Don't compete with me: firstly, I have more experience, and secondly, I have chosen the weapons. Edsger Dijkstra More Quotes by Edsger Dijkstra More Quotes From Edsger Dijkstra If we wish to count lines of code, we should not regard them as "lines produced" but as "lines spent." Edsger Dijkstra lineslearningwish Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer. Edsger Dijkstra masterytonguelearning How do we convince people that in programming simplicity and clarity - in short: what mathematicians call elegance - are not a dispensable luxury, but a crucial matter that decides between success and failure? Edsger Dijkstra luxurysimplicitypeople Yes, I share your concern: how to program well -though a teachable topic- is hardly taught. The situation is similar to that in mathematics, where the explicit curriculum is confined to mathematical results; how to do mathematics is something the student must absorb by osmosis, so to speak. One reason for preferring symbol-manipulating, calculating arguments is that their design is much better teachable than the design of verbal/pictorial arguments. Large-scale introduction of courses on such calculational methodology, however, would encounter unsurmoutable political problems. Edsger Dijkstra osmosisdesignlearning When building sand castles on the beach, we can ignore the waves but should watch the tide. Edsger Dijkstra castleswatchesbeach 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. Edsger Dijkstra telescopestoolsuse Beware of "the real world". A speaker's apeal to it is always an invitation not to challenge his tacit assumptions. Edsger Dijkstra realchallengesworld 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 Dijkstra intelligentnumbersthinking It used to be the program's purpose to instruct our computers; it became the computer's purpose to execute our programs. Edsger Dijkstra programcomputerpurpose Don't blame me for the fact that competent programming, as I view it as an intellectual possibility, will be too difficult for the average programmer, you must not fall into the trap of rejecting a surgical technique because it is beyond the capabilities of the barber in his shop around the corner. Edsger Dijkstra viewsaveragefall Production speed is severely slowed down if one works with half-time people who have other obligations as well. This is at least a factor of four; probably it is worse. Edsger Dijkstra half-timefourpeople About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain to try to do it with ten blunt axes instead. Edsger Dijkstra axesstupidtrying [Though computer science is a fairly new discipline, it is predominantly based on the Cartesian world view. As Edsgar W. Dijkstra has pointed out] A scientific discipline emerges with the - usually rather slow! - discovery of which aspects can be meaningfully 'studied' in isolation for the sake of their own consistency. Edsger Dijkstra disciplineviewsdiscovery It is a mistake to think that programmers wares are programs. Programmers have to produce trustworthy solutions and present it in the form of cogent arguments. Programs source code is just the accompanying material to which these arguments are to be applied to. Edsger Dijkstra argumentmistakethinking Please don't fall into the trap of believing that I am terribly dogmatical about the go to statement. I have the uncomfortable feeling that others are making a religion out of it, as if the conceptual problems of programming could be solved by a single trick, by a simple form of coding discipline! Edsger Dijkstra simplebelievefall I now have had my foggy crystal ball for quite a long time. Its predictions are invariably gloomy and usually correct, but I am quite used to that and they won't keep me from giving you a few suggestions, even if it is merely an exercise in futility whose only effect is to make you feel guilty. Edsger Dijkstra exercisegivinglong Mathematicians are like managers - they want improvement without change. Edsger Dijkstra mathematicianimprovementwant Thanks to the greatly improved possibility of communication, we overrate its importance. Even stronger, we underrate the importance of isolation. Edsger Dijkstra thanksstrongercommunication The effective exploitation of his powers of abstraction must be regarded as one of the most vital activities of a competent programmer. Edsger Dijkstra exploitationactivityprogrammers The traditional mathematician recognizes and appreciates mathematical elegance when he sees it. I propose to go one step further, and to consider elegance an essential ingredient of mathematics: if it is clumsy, it is not mathematics. Edsger Dijkstra ingredientsappreciatesteps
