View source for Jim Starkey

{{Short description|American computer businessman}}
{{Infobox person
| name                    = Jim Starkey
| image                   = 
| caption                 =
| birth_date              = 6 January 1949
| birth_place             = [[Illinois]], USA
| death_date              =
| death_place             =
| alma_mater              = [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]
| known_for               = [[Multiversion concurrency control]], [[Falcon (storage engine)|Falcon]]
| spouse                  =Ann Harrison Starkey 
}}

'''Jim Starkey''' (born January 6, 1949, in [[Illinois]]) is a database architect responsible for developing [[InterBase]], the first relational database to support [[Multiversion concurrency control|multi-versioning]],<ref name=Babcock>Babcock, Charles. [http://www.informationweek.com/mysql-database-to-get-replication-monito/201806425 "MySQL Database to Get Replication Monitoring, Multiversioning Concurrency Features."] InformationWeek. Sept. 14, 2007. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref> the blob column type, type event alerts, arrays and [[Database trigger|trigger]]s.<ref name=Niccolai>Niccolai, James. [http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/109031/Update_MySQL_buys_company_hires_noted_database_architect "Update: MySQL buys company, hires noted architect."] Computer World. Feb. 27, 2006. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref> Starkey is the founder of several companies, including the web application development and database tool company [[Netfrastructure]] and [[NuoDB]].

==Education and career==
Jim Starkey graduated from [[University of Wisconsin]] at [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], [[Wisconsin]], with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in Mathematics.<ref name=Bloomberg>[http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=26171190&privcapId=115789579&previousCapId=8032075&previousTitle=Netfrastructure%20Inc. "Executive Profile: James A. Starkey."]{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Bloomberg Businessweek. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref> After graduating, Starkey worked at Computer Corporation of America on a research project to build a database machine for ARPAnet.<ref name=Novikova>Novikova, Marina. [http://www.ibphoenix.com/resources/documents/community/doc_296 "Interview with Jim Starkey from InterBase World."] IBPhoenix. Feb. 9, 2003. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref>

Starkey's first major computer language was STOP, an assembler emulator
written in 1965 and used by IIT for undergraduate instruction. Starkey joined Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1975. At DEC, he created the [[DATATRIEVE]] family of products, the DEC Standard Relational Interface, [[Oracle Rdb#Rdb on other platforms|VAX Rdb/ELN]], and designed the software architecture for DATATRIEVE'S database.<ref name=Mager>Mager, Peter. [https://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/starkeytalk.html "IEEE Computer Society and GBC/ACM."] Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref><ref name=Darrow>Darrow, Barb. [http://gigaom.com/cloud/database-superstar-jim-starkey-touts-nuodbs-new-patent/ "Database superstar Jim Starkey touts NuoDB's new patent."] Gigaom. Aug. 8, 2012. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref> He released DATATRIEVE Version 1 for the PDP-11 in 1977, VAX DATATRIEVE in 1981 as part of the VAX Information Architecture, Rdb/ELN, the Digital Standard Relational Interface, and a variety of uncommercialized database-centric and [[4GL]] proofs of concept. Also at DEC, Starkey invented data [[Binary large object |BLOB]]s.<ref name=McCullagh>McCullagh, Paul. [http://docs.huihoo.com/mysql/2008/An-Introduction-to-BLOB-Streaming-for-MySQL.pdf "Introduction to the BLOB Streaming Project."] MySQL Conference and Expo 2008. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref>

In 1984 he founded Groton Database Systems which became InterBase Software Corporation in 1986. Interbase was sold to Ashton-Tate in 1991, which in turn was sold to Borland.<ref name=Firebird>The Firebird FAQ. [http://www.firebirdfaq.org/faq238/ "Where can I learn about history of Firebird?"] Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref> Borland subsequently incorporated InterBase in its [[Delphi (software)|Delphi]] product. After leaving Interbase, Starkey began a series of attempts to productize innovative database technology, including [[Netfrastructure]].  He is known fondly as "The Wolf" to Firebird SQL developers (which is an open source branch from InterBase v6.0).

In 2000, Starkey founded Netfrastructure, Inc., a platform for web applications including a relational database, integrated search, a Java virtual machine, and a context-sensitive page generator.<ref name=Mager /> Netfrastructure was acquired by MySQL<ref name=Darrow /> and Starkey became a senior software architect at MySQL,<ref name=Niccolai />  where he started work on Falcon - a new transactional database engine based on the Netfrastructure codebase. He left MySQL in June 2008, a few months after Sun purchased MySQL AB, and Falcon never went beyond beta release.<ref name=Urlocker>Urlocker, Zach. [http://www.theopenforce.com/2008/06/falcon-and-jim.html "Thanks to Jim Starkey, the Father of Falcon."] TheOpenForce.com. Accessed Dec. 7, 2012</ref>

In 2008, Jim Starkey incorporated a database company called NimbusDB.  The name was formally changed to [[NuoDB]] in 2011.<ref name=Bloomberg /> He is currently working on a new database model called AmorphousDB.<ref>[http://www.odbms.org/blog/2016/08/database-challenges-and-innovations-interview-with-jim-starkey/ Database Challenges and Innovations. Interview with Jim Starkey]</ref>

==Patents==
Jim Starkey has been issued the following United States patents:
*“Database management system,” patented in 2012.<ref>[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=Starkey.INNM.&s2=Manchester.INCI.&OS=IN/Starkey+AND+IC/Manchester&RS=IN/Starkey+AND+IC/Manchester U.S. Patent 8,224,860] Inventor: James A. Starkey. Issued: July 17, 2012</ref> 
*“Database server system with methods for alerting clients of occurrence of database server events of interest to clients.”<ref>[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=3&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=Starkey.INNM.&s2=Manchester.INCI.&OS=IN/Starkey+AND+IC/Manchester&RS=IN/Starkey+AND+IC/Manchester U.S. Patent 5,592,664] Inventor: James A. Starkey. Issued: Jan. 7, 1997</ref> 
*“Method and apparatus for generating web pages from templates”<ref>[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=2&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=Starkey.INNM.&s2=Manchester.INCI.&OS=IN/Starkey+AND+IC/Manchester&RS=IN/Starkey+AND+IC/Manchester U.S. Patent 7,039,658.] Inventor: James A. Starkey. Issued: May 2, 2006</ref>

==Personal life==
Starkey is married to Ann Harrison, who is “a contributor to InterBase’s development.”<ref name=Niccolai />

==External links==

See [http://www.ddj.com/database/202802994] Dr. Dobb's Portal for a November 2007 interview with Starkey.

Another [https://web.archive.org/web/20071024114026/http://www.ibphoenix.com/main.nfs?a=ibphoenix] Interview with Jim Starkey was done in 2003 from InterBase World website

The History of the Blob and Interbase is on this [http://www.ibphoenix.com/resources/documents/history] page in the History section of Ibphoenix website

==References==
<references />

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkey, Jim}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:American computer businesspeople]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Illinois]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni]]