Edsger Dijkstra Quotes

If debugging is the process of removing software bugs, then programming must be the process of putting them in.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.

Object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could only have originated in California.

The art of programming is the art of organizing complexity.

The effort of using machines to mimic the human mind has always struck me as rather silly. I would rather use them to mimic something better.

Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!

Simplicity and elegance are unpopular because they require hard work and discipline to achieve and education to be appreciated.

Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.

It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.

The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.

Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better.

The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim.

Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.

Raise your quality standards as high as you can live with, avoid wasting your time on routine problems, and always try to work as closely as possible at the boundary of your abilities. Do this, because it is the only way of discovering how that boundary should be moved forward.

Programming in Basic causes brain damage.

Much of the excitement we get out of our work is that we don't really know what we are doing.

The competent programmer is fully aware of the strictly limited size of his own skull; therefore he approaches the programming task in full humility, and among other things he avoids clever tricks like the plague.

If in physics there's something you don't understand, you can always hide behind the uncharted depths of nature. You can always blame God. You didn't make it so complex yourself. But if your program doesn't work, there is no one to hide behind. You cannot hide behind an obstinate nature. If it doesn't work, you've messed up.

Teaching COBOL ought to be regarded as a criminal act.

If you want more effective programmers, you will discover that they should not waste their time debugging, they should not introduce the bugs to start with.

Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes, biology is about microscopes or chemistry is about beakers and test tubes. Science is not about tools. It is about how we use them, and what we find out when we do.

Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics; the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians.

Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer.

If we wish to count lines of code, we should not regard them as "lines produced" but as "lines spent."

The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.