Lars Bak (computer programmer)
{{Short description|Danish computer programmer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{About|the Danish computer programmer|the Danish cyclist|Lars Bak}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lars Bak
| image = Lars Bak.png
| alt =
| caption = Computer programmer Lars Bak
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Start date and age|1965}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Danish
| other_names =
| occupation = Computer programmer
| years_active = 1988–present
| known_for = JavaScript expert,
Virtual machine innovator
| notable_works = Dart
| awards = Senior Dahl–Nygaard Prize
}}
Lars Bak (born 1965) is a Danish computer programmer. He is known as a JavaScript expert and for his work on virtual machines. He formerly worked for Google, having contributed to the Chrome web browser as the lead developer of the V8 JavaScript engine.
Professional life
Bak studied at Aarhus University in Denmark, receiving an MS degree in computer science in 1988 after which he became active in designing and implementing object-oriented virtual machines. He has been awarded the 2018 Senior Dahl–Nygaard Prize.{{cite web|title=The AITO Dahl-Nygaard Prize Winners for 2018|url=http://www.aito.org/Dahl-Nygaard/2018.html|publisher=Association Internationale pour les Technologies Objets|access-date=7 January 2018}}
=Virtual machines=
After participating in the design and implementation of the BETA Mjølner System, in 1991 he joined the research group for the programming language Self at Sun Microsystems Laboratories in Palo Alto, California. During his time there, he developed a programming environment for Self, and added several enhancements to the virtual machine.
In 1994, he joined LongView Technologies LLC, where he designed and implemented high performance virtual machines for both Smalltalk and Java. After Sun Microsystems acquired LongView in 1997, Bak became engineering manager and technical lead in the HotSpot team at Sun's Java Software Division where he developed a high-performance Java virtual machine.[http://jaoo.dk/jaoo1999/speakers/bak.html Lars Bak, Biography], from JAOO.dk. Retrieved 29 March 2009.[http://www.cs.tut.fi/vierailuluennot/bak.html Guest Lecture by Lars Bak: A New Approach to Developing Robust Embedded Software]. Tampere University of Technology. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
In 2002, after returning to Aarhus, Denmark, Bak founded OOVM, a company which developed software for mobile phones. In 2004, he sold it to a Swiss company, Esmertec.[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/03775904-177c-11de-8c9d-0000779fd2ac.html The genius behind Google’s web browser. From FT.com.] Retrieved 29 March 2009.
In 2006, Bak joined Google to work on the Chrome browser. He did not return to the United States, preferring to work in Denmark where his daughters were also receiving their education.{{cite news|last=Schenker|first=Jennifer L.|title=Google's Chrome: The Danish Magic Inside|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-11-12/googles-chrome-the-danish-magic-insidebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021162243/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-11-12/googles-chrome-the-danish-magic-insidebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2012|access-date=6 December 2013|newspaper=Businessweek|date=12 November 2008}} With a team of 12 engineers, Bak coordinated the development of the V8 JavaScript interpreter for Chrome, named after the V8 engine.{{cite web |title=V8: an open source JavaScript engine |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWhMKalEicY |website=YouTube |publisher=Google |access-date=15 March 2024}}
Bak co-developed the Dart programming language presented at the 2011 Goto conference in Aarhus, Denmark.{{cite web|url=http://gotocon.com/aarhus-2011/presentation/Opening%20Keynote:%20Dart,%20a%20new%20programming%20language%20for%20structured%20web%20programming |title=Presentations -> Opening Keynote: Dart, a new programming language for structured web programming |publisher=Gotocon.com |date= |access-date=2013-10-08}}
In 2017, Bak left Google and soon afterward co-founded{{dubious|date=November 2021}} a startup with Kasper Lund called [https://toit.io Toit], which is building a new programming language called Toit and a platform for Internet of things systems.{{cite web|date=3 July 2018|title=Aarhus-eksperter fra Chromes Javascript-motor skaber IoT-sprog og virtuel maskine|url=https://www.version2.dk/artikel/aarhus-eksperter-chromes-javascript-motor-skaber-iot-sprog-virtuel-maskine-1085544|access-date=27 July 2018|website=Version2|language=da}}{{cite web|url=https://blog.toit.io/building-for-billions-bcb48814d864|title=Leaving Google for a couple of devices|last=Lund|first=Kasper|website=Toit Blog|date=24 February 2019|access-date=25 Jun 2021}}
Patents
Bak holds 18 U.S. Patents for software, in the field of virtual machine programming.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081220014745/http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2008/gb20081112_082312.htm Google's Chrome: The Danish Magic Inside. BusinessWeek.] Retrieved 29 March 2009. In 2010, after Oracle bought Sun and with Lars Bak working for Google, Oracle sued Google for infringing on several software patents and amongst them was the "Interpreting Functions Utilizing a Hybrid of Virtual and Native Machine Instructions" patent{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US6910205B2/en|title=Patent US6910205 - Interpreting functions utilizing a hybrid of virtual and native machine instructions|website=Google Patents|access-date=15 April 2020}} filed by Lars Bak et al.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Smalltalk programming language}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Danish computer programmers