Ward Cunningham

Howard G. Cunningham (born May 26, 1949) is a computer programmer and is best known as the prime inventor of WikiWikiWeb and one of pioneers in patterns and Extreme Programming. He founded the first wiki site, at the Portland Pattern Repository, on March 25, 1995. Cunningham, known in some software circles simply as Ward, currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

Ideas and inventions

Cunningham is well-known for a few widely disseminated ideas which he originated and developed. Among these, the most famous are the wiki (originally wikiwiki), and many patterns in the field of software patterns, including the collection of patterns that later became known as "Extreme Programming" or "XP."

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Wiki development

Cunningham states that the wiki concept came to him in the late 1980s, and he implemented it first in a HyperCard stack. He is the co-author (with Bo Leuf) of the book The Wiki Way (2001).

Related Topics:
1980s - HyperCard - Bo Leuf - The Wiki Way - 2001

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Patterns and Extreme Programming

Cunningham is also well known for his contributions to the developing practice of object-oriented programming: in particular, the use of pattern languages, and CRC cards (with Kent Beck). He is also a significant contributor to Extreme Programming, a software development methodology. A great deal of this work was carried out in the first wiki site itself. His most famous quote is probably, "What's the simplest thing that could possibly work?"

Related Topics:
Object-oriented programming - Pattern languages - CRC card - Kent Beck - Extreme Programming - Software development

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