen (9 July 2016). "#NoEstimates, An Introduction". Allen Holub.
  23. ^ "Agile & Scrum Don't Work | Allen Holub In The Engineering Room Ep. 9". YouTube. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
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