Greg Black



	What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is brought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? - Gandhi

Brief Biography

I am a programmer with over 20 years of experience in a wide range of software systems. These systems include the design and implementation of special purpose programming languages; television graphics software; simulators for the air force; business database systems; hardware device drivers; scientific software; general system utilities; etc.

My software is targeted exclusively at Unix platforms. My preferred programming languages are: C, Python, Tk (under Python), sh, awk, sed, Elisp and TeX. I occasionally use lex and yacc; and, for certain documentation projects, html. I do not use C++, Java, Perl or Tcl. All my software is free software.

I have done a lot of teaching of the programming languages listed above (especially C) and general Unix programming. I have taught small focused classes as well as large groups of several hundred programmers on the job.

Much of my existing software could be released to the public. One of my plans is to take the time to prepare that software for wider distribution. I will use this site to keep people informed about that project.

My non-professional interests include writing (journalism and short stories and a couple of unwanted novels); motor sport (on two and four wheels); BMWs; golf; reading (fiction and scientific books and magazines); renovating houses and building furniture.

I am a financial supporter of Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières and recommend the following links:

As a final note, this web site is very much a work in progress. It is also a low priority project, so corrections and additions may be slow to appear. There are many things that are hinted at but not actually provided at present. It may well take months for certain material to appear; if something that you're interested in is not currently in place, check back sometime in the future.