“Epigrams on Programming”, 1982-09 (; backlinks; similar):
[130 epigrams on computer science & technology, compiled for ACM’s SIGPLAN journal, by noted computer scientist and programming language researcher Alan Perlis. The epigrams are a series of short, programming-language-neutral, humorous statements about computers and programming, distilling lessons he had learned over his career, which are widely quoted.]
8. A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant…19. A language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing…54. Beware of the Turing tar-pit in which everything is possible but nothing of interest is easy.
15. Everything should be built top-down, except the first time…30. In programming, everything we do is a special case of something more general—and often we know it too quickly…31. Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it…58. Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it…65. Make no mistake about it: Computers process numbers—not symbols. We measure our understanding (and control) by the extent to which we can arithmetize an activity…56. Software is under a constant tension. Being symbolic it is arbitrarily perfectible; but also it is arbitrarily changeable.
1. One man’s constant is another man’s variable. 34. The string is a stark data structure and everywhere it is passed there is much duplication of process. It is a perfect vehicle for hiding information.
36. The use of a program to prove the 4-color theorem will not change mathematics—it merely demonstrates that the theorem, a challenge for a century, is probably not important to mathematics.
39. Re graphics: A picture is worth 10K words—but only those to describe the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described with pictures.
48. 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.
77. The cybernetic exchange between man, computer and algorithm is like a game of musical chairs: The frantic search for balance always leaves one of the 3 standing ill at ease…79. A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God…84. Motto for a research laboratory: What we work on today, others will first think of tomorrow.
91. The computer reminds one of Lon Chaney—it is the machine of a thousand faces.
7. It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one…93. When someone says “I want a programming language in which I need only say what I wish done”, give him a lollipop…102. One can’t proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means.
100. We will never run out of things to program as long as there is a single program around.
108. Whenever 2 programmers meet to criticize their programs, both are silent…112. Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer…115. Most people find the concept of programming obvious, but the doing impossible. 116. You think you know when you can learn, are more sure when you can write, even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program. 117. It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and learning to be self-critical?
[Warning: There is an HTML version which is more commonly linked; however, it appears to omit a few epigrams, and misspell others in harmful ways.]
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