Eric S. Raymond
Author of The Cathedral and the Bazaar and co-founder of the Open Source Initiative
- Age
- 68 yrs
- Birthday in 28 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Essay and book, Book
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Eric S. Raymond is an American programmer and writer whose 1997 essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” influenced Netscape’s decision to release its browser code. He co-founded the Open Source Initiative in 1998 and coined “Linus’s law”.
Biography
Background
Raymond grew up in several countries and studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He became involved in hacker culture and took over editing the Jargon File, a glossary of hacker slang.
The Cathedral and the Bazaar
His essay compared top-down software development (the cathedral) with Linux’s open, collaborative model (the bazaar). It argued “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”, which he called Linus’s law.
Open source
The essay helped persuade Netscape to release its source code in 1998. That year Raymond and Bruce Perens founded the Open Source Initiative to promote “open source” as a business-friendly term.
Views
He also wrote The Art of Unix Programming and maintains several open-source projects. His political views have often attracted controversy.
Timeline
-
1957
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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1990
Takes over the Jargon File
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1997
The Cathedral and the Bazaar
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1998
Netscape releases its source; OSI founded
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1999
Essay published as a book
-
2003
The Art of Unix Programming
Notable works
-
1997
The Cathedral and the Bazaar Essay and book
-
2003
The Art of Unix Programming Book
Did you know?
-
1
The Jargon File was published as The New Hacker’s Dictionary.
-
2
He has a mild form of cerebral palsy.
-
3
He maintains GPSD, used in many GPS devices.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Eric S. Raymond?
Eric S. Raymond is an American programmer and writer whose 1997 essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” influenced Netscape’s decision to release its browser code. He co-founded the Open Source Initiative in 1998 and coined “Linus’s law”.
How old is Eric S. Raymond?
Eric S. Raymond is 68 years old, born on 4 December 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Where is Eric S. Raymond from?
Eric S. Raymond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
What is Eric S. Raymond known for?
Eric S. Raymond is best known for The Cathedral and the Bazaar (1997); co-founding the Open Source Initiative; The Jargon File.
References
- Eric S. Raymond — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Eric S. Raymond — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Eric S. Raymond — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Eric S. Raymond — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Eric S. Raymond — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.catb.org. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Eric S. Raymond (Q188954) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Eric S. Raymond”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Eric S. Raymond.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/eric-s-raymond
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