Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
Edsger DijkstraRead
Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Testing can identify existing bugs in software, but it cannot guarantee that there are no bugs left.
In this quote, Edsger Dijkstra highlights a fundamental principle of software testing: while testing can demonstrate that bugs exist in a program, it cannot prove that a program is entirely free of defects. This reflects the inherent limitations of testing in the complex nature of software systems, where it is possible for undetected bugs to persist even after rigorous testing efforts.
Themes
TestingSoftwareBugsQualityProgramming
In practice
Example use cases
During a software development meeting to emphasize the importance of thorough testing to the team.
More from Edsger Dijkstra
All quotes βSimplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
Edsger DijkstraRead
The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.
Edsger DijkstraRead
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.
Edsger DijkstraRead
The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.
Edsger DijkstraRead
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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