View source for Dr. Dobb's Journal

{{Short description|American computer magazine}}
{{Use MDY dates|date=September 2019|cs1-dates=y}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title          = Dr. Dobb's Journal
| image_file     = DrDobbs first.png
|image_caption   = Issue #1
| editor         = Andrew Binstock
| frequency      = Monthly
| circulation    = 120,000
| category       = [[List of computer magazines|Computer magazines]]
| company        = [[People's Computer Company]]<!-- (1976-1984) --><br/>[[M&T Publishing]]<!-- (1984-1992) --><br/>[[Miller Freeman, Inc.|Miller Freeman]]<!-- (1992-1999) --><br/>CMP Media<!-- (1999-2004) --><br/>[[United Business Media]]<br/>[[UBM Technology Group]]<br>[[Informa PLC]]<!-- 2018- --><!-- exact switchover dates and company names need to be researched (looked up in the print issues of the magazine) -->
| firstdate      = {{start date and age|1976|01}}
| finaldate      = {{end date|2009|02}} (print)
| country        = [[United States]]
| language       = [[English language|English]]
| website        = [http://www.drdobbs.com www.drdobbs.com]{{Dead link|date=November 2025}}<br>(formerly [http://www.ddj.com www.ddj.com])
| issn           = 1044-789X
|
}}

'''''Dr. Dobb's Journal'''''<ref name=Dennis.Britannica>{{cite web  |website=Britannica.com
   |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dennis-Allison
   |title=Dennis Allison
   |quote=later changed to Dr. Dobb’s Journal}}</ref> (often shortened to ''Dr. Dobb's'' or DDJ) was a monthly [[magazine]] published in the [[United States]] by [[UBM Technology Group]], part of [[UBM plc|UBM]]. It covered topics aimed at [[computer programmer]]s. When launched in 1976, DDJ was the first regular periodical focused on [[microcomputer]] software, rather than hardware. In its last years of publication, it was distributed as a [[PDF]] monthly, although the principal delivery of ''Dr. Dobb's'' content was through the magazine's [[website]]. Publication ceased at the end 
of 2014,<ref name=ENDiProg.cite>{{cite web
   |url=https://www.i-programmer.info/news/152-epub/8096-dr-dobbs-bites-the-dust-after-38-years.html
   |title=Dr Dobb's Bites The Dust After 38 Years
   |date=December 17, 2014}}</ref> with the archived website continuing to be available online.

==History==
[[Bob Albrecht]] edited an [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] newspaper about computer games programmed in [[BASIC]] with the same name as the tiny nonprofit educational corporation that he had founded, ''[[People's Computer Company]]'' (PCC).  [[Dennis Allison]]<ref name=Dennis.Britannica/> was a longtime computer consultant on the [[San Francisco Peninsula]] and sometime instructor at [[Stanford University]]. The ''Dobbs'' title was based on a mashup of the first letters of their names: Dennis and Bob.

===First issues===
In the first three quarterly issues of the PCC newspaper published in 1975, Albrecht had published articles written by Allison, describing how to design and implement a stripped-down version of an [[interpreter (computer software)|interpreter]] for the BASIC language, with limited features to be easier to implement.  He called it [[Tiny BASIC]].  At the end of the final part, Allison asked computer hobbyists who implemented it to send their implementations to PCC, and they would circulate copies of any implementations to anyone who sent a [[self-addressed stamped envelope]].  Allison said, "Let us stand on each others' shoulders; not each others' toes."

The journal was originally intended to be a three-issue [[Xerography|xerographed]] publication. Titled '''''dr. dobb's journal of Tiny BASIC Calisthenics & Orthodontia''''' (with the subtitle ''Running Light Without Overbyte'') it was created to distribute the implementations of Tiny BASIC. The original title was created by Eric Bakalinsky, who did occasional paste-up work for PCC.  ''Dobb's'' was a contraction of ''Dennis'' and ''Bob''. It was at a time when computer memory was very expensive, so compact coding was important.  [[Microcomputer]] hobbyists needed to avoid using too many [[byte]]s of memory.

After the first photocopies were mailed to those who had sent stamped addressed envelopes, PCC was flooded with requests that the publication become an ongoing [[periodical]] devoted to general [[microcomputer]] [[software]].

PCC agreed, and hired [[Jim Warren (computer specialist)|Jim Warren]] as its first editor. He immediately changed the title to '''''Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia''''' prior to publishing the first issue in January 1976.  The title refers to "jumping through hoops" (calisthenics) and "pulling teeth" (orthodontia).

===Early years===
[[Jim Warren (computer specialist)|Jim Warren]] was DDJ's editor for about a year and a half.<ref>{{cite magazine
| magazine=[[InfoWorld]]  |date=March 7, 1983  |page=4
| title=Jim Warren, Dr. Dobbs Journal, Silicon Gulch Gazette}}</ref> While he went on to make a splash with his series of [[West Coast Computer Faire]]s,<ref name=JWarren7x.NYT>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/24/technology/a-utopian-with-a-twinkle-and-an-idea-online-democracy.html
| url-access=subscription
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527140508/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/24/technology/a-utopian-with-a-twinkle-and-an-idea-online-democracy.html?pagewanted=1
| archive-date=2015-05-27
| title=A Utopian With a Twinkle and an Idea: Online Democracy
| author=Rebecca Fairley Raney  |date=February 24, 2000}}{{cbignore}}</ref> subsequent DDJ editors<ref name="Swaine_2006"/> like Marlin Ouverson,<ref name="Marlin Ouverson">Ouverson, Marlin (December 5, 2001). [http://www.svipx.com/pcc/PCCminipages/zee0b3d6d.html "The People's Computer Company Alumni Pages - Marlin Ouverson"]. SVIPX.com.</ref><ref name="Marlin Ouverson addl">Ouverson, Marlin (December 12, 2009). [http://www.externaldesign.com/essays/2001-12-05-DDJ-editor-autobio.html Preceding, cited essay at author's own site].<!--along with a relevant essay, "Network Neutrality," that references DDJ and expresses certain principles formulated during two years as editor of that magazine during the early days of the "personal computing revolution. -- No such essay found--></ref> Hank Harrison, [[Michael Swaine (technical author)|Michael Swaine]] and Jonathan Erickson appear to have focused on the journalistic and social aspects of the young but growing microcomputer industry. Eventually PCC, the non-profit corporation, sold DDJ to a commercial publisher.<ref name="Swaine_2006"/>

The newsletter's content was originally pure enthusiast material. Initial interest circled around the Tiny BASIC interpreter, but Warren broadened that to include a variety of other programming topics, as well as a strong consumer bias, especially needed in the chaotic early days of microcomputing. All of the content came from [[Volunteering|volunteer]] contributors, with [[Steve Wozniak]] as one of the better known of them. Other contributors included [[Jef Raskin]], later credited as a leader in the Macintosh development; Hal Hardenberg, the originator of [[DTACK Grounded]] an early newsletter for [[Motorola 68000]] based software and hardware; and [[Gary Kildall]], who had created [[CP/M]], the first disk operating system for microcomputers which was not married to proprietary hardware.

[[File:DDJ Cover May 1980.jpg|right|thumb| ''Dr. Dobb's Journal'', May 1980 issue]]
[[Computer program]] [[source code]] published during the early years include:
* [[Tiny BASIC]] [[interpreter (computing)|interpreter]]
* [[Tiny BASIC#Palo Alto Tiny BASIC|Palo Alto Tiny BASIC]] by [[Li-Chen Wang]]
* [[Small-C]] [[compiler]] by [[Ron Cain]]
* [[Programming (music)|Music programs]]<ref name="hccn">[https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/fy806jp7448/fy806jp7448_31_0000.pdf Homebrew Computer Club Newsletter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043108/https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/fy806jp7448/fy806jp7448_31_0000.pdf |date=2021-06-16  }}, vol. 2 iss. 8, 1 Sep. 1976</ref>

There were also projects for computer speech synthesis and computer music systems.<ref name="hccn"/> The March 1985 issue "10(3)" printed [[Richard Stallman]]'s "[[GNU Manifesto]]" a call for participation in the then-new [[free software movement]].

===Discontinuation of printed edition===
[[Image:Dr Dobbs Journal magazine December 2000.jpg|right|thumb|''Dr. Dobb's Journal'', December 2000 issue]]
In later years,{{when|date=April 2011}} the magazine received contributions from developers all over the world working in application development and [[embedded systems]] across most [[programming languages]] and platforms. The magazine's focus became more professional. Columnists included [[Michael Swaine (technical author)|Michael Swaine]], [[Allen Holub]] and [[Verity Stob]], the pseudonymous British programmer.

The title was later shortened to ''Dr. Dobb's Journal'', then changed to ''Dr. Dobb's Journal of Software Tools'' as it became more popular. The magazine later reverted to ''Dr. Dobb's Journal'' with the selling line, "''The World of Software Development''", with the abbreviation DDJ also used for the corresponding website. In January 2009 Jonathan Erickson, the editor-in-chief, announced the magazine would cease monthly print publication, become a section of ''InformationWeek'' called ''Dr Dobb's Report'',<ref>Erickson, Jonathan (January 6, 2009). [http://www.ddj.com/linux-open-source/212700891 "A Pocketful of Change"]. drdobbs.com.</ref> a website and monthly digital PDF edition.

===Later history===
The primary Dr. Dobb's content streams at the end were the Dr. Dobb's website, ''Dr. Dobb's Journal'' (the monthly PDF magazine, which had different content from the website) and a weekly newsletter, ''Dr. Dobb's Update''. In addition, Dr. Dobb's continued to run the Jolt Awards and, since 1995, the [[Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming Award]]. Regular bloggers include [[Scott Ambler]], [[Walter Bright]], [[Andrew Koenig (programmer)|Andrew Koenig]], and [[Al Williams (author)|Al Williams]]. Adrian Bridgwater edited the news section beginning in 2010.

===End===
On December 16, 2014, an article by editor-in-chief Andrew Binstock announced that ''Dr. Dobb's'' would cease publication of new articles at the end of 2014.<ref>Binstock, Andrew (December 16, 2014). [http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/farewell-dr-dobbs/240169421 "Farewell, Dr. Dobb's"]. drdobbs.com.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/17/dr_dobbs_journal_sails_into_the_sunset/ |title=Dr. Dobb's Journal sails into the sunset - yet again |last=Anderson |first=Tim |date=December 17, 2014 |website=The Register |access-date=July 10, 2017}}</ref>{{Context inline|date=February 2018}}<ref name=ENDiProg.cite/> Archived articles are still available online. While no longer distributed, Dr. Dobb's is widely considered{{by who|date=November 2021}} an important and influential source for the history of the personal computer industry.{{fact|date=November 2021}}

==See also==
* [[DTACK Grounded]]
* [[Component Developer Magazine]]
{{Listen
| filename = JimWarren041006 part1.ogg
| title = Interview with Jim Warren
| type = speech
| pos = left
}}
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Swaine_2006">{{cite magazine |author-link=Michael Swaine (technical author) |author-last=Swaine |author-first=Michael |title=Dr. Dobb's Journal @ 30 |date=January 2006 |volume=31 |issue=1 |id=#380<!-- |number=380 --> |magazine=Dr. Dobb's Journal |page=18 |url=http://www.ddj.com/architect/184406378 |access-date=2020-01-14 }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* [[John Markoff]], ''[[What the Dormouse Said]]'' ({{ISBN|0-670-03382-0}}).

==External links==

{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.drdobbs.com/ Dr. Dobb's Web site]{{Dead link|date=November 2025}}
* [http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub//tex/bib/dr-dobbs-1990.html#Jenkins:1997:AAH ''Dr. Dobb's'' bibliography]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Dobb's Journal}}
[[Category:Computer magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct computer magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Monthly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1976]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 2009]]
[[Category:1976 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Magazines published in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Informa brands]]