Rogue Wave's founder studied ocean waves before he sold software. Thomas Keffer was an oceanography professor at the University of Washington, and his company carried the name of a giant, sudden ocean wave. The company sold libraries of tested C++ and later Java code, the basic parts that programmers otherwise rewrote for every project. When it went public in November 1996, object-oriented programming was spreading fast through big companies.

From Oceanography to C++

Keffer started Rogue Wave in 1989 and ran it as an unincorporated business until 1991, when it incorporated in Oregon. It was based in Corvallis, home of Oregon State University, where Keffer had earned his Ph.D. The bet was that programmers would buy well-made parts instead of building everything themselves. Rogue Wave's libraries handled data structures, math and database access, and worked across many kinds of computers.

Twelve Dollars in Corvallis

Rogue Wave sold its shares at $12 in November 1996 and listed on Nasdaq as RWAV. The offering raised about $29.4 million, including shares sold by existing holders. The company later moved its headquarters to Boulder, Colorado. In 2003 Quovadx, a health care software company, bought Rogue Wave. The Rogue Wave name lived on as a developer tools brand for years after.

Cover: The Great Wave, Sète, Gustave Le Gray. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a great wave breaking (rogue wave).