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Jeremy Allison

b. 1962

Computer programmer

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About Jeremy Allison

Born 1962. Jeremy Allison is a British programmer, known for Samba (software).

Jeremy Allison is a computer programmer known for his contributions to the free software community, notably to Samba, a re-implementation of SMB/CIFS networking protocol, released under the GNU General Public License.

Other contributions include the early versions of the pwdump password cracking utility.

Career Free software evangelism During his career, Jeremy Allison has consistently defended the free software approach: He pitched making Vantive Corporation code free software to its founder. He persuaded Michael Tiemann to use the GNU General Public License for Cygwin. He similarly convinced Tim Wilkinson to put the Kaffe virtual machine for Java under the GPL. He was involved in Silicon Graphics' decision to put XFS for Linux under the GPL. This commitment to free software culminated with his decision to leave Novell in protest of a patent deal that was considered by many as a FUD attack on Linux and other free software, and by Allison as breaking section 7 of the GNU General Public License.

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Important facts

Born
1962
Birth century
Occupation
Known for
Samba (software)
Employers
Google
Awards
O'Reilly Open Source Award

People in Jeremy Allison's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jeremy Allison's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jeremy Allison?

computer programmer

When was Jeremy Allison born?

Jeremy Allison was born in 1962.

What is Jeremy Allison's occupation?

Jeremy Allison is a programmer.

What is Jeremy Allison known for?

Jeremy Allison is known for Samba (software).

What nationality is Jeremy Allison?

Jeremy Allison is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jeremy Allison

· Wikidata: Q4531317

· DBpedia: Jeremy Allison

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jeremy Allison. https://biography.guide/jeremy-allison/

MLA: "Jeremy Allison." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jeremy-allison/.

Chicago: "Jeremy Allison." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jeremy-allison/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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