nLab Joseph Goguen
Joseph Amadee Goguen (1941–2006) was a computer scientist and applied category theorist. His theoretical work included the algebraic theory of abstract data types, initial model semantics, institutions, order sorted algebra, parameterized programming, database integration, hidden algebra, sheaf semantics of concurrent interacting objects, and algebraic semiotics. Very important to computer science was his rôle in founding algebraic specification, including abstract data types, modules and module composition, and the OBJ language family.
Selected writings
Promoting the use of category theory in computer science.
- Joseph A. Goguen: A Categorical Manifesto, Mathematical Structures in Computer Science 1 1 (1991) 49-67 [doi:10.1017/S0960129500000050]
Introducing indexed categories as a tool of categorical semantics in computer science, with fundamental results such as the existence and construction of (co)limits in Grothendieck constructions:
- Andrzej Tarlecki, Rod M. Burstall, Joseph A. Goguen, Some fundamental algebraic tools for the semantics of computation: Part 3. Indexed categories, Theoretical Computer Science 91 2 (1991) 239-264 [doi:10.1016/0304-3975(91)90085-G]
On categorical logic for dynamical systems:
- Joseph Goguen: Sheaf Semantics for Concurrent Interacting Objects, Mathematical Structures in Computing Science 2 (1992) 159-91 [doi:10.1017/S0960129500001420 pdf]
A discussion of various treatments of the notion of a concept in category-theoretic terms:
- Joseph A. Goguen, What is a concept?, (2005). In: Dau, F., Mugnier, ML., Stumme, G. (eds) Conceptual Structures: Common Semantics for Sharing Knowledge. ICCS 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3596. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, (pdf)
Last revised on March 20, 2026 at 17:05:13. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.