Programming Quotes

Being abstract is something profoundly different from being vague... The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.

Edsger Dijkstra

The C programming language -- a language which combines the power of assembly language with the flexibility of assembly language.

unknown

A good programmer is someone who looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.

Doug Linder

There are only two hard problems in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things.

Phil Karlton

The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up with a program that could not be legally used because someone else followed the same logical steps some years ago and filed for a patent on it is horrifying.

John Carmack

Programming is like sex: one mistake and you have to support it for the rest of your life.

Michael Sinz

I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone.

Bjarne Stroustrup

In order to understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.

Author Unkown

Perl - The only language that looks the same before and after RSA encryption.

Keith Bostic

There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don’t believe this to be a coincidence.

Jeremy S. Anderson

There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies.

C.A.R. Hoare, The 1980 ACM Turing Award Lecture

The most amazing achievement of the computer software industry is its continuing cancellation of the steady and staggering gains made by the computer hardware industry.

Henry Petroski

The computing scientist's main challenge is not to get confused by the complexities of his own making.

E. W. Dijkstra

UNIX was not designed to stop its users from doing stupid things, as that would also stop them from doing clever things.

Doug Gwyn

PHP is a minor evil perpetrated and created by incompetent amateurs, whereas Perl is a great and insidious evil perpetrated by skilled but perverted professionals.

Author unkown

Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves.

Alan Kay

Computers are about making life easier in much the same way that the Republican party is about fiscal responsibility and a culture of life.

mister_borogove

Programming graphics in X is like finding the square root of PI using Roman numerals.

Henry Spencer

"PL/I and Ada started out with all the bloat, were very daunting languages, and got bad reputations (deservedly). But C++ has shown that if you slowly bloat up a language over a period of years people don't seem to mind as much."

James Hague

Should array indices start at 0 or 1? My compromise of 0.5 was rejected without, I thought, proper consideration.

Stan Kelly-Bootle

It's hard to read through a book on the principles of magic without glancing at the cover periodically to make sure it isn't a book on software design.

Bruce Tognazzini

One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that—lacking zero—they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs.

Robert Firth

The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.

Anonymous

The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation on a keyboard, and a display screen comes to life, showing things that never were nor could be.... The computer resembles the magic of legend in this respect, too. If one character, one pause, of the incantation is not strictly in proper form, the magic doesn't work. Human beings are not accustomed to being perfect, and few areas of human activity demand it. Adjusting to the requirement for perfection is, I think, the most difficult part of learning to program.

Frederick Brooks

From a programmer's point of view, the user is a peripheral that types when you issue a read request.

Peter Williams

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

Rich Kulawiec


	Programming Quotes Being abstract is something profoundly different from being vague... The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise. Edsger Dijkstra The C programming language -- a language which combines the power of assembly language with the flexibility of assembly language. unknown A good programmer is someone who looks both ways before crossing a one-way street. Doug Linder There are only two hard problems in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things. Phil Karlton The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up with a program that could not be legally used because someone else followed the same logical steps some years ago and filed for a patent on it is horrifying. John Carmack Programming is like sex: one mistake and you have to support it for the rest of your life. Michael Sinz I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone. Bjarne Stroustrup In order to understand recursion, one must first understand recursion. Author Unkown Perl - The only language that looks the same before and after RSA encryption. Keith Bostic There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don’t believe this to be a coincidence. Jeremy S. Anderson There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. C.A.R. Hoare, The 1980 ACM Turing Award Lecture The most amazing achievement of the computer software industry is its continuing cancellation of the steady and staggering gains made by the computer hardware industry. Henry Petroski The computing scientist's main challenge is not to get confused by the complexities of his own making. E. W. Dijkstra UNIX was not designed to stop its users from doing stupid things, as that would also stop them from doing clever things. Doug Gwyn PHP is a minor evil perpetrated and created by incompetent amateurs, whereas Perl is a great and insidious evil perpetrated by skilled but perverted professionals. Author unkown Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves. Alan Kay Computers are about making life easier in much the same way that the Republican party is about fiscal responsibility and a culture of life. mister_borogove Programming graphics in X is like finding the square root of PI using Roman numerals. Henry Spencer "PL/I and Ada started out with all the bloat, were very daunting languages, and got bad reputations (deservedly). But C++ has shown that if you slowly bloat up a language over a period of years people don't seem to mind as much." James Hague Should array indices start at 0 or 1? My compromise of 0.5 was rejected without, I thought, proper consideration. Stan Kelly-Bootle It's hard to read through a book on the principles of magic without glancing at the cover periodically to make sure it isn't a book on software design. Bruce Tognazzini One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that—lacking zero—they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs. Robert Firth The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit. Anonymous The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation on a keyboard, and a display screen comes to life, showing things that never were nor could be.... The computer resembles the magic of legend in this respect, too. If one character, one pause, of the incantation is not strictly in proper form, the magic doesn't work. Human beings are not accustomed to being perfect, and few areas of human activity demand it. Adjusting to the requirement for perfection is, I think, the most difficult part of learning to program. Frederick Brooks From a programmer's point of view, the user is a peripheral that types when you issue a read request. Peter Williams Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature. Rich Kulawiec

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