Cowlishaw was a pre-University student in 1971 and joined IBM in 1974 as an electronic engineer but is best known as a programmer and writer. He is known for designing and implementing theRexx programming language (1984),[2][3] his work on colour perception and image processing that led to the formation ofJPEG (1985),[4] theSTETfolding editor (1977), theLEXX live parsing editor withcolour highlighting for theOxford English Dictionary (1985),[5] electronic publishing,SGML applications, the IBMJargon FileIBMJARG (1990),[6] a programmableOS/2 world globePMGlobe (1993),[7]MemoWiki based on hisGoServeGopher/http server,[8] and theJava-relatedNetRexx programming language (1997).
Cowlishaw has worked on aspects ofdecimal arithmetic; his proposal for an improved Java BigDecimal class (JSR 13) is now included in Java 5.0, and in 2002, he invented a refinement ofChen–Ho encoding known asdensely packed decimal encoding. Cowlishaw's decimal arithmetic specification formed the proposal for the decimal parts of theIEEE 754 standard, as well as being followed by many implementations, such asPython andSAP NetWeaver. His decNumber decimal package is also available as open source under several licenses and is now part ofGCC, and his proposals for decimal hardware have been adopted by IBM and others. They are integrated into theIBM POWER6 andIBM System z10 processor cores, and in numerous IBM software products such asDB2,TPF (inSabre),WebSphere MQ, operating systems, and C and PL/I compilers.[9]
Cowlishaw wrote an emulator for theAcorn System 1, and collected related documentation.[10] Outside computing, he caved in the UK, New England, Spain,[11] and Mexico[12] and continues to cave and hike in Spain. He is a life member of theNational Speleological Society (NSS), wrote articles in the 1970s and 1980s on battery technology and on the shock strength of caving ropes, and designedLED-basedcaving lamps.[13]His current programming projects include MapGazer.[14] and PanGazer[15]
The NetRexx Language, Cowlishaw, Michael F.,ISBN0-13-806332-X, Prentice-Hall, 1997
The REXX Language, Cowlishaw, Michael F., in English:ISBN0-13-780651-5, (second edition) 1990; in German:ISBN3-446-15195-8, Carl Hanser Verlag, 1988; in Japanese:ISBN4-7649-0136-6, Kindai-kagaku-sha, 1988
Densely Packed Decimal Encoding, Cowlishaw, Michael F.,(Summary.)IEE Proceedings – Computers and Digital Techniques ISSN 1350-2387, Vol. 149, No. 3, pp. 102–104, IEE, May 2002
LEXX – A programmable structured editor, Cowlishaw, Michael F.,IBM Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1987, IBM Reprint order number G322-0151
