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Today Duke serves as a mascot (and logo) for Java technology.
Some of Duke's friends graciously (and anonymously) shared their opinions about him with us.
Duke is agile and impish, ubiquitous and subtle. He is usually silent: he just thinks; therefore he is. Duke doesn't have to wear a tie if he doesn't want to. Duke doesn't like bad code, working out, or being called a troll, a tooth, or a penguin. Duke does like coffee, Duke Ellington, John Wayne, elegant code, and naps. Best Duke quote: "If you define me, you nullify me."
The Duke logo is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. by Jane Christophersen
Duke is the only non-human to play a major supporting role in launching what today is commonly known as the JavaTM platform. In fact, Duke appeared in the first public demonstration of Java technology-based applets -- short, interactive computer programs written in the Java programming language that are embedded in Web pages and can be executed when loaded into a Java technology-enabled browser. In early 1995, James Gosling, the creator of Java technology, demonstrated what was then called WebRunner to a conference of technology-oriented entertainment-industry professionals. The sophisticated audience already knew about the Internet and its static images -- been there, done that. But this was different. When Duke somersaulted across the screen, the audience gasped with the instant realization of how dynamic the Internet could become. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since that triumphant day, Duke has enjoyed playing his role as an icon and protecting his trademark. The industry's infatuation with "agent technology," the purpose for which Duke was originally created, seems to have cooled. Semi-retired now, Duke appears only for causes he believes in and events he thinks are fun. You can catch a rare glimpse of him -- in person -- at Sun's JavaOneSM developer conference, June 15 through 18, at San Francisco's Moscone Center. How Duke Came to LifeIt's hard to recall how bleak and dreary life was just a few years ago before the Internet became the megastar that it is today. But back in 1991-1992, a small group of Sun programmers, code-named the Green Team, was secreted away in Menlo Park, with the task of anticipating the next wave in computing.
In the summer of 1992, the Green Team emerged with a working demo of an interactive, hand-held home-entertainment device that would control other electronic devices through the use of an animated touch-screen user interface. The heart of the user interface was Duke, created by graphic artist Joe Palrang, and animated by his staff.
Duke was actually a representation of the "software agent" that performed tasks for the user. The device that contained the user interface was called *7 (pronounced "star seven"), after a feature of the phone system in the Green Team's office. Eventually, *7 and the Green Team were rolled into an official Sun subsidiary called FirstPerson. (For more history about *7, see our article on Java technology's 3rd birthday). "Duke was already on board by the time I arrived at FirstPerson," says Herb Jellinek, a senior staff engineer who now works in Sun's Consumer and Embedded division. Jellinek remembers the thrust of the Green Team's research was to develop a new user interface that "went beyond the buttons, mice and or pop-up menus of the desktop computing world. They wanted an animated character that had a personality, a sense of humor." "Duke was developed as part of the human interface to serve as an agent for the user -- sort of like a remote control," recalls Annette Wagner, a senior human interface designer in Sun's Consumer & Embedded division. "Duke could hang on to things that you wanted to keep track of," says Jellinek. Frank Yellin, a staff engineer also in Consumer & Embedded, concurs. "Duke represented the user. You could drag him to the TV icon, and the TV listings would appear. Drag him to the phone book icon, and your phone numbers would appear." According to Jellinek, Duke was created to interact with a "fairly rich world. He could go into multiple rooms and interact with multiple objects. Duke even had a briefcase in which he could carry things around for you." In contrast, the paperclip assistant in Microsoft Office -- which was developed after Duke -- "is just a way to access the help menu; no more, no less." As a result of the Green Team's work, an entirely new processor-independent language was developed to control a large number of entertainment platforms and devices: the Java programming language (which, at the time, was called Oak). "We had the answer, but we didn't know the question," says Yellin. A Closer Look at DukeSo that he could do a lot in such small places as PDAs, Duke was designed to be very simple. He can be reduced to as tiny as 16x16 pixels, which practically guarantees that he can fit in anywhere. And, as we already know, he turns somersaults. In a way, those somersaults -- which helped launch the Java platform -- became Duke's downfall. While he generally doesn't like this widely known, Duke is hand-drawn, which is why he's rarely animated today. "We don't have anyone here who can animate him properly," says Wagner, the person at Sun who maintains close contact with Duke. Today, Duke serves as a mascot for Java technology. "We'll ask him to appear when there's an announcement we need to make," Wagner says. And, of course, he's going to be at the JavaOne conference. "But Duke never appears as a logo. And he won't endorse any product except Java technology," she cautions. Says Jellinek: "Duke is the programmer's friend. We've all been through a lot -- one of the constants has been Duke. Duke is above politics, he's above the fray at all times. Of course, if he wanted to, Duke could twist that stupid paperclip into a pretzel!"
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Duke
emerged in the summer of 1992, when the Green Team -- the pioneers at Sun who
created the Java programming language -- built a working demo of an interactive,
hand-held home-entertainment device called the *7 ("Star 7"). The *7 featured
Duke, an animated character who served as an agent for the user, and who could
interact with multiple objects on screen. 
Some people call him an animation, but those who love him call him "Duke." 