Creator of Apple's Core Animation leaves for new role, likely at Facebook
John Harper, the creator of of Apple's Core Animation tool for developers and the inventor credited with designing gesture and scrolling animations in iOS, has apparently taken a new position at social networking giant Facebook.
Harper's departure was revealed on Twitter on Thursday, as highlighted by Daring Fireball. Harper designed and implemented the "CoreAnimation" compositing and animation framework that first appeared in the debut iPhone OS in 2007, and came to OS X 10.5 Leopard later that year.
His name appears as the inventor on a number of key software patents owned by Apple related to both OS X and iOS. For example, Harper is one of the key inventors on the Apple patent Framework for Graphics Animation and Composting Operations," along with many other graphics- and display-related patents.
According to Harper's LinkedIn page, he spent just over 12 years at Apple. During his time there, he also co-designed and implemented the "CoreImage" real-time image processing engine that debuted in OS X 10.4 Tiger, which launched in 2005.
Harper is also credited with working on the OS X windowing system, the Mac X11 port, and various components of the graphics systems found in both OS X and iOS.
His new position will apparently reunite him with Kimon Tsinteris, a former designer and engineer at Apple who now works on Facebook for iOS. Tsinteris took to Twitter on Thursday to say that he's "delighted" to be crossing paths with Harper once again.
Harper responded by thanking Tsinteris and revealed that he will officially start next week. Neither man mentioned Facebook in their comments, but Harper's profile says that he "was Apple's Core Animation hacker," referring to the position in the past tense.
Core Animation is the graphics rendering and animation structure found in both Apple's Mac OS X operating system, and the iOS mobile platform for iPhone and iPad. Developers use Core Animation to animate the views and other visual elements of their third-party apps.
Core Animation makes it simpler for developers to create the proper look and feel in their applications, by handling the bulk of the work required to draw each frame of an animation. Developers must simply configure a few animation parameters, like the start and end point, and allow Core Animation to handle the rest of the process.
Harper's departure was revealed on Twitter on Thursday, as highlighted by Daring Fireball. Harper designed and implemented the "CoreAnimation" compositing and animation framework that first appeared in the debut iPhone OS in 2007, and came to OS X 10.5 Leopard later that year.
His name appears as the inventor on a number of key software patents owned by Apple related to both OS X and iOS. For example, Harper is one of the key inventors on the Apple patent Framework for Graphics Animation and Composting Operations," along with many other graphics- and display-related patents.
According to Harper's LinkedIn page, he spent just over 12 years at Apple. During his time there, he also co-designed and implemented the "CoreImage" real-time image processing engine that debuted in OS X 10.4 Tiger, which launched in 2005.
Harper is also credited with working on the OS X windowing system, the Mac X11 port, and various components of the graphics systems found in both OS X and iOS.
His new position will apparently reunite him with Kimon Tsinteris, a former designer and engineer at Apple who now works on Facebook for iOS. Tsinteris took to Twitter on Thursday to say that he's "delighted" to be crossing paths with Harper once again.
Harper responded by thanking Tsinteris and revealed that he will officially start next week. Neither man mentioned Facebook in their comments, but Harper's profile says that he "was Apple's Core Animation hacker," referring to the position in the past tense.
Core Animation is the graphics rendering and animation structure found in both Apple's Mac OS X operating system, and the iOS mobile platform for iPhone and iPad. Developers use Core Animation to animate the views and other visual elements of their third-party apps.
Core Animation makes it simpler for developers to create the proper look and feel in their applications, by handling the bulk of the work required to draw each frame of an animation. Developers must simply configure a few animation parameters, like the start and end point, and allow Core Animation to handle the rest of the process.
Comments
He must be someone important. That was my first thought when I saw his LinkedIn pic showing himself all disheveled and unkept. I guess if one is really that good, they don't care how he keeps himself since he'll probably be working more-or-less on his own, at home, to not care.
Take some pride in your appearance buddy
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
He's hardly dropping the ball. You can't force somebody to work at a place they don't want to. That went the way of the dodo in this country way back in 1865. More than likely Tim Cook has his replacement ready to go. Being as important as this guy was don't you think there's a "Line Of Succession" in place for things such as this?
Sounds like another forked version of Android is in the works.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
I'm waiting to see a single post from you that isn't a hysterically shitty troll. You must have a sad, sad life.
Maybe Tim Cook should have chained this guy up to prevent him from leaving? Tim Cook has "dropped the ball" because, as it's been since the beginning of time, people leave companies (for a myriad of reasons) and new people join? You don't have a shred of background info about this person's personal decisions for leaving, yet your kneejerk reaction is to place blame on Cook? Well known, long-term Apple employees left under Jobs too- but wait, let's forget about that, because to continue your narrative we need to invent the reality that Apple was a beacon of purity, perfection, and infinite joy and unicorns before Cook took over.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
What you should be concerned about is that you may actually believe your "Tim Cook Dropped Ball, thus Apple Doomed" propaganda nonsense.
So lets recap the famous quotes from armchair whiners like you:
Tim Cook dropping ball again.
Apple is doomed.
Steve Jobs would never do this.
Apple lost their innovation since Steve Jobs died.
Apple is in decline because they don't sell cheap junk.
Care to add more?
Sounds like another forked version of Android is in the works.
I figured he was going to work on Facebook's Virtual Reality acquisition with his graphics background.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
"constant exodus"?
Name names, pls.
If the last two quarters are an indication that Tim Cook is "dropping the ball", I hope it stays on the floor.
$$$$$ . . . and from all the right products.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
Yes, because nobody important ever left Apple when Steve was CEO of Apple.
-Bertrand Serlet
-Tony Fadel
-Jon Rubenstein
-Sina Tommaddon
-Ron Johnson
These are just a few of the big names that have all left Apple under Steve's wing, most of them being related with the Mac side. I'm so tired of this Tim Cook shit people keep spewing out.
What really big names have left Apple since Tim was here? Scott Forstall was fired, so he doesn't count.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
No one is irreplaceable, not even Steve Jobs. This “Tim Cook is dropping the ball” nonsense is complete bullshit. Repeating it ad nauseam does not make it true.
....at least we still have the designer for the colorful and iOS7 interface with obscure touch element flair
Jesus, that profile pic. My grandmother's voice comes to mind. "Wipe that puss off your face."
Some of the most interesting and talented people I know would be dismissed as hobos by the superficial members of society. Some people live life on the surface, others are more interested in what lies beneath. I'm one of the latter. Sounds like Apple lost a talented developer.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
People may be leaving but there are people coming on board too. Off the top of my head I know there's been two major fashion executives (Deneve and Ahrendts) as well as Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre rumored to be joining the Apple executive team as well.
....at least we still have the designer for the colorful and iOS7 interface with obscure touch element flair
The one that is running on over 80% of iOS devices?
A bit of a shame for a talented developer like that to be wasting his talent on something as vapid as Facebook, but I'm willing to bet he's getting more money there than he ever would have at Apple. 12 years is an eternity in developer years... Switching is a good thing for all parties involved.
He gives himself way too much credit.
Apple should be deeply concerned about the constant exodus of deeply technical people in recent years. Tim Cook is dropping the ball again.
Yes, that's right... and Apple should get together with companies like Facebook and set up some sort of anti-poaching agreement. Why didn't Tim Cook think of that?
/s.