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Michael Trigoboff, Ph.D.
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Instructor, Portland Community College
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Courses I have taught at PCC:
| CS140U: |
Introduction to Unix |
| CS161: |
Computer Science I |
| CS162: |
Computer Science II |
| CS200: |
Computer Systems I |
| CS201: |
Computer Systems II |
| CS260: |
Data Structures |
| CS261: |
Programming Systems |
| CIS233J: |
Java Programming II |
| CIS234J: |
Java Multi-Tier Software Development |
For an example of what can be done with a Java applet on a web page, here are two applets I wrote: Sun Clock (I always wanted a Geochron Clock but didn’t want to spend the money, so I made one of my own), and a boat docking simulator (I own a boat and enjoy driving it, so this is of some interest to me). There’s a small version of Sun Clock running at the top of this page.
I have been a professional software engineer for over 30 years, and have seen my code do many strange and wondrous things. Starting in 1988, I worked as an independent contract programmer, doing business as MLT Software, Inc. The details are available in my resume.
I have been programming in Java since 1995. My most “famous” Java project was a product called Jio which I did for iDream Software, a company that no longer exists. Jio was used to implement the “virtual dressing room” on the Eddie Bauer web site, but they only used it for a few months.
I had the good fortune to work for Xerox in Palo Alto starting in 1980. At that time, Xerox was the only place on the planet where there were graphical user interfaces, mice, laser printers, and local area networks. I worked on Xerox’s Star product, the first commercially sold computer system with those features. A group of Xerox people founded a startup company, Metaphor Computer Systems, which I joined early in 1982. We produced the first diskless workstation with a GUI and wireless keyboards and a mouse.
In a job at the Naval Personnel Research and Development Center, I built part of a prototype training simulator for operators of shipboard nuclear propulsion plants. At Ford Aerospace and Communications, I wrote a database-oriented programming language interpreter. At Saba Technologies, I wrote components of the optical character recognition software for a hand-held scanning device. As an independent software developer I wrote Sun Clock, an application that shows the areas of day and night on a map of the world. I also wrote DecisionMaker, which supported the construction and evaluation of decision trees. Both of these applications were published as shrink-wrapped commercial packages by Palo Alto Software of Eugene, OR. At Intertrust, I wrote components of an eBook publishing system. My first programming job was as a programmer trainee for Macy’s in New York City. This led to my debut as a roller-skating clown on Thanksgiving, 1970. This job at Macy’s was a big improvement over my previous job.
I have a Ph.D. in Computer Science. My Ph.D. thesis research was an artificial intelligence expert system specialized for use in medical diagnosis and therapy recommendations. My master’s research was in the area of natural language understanding. My pursuit of artificial intelligence in graduate school grew out of a childhood fascination with science fiction and robots.
The great science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Computer programming and magic have a lot in common. You have to get the “spell” exactly right, or bad things can happen. Skilled practitioners are called “wizards.” Ordinary people have no idea what programming wizards do.
I’ve often wondered why the idea of magic was invented millennia before the invention of computers, at a time when there was nothing remotely like magic in real human experience. The best explanation I’ve run into so far is something I heard on the radio a long time ago. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it definitely makes you think...
