Quotes on Programming

It is my firm belief that all successful languages are grown and not merely designed from first principles

Don't you hate code that's not properly indented? Making it [indenting] part of the syntax guarantees that all code is properly indented.

And simple truth miscalled simplicity

Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow (e.g., given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone).

Thinking and spoken discourse are the same thing, except that what we call thinking is, precisely, the inward dialogue carried on by the mind with itself without spoken sound.

Optimization hinders evolution.

A programming language is like a natural, human language in that it favors certain methaphors, images, and ways of thinking.

When certain concepts of TeX are introduced informally, general rules will be stated; afterwards you will find that the rules aren't strictly true. In general, the later chapters contain more reliable information than the earlier ones do. The author feels that this technique of deliberate lying will actually make it easier for you to learn the ideas. Once you understand a simple but false rule, it will not be hard to supplement that rule with its exceptions.

It's [programming] the only job I can think of where I get to be both an engineer and an artist. There's an incredible, rigorous, technical element to it, which I like because you have to do very precise thinking. On the other hand, it has a wildly creative side where the boundaries of imagination are the only real limitation.

It is not the task of the University to offer what society asks for, but to give what society needs.

You are not in the world...the world is in you," what did he mean? [That is, you are not in the world," that is, there is no "you" that is real or in any world. "The world is in you" means that the world is in your "mind" and is nothing more than a figment of your programming-and-conditioning-induced imaginings.]

In the good old days physicists repeated each other's experiments, just to be sure. Today they stick to FORTRAN, so that they can share each other's programs, bugs included.

Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.

We need imagination in programming, not sterility; creativity, not imitation; experimentation, not conformity; excellence, not mediocrity. Television is filled with creative, imaginative people. You must strive to set them free.

The best book on programming for the layman is Alice in Wonderland, but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman.

There has never been an unexpectedly short debugging period in the history of computers.

The only way to learn a new programming language is by writing programs in it.

Always remember, however, that there’s usually a simpler and better way to do something than the first way that pops into your head.

By the 2030s, the nonbiological portion of our intelligence will predominate.

Incorrect documentation is often worse than no documentation.

Don't document bad code - rewrite it.