Geri Kildal

Geri Kildal
Druga imena	Gary Kildall
Datum rođenja	19 maj, 1942(1942-05-19)
Mesto rođenja	Sijetl, Wašington  SAD
Datum smrti	11. jul 1994.(1994-07-11) (52 god.)
Mesto smrti	Monterej, Kalifornija  SAD
Prebivalište	SAD
Državljanstvo	američko
Univerzitet	Univerzitet u Vašingtonu[1][2]
Zanimanje	Računarski naučnik
Aktivni period	1972–1994
Supružnik	Doroti Makeven Kildal Karen Kildal[3]
Deca	2[4]

Geri Arlen Kildal (/ˈkɪldˌɔːl/; 19. maj 1942 – 11. jul 1994) bio je američki informatičar i mikroračunarski preduzetnik koji je kreirao CP/M operativni sistem i osnovao Digital Research, Inc. (DRI).^[5] Kildal je bio jedan od prvih ljudi koji su videli mikroprocesore kao potpuno svestrane računare, a ne kao puke kontrolore opreme, i koji je organizovao kompaniju na tom konceptu.^[6] Takođe je bio domaćin PBS-ove emisije The Computer Chronicles. Iako je njegova informatička karijera trajala više od dve decenije, uglavnom je zapamćen po neuspešnom pokušaju IBM-a 1980. godine da licencira CP/M za IBM personalni računar.

In 1974 in Pacific Grove, Kildall demonstrated the first working prototype of CP/M. Together with his invention of the BIOS (Basic Input Output System), his operating system allowed a microprocessor-based computer to communicate with a disk storage^[7]. Kildall was among the earliest individuals to recognize microprocessors as fully capable computer.^[6] He is considered a pioneer of the personal computer revolution.^[6][8]

Geri Kildal je rođen i odrastao u Sijetlu u Vašingtonu, gde je njegova porodica vodila pomorsku školu. Njegov otac, Džosef Kildal, bio je kapetan norveškog porekla. Njegova majka Ema bila je delom švedskog porekla, pošto je Gerijeva baka rođena u Longbeku, Švedska, u opštini Skeleftoa, i emigrirala u Kanadu u svojoj 23. godini.^[9]

Geri je pohađao Univerzitet u Vašingtonu (UV) nameravajući da postane nastavnik matematike, ali je sve više postajao zainteresovan za računarsku tehnologiju. Nakon što je stekao diplomu,^[1] on je odslužio vojni rok u Mornarici Sjedinjenih Država tako što je predavao u Pomorskoj postdiplomskoj školi (NPS) u Montereju, Kalifornija.^[10] U to vreme dok je živeo na sat vremena vožnje od Silicijske doline, on je čuo za prvi komercijalno dostupan mikroprocesor, Intel 4004. On je kupio jedan procesor i počeo da piše eksperimentalne programe za njega. Da bi saznao više o procesorima, radio je u Intelu kao konsultant tokom svojih slobodnih dana.

Kildal se nakratko vratio na Univerzitet u Vašingtonu i završio doktorat iz računarskih nauka 1972,^[2] i zatim je nastavio sa predavanjima na NPS. On je objavio rad koji je uveo teoriju analize protoka podataka koja se i danas koristi u optimizaciji kompajlera^[11] (ponekad naziva Kildalovom metodom), i nastavio je da eksperimentiše sa mikroračunarima i novom tehnologijom disketa. Intel mu je dao na zajmio sisteme koji koriste procesore 8008 i 8080, a 1973. godine razvio je prvi programski jezik visokog nivoa za mikroprocesore, zvan PL/M.^[10] Za Intel je napisao i 8080 simulator skupa instrukcija nazvan INTERP/80. Iste godine stvorio je CP/M da bi omogućio da 8080 kontroliše flopi drajv, kombinujući prvi put sve bitne komponente računara na skali mikrokompjutera. On je dao Intelu demonstriciju CP/M, ali Intel je pokazao malo interesovanja i umesto toga su odlučili da plasiraju na tržište PL/M.^[10]

In 1973 Kildall and Kathryn Strutynski developed the language PL/M^[12] to produce CP/M, one of the first operating systems for personal computers, they used as reference their experience with the IBM mainframe computers and the operating system VM.

Kildall and his wife Dorothy established a company, originally called "Intergalactic Digital Research" (later renamed as Digital Research, Inc.), to market the operating system CP/M through advertisements in hobbyist magazines. Digital Research licensed CP/M for the IMSAI 8080, a popular clone of the Altair 8800. As more manufacturers licensed CP/M, it became a de facto standard and had to support an increasing number of hardware variations. In response, Kildall pioneered the concept of a BIOS, a set of simple programs stored in the computer hardware (ROM or EPROM chip) that enabled CP/M to run on different systems without modification.^[10]

CP/M's quick success took Kildall by surprise, and he was slow to update it for high density floppy disks and hard disk drives. After hardware manufacturers talked about creating a rival operating system, Kildall started a rush project to develop CP/M 2.^[13] By 1981, at the peak of its popularity, CP/M ran on 7003300000000000000♠3000 different computer models and DRI had 5,4 US$ million in yearly revenues.^[10]

Between 1983 and 1984, Digital Research offered several of their business and educational applications for the IBM PC on bootable floppy diskettes bundled with SpeedStart CP/M, a reduced version of CP/M-86 as a bootable runtime environment.^[14]

IBM approached Digital Research in 1980, at Bill Gates' suggestion,^[15] to negotiate the purchase of a forthcoming version of CP/M called CP/M-86 for the IBM PC. Gary had left initial negotiations to his wife, Dorothy, as he usually did, while he and colleague and developer of MP/M operating system Tom Rolander used Gary's private aeroplane to deliver software to manufacturer Bill Godbout.^[6][16] Before the IBM representatives would explain the purpose of their visit, they insisted that Dorothy sign a non-disclosure agreement. On the advice of DRI attorney Gerry Davis, Dorothy refused to sign the agreement without Gary's approval. Gary returned in the afternoon and tried to move the discussion with IBM forward, and accounts disagree on whether he signed the non-disclosure agreement, as well as whether he ever met with the IBM representatives.^[17]

Various reasons have been given for the two companies failing to reach an agreement. DRI, which had only a few products, might have been unwilling to sell its main product to IBM for a one-time payment rather than its usual royalty-based plan.^[18] Dorothy might have believed that the company could not deliver CP/M-86 on IBM's proposed schedule, as the company was busy developing an implementation of the PL/I programming language for Data General.^[8] Also possible, the IBM representatives might have been annoyed that DRI had spent hours on what they considered a routine formality.^[16] According to Kildall, the IBM representatives took the same flight to Florida that night that he and Dorothy took for their vacation, and they negotiated further on the flight, reaching a handshake agreement. IBM lead negotiator Jack Sams insisted that he never met Gary, and one IBM colleague has confirmed that Sams said so at the time. He accepted that someone else in his group might have been on the same flight, and noted that he flew back to Seattle to talk with Microsoft again.^[16]

Sams related the story to Gates, who had already agreed to provide a BASIC interpreter and several other programs for the PC. Gates' impression of the story was that Gary capriciously "went flying", as he would later tell reporters.^[19] Sams left Gates with the task of finding a usable operating system, and a few weeks later he proposed using the operating system 86-DOS—an independently developed operating system that implemented Kildall's CP/M API—from Seattle Computer Products (SCP). Paul Allen negotiated a licensing deal with SCP. Allen had 86-DOS adapted for IBM's hardware, and IBM shipped it as IBM PC DOS.^[17]

Kildall obtained a copy of PC DOS, examined it, and concluded that it infringed on CP/M. When he asked Gerry Davis what legal options were available, Davis told him that intellectual property law for software was not clear enough to sue.^[20] Instead Kildall only threatened IBM with legal action, and IBM responded with a proposal to offer CP/M-86 as an option for the PC in return for a release of liability.^[21] Kildall accepted, believing that IBM's new system (like its previous personal computers) would not be a significant commercial success.^[22] When the IBM PC was introduced, IBM sold its operating system as an unbundled option. One of the operating system options was PC DOS, priced at 40 US$. PC DOS was seen as a practically necessary option; most software titles required it and without it the IBM PC was limited to its built-in Cassette BASIC. CP/M-86 shipped a few months later six times more expensive at 240 US$, and sold poorly against DOS and enjoyed far less software support.^[6]

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