Search
Close this search box.

John Birrell

November 26, 2009

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that we in the DTrace community have lost one of our own: the indomitable John Birrell, who ported DTrace to FreeBSD, suffered a stroke and passed away on Friday, November 20, 2009.

We on Team DTrace knew John to be a remarkably talented and determined software engineer. As those who have attempted ports can attest, DTrace passes through rough country, and a port to a foreign system is a significant undertaking that requires mastery of both DTrace and (particularly) the target system. And in being the first to attempt a port, John’s challenge was that much greater — and his success in the endeavor a tribute to both his ability and (especially) his tenacity. For example, in performing the port, John decided that DTrace’s dependency on the cyclic subsystem was such that it, too, needed to be ported. He didn’t need to do this (and indeed, other ports have decided that an arbitrary resolution profile provider is not worth the significant trouble), but that he undertook this additional technical challenge anyway — even when any victory would remain hidden to all but the most expert eye — says a lot about John as both an engineer and a man. Later, when the port ran into some frustrating licensing issues, John once again did not give up. Rather, he backed up, and found a path forward that would satisfy all parties — even though it required significant technical reworking on his part. I have long believed that the mark of a great engineer is not how frequently they get knocked down, but rather how quickly they get back up — and in this regard, John was indisputably a giant.

John, you will be missed — not only by the FreeBSD community upon which you made an indelible mark, but by those of us in the DTrace community who only had the opportunity to work with you more recently. And while your legacy might remain anonymous to the future generations that will benefit from the fruits of your long labor, we will always know that it never would have happened without you. Thank you, and farewell.

(Those who wish to memorialize John may want to do as I did and make a donation in his memory to the FreeBSD Foundation.)

Leave a Reply

Recent Posts

September 2, 2024
November 18, 2023
November 27, 2022
October 11, 2020
July 31, 2019
December 16, 2018
September 18, 2018
December 21, 2016
September 30, 2016
September 26, 2016
September 13, 2016
July 29, 2016
December 17, 2015
September 16, 2015
January 6, 2015
November 10, 2013
September 3, 2013
June 7, 2012
September 15, 2011
August 15, 2011
March 9, 2011
September 24, 2010
August 11, 2010
July 30, 2010
July 25, 2010
March 10, 2010
November 26, 2009
February 19, 2009
February 2, 2009
November 10, 2008
November 3, 2008
September 3, 2008
July 18, 2008
June 30, 2008
May 31, 2008
March 16, 2008
December 18, 2007
December 5, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 8, 2007
September 6, 2007
August 21, 2007
August 2, 2007
July 11, 2007
May 20, 2007
March 19, 2007
October 12, 2006
August 17, 2006
August 7, 2006
May 1, 2006
December 13, 2005
November 16, 2005
September 13, 2005
September 9, 2005
August 21, 2005

Archives

Archives