Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
Edsger DijkstraRead
I mean, if 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and say to yourself "Dijkstra would not have liked this," well, that would be enough immortality for me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the desire for one's principles and standards to have a lasting impact on others.
Edsger Dijkstra expresses a hope that his influence on programming and software development will persist over time. He imagines a future where individuals strive for excellence in their work, guided by the standards he valued, suggesting that this legacy would grant him a form of immortality through the memories and practices of others in the field.
Themes
ImmortalityInfluenceStandardsExcellenceProgramming
In practice
Example use cases
During a conference on software development, one might quote Dijkstra to emphasize the importance of maintaining high standards in coding.
More from Edsger Dijkstra
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The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.
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We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.
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The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.
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LISP has jokingly been described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer." I think that description is a great compliment because it transmits the full flavour of liberation: it has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
Edsger DijkstraRead
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