Contents
Ward Cunningham
Creating the first wiki: a website its readers could edit together.
WikiWikiWeb · The Wiki Way
- Born
- 26 May 1949
- Birthplace
- Michigan City, United States
More people
Ward Cunningham
American programmer who built WikiWikiWeb and helped develop influential approaches to collaborative software design. The wiki idea became a foundation for shared knowledge projects across the internet.
Early life
Indiana upbringing
Grew up in Highland, Indiana, after being born in Michigan City.
Purdue education
Studied interdisciplinary engineering and computer science, completing a master’s degree in 1978.
Career
- 1980s
Software research
Worked at Tektronix on tools and methods for programmers.
- 1995
WikiWikiWeb
Opened a collaborative site for discussing programming patterns.
- 2001
Agile manifesto
Joined the group that formulated the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.
- 2011
Federated Wiki
Developed a way for separate wikis to share and adapt one another’s pages.
Projects & writing
WikiWikiWeb
The first web-based wiki, hosted at his consultancy’s website.
The Wiki Way
Co-authored a guide to wiki collaboration with Bo Leuf.
Framework for Integrated Test
Created a tool connecting readable examples with software tests.
Beyond work
Amateur radio
Holds the amateur-radio call sign K9OX.
Shared practice
Helped establish the Hillside Group, bringing programmers together to exchange reusable design ideas.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institutional biography and research ↗Photo: Carrigg Photography for the Wikimedia Foundation. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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