It is better to have 100 functions operate on one data structure than to have 10 functions operate on 10 data structures.
ALAN PERLISWe are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat’s next-to-last theorem.
More Alan Perlis Quotes
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“Toward what end, toward what end?”-but do not ask it too often lest you pass up the fun of programming for the constipation of bittersweet philosophy.
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What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and learning to be self-critical?
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When a professor insists computer science is X but not Y, have compassion for his graduate students.
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Because of its vitality, the computing field is always in desperate need of new cliches.
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It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program.
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A LISP programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of nothing.
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One can’t proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means.
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There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.
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Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer.
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I think that it’s extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing.
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Everything should be built top-down, except the first time.
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Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones.
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In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble.
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When it started out, it was an awful lot of fun. Of course, the paying customers got shafted every now and then, and after a while we began to take their complaints seriously.
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I don’t think we are. I think we’re responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house.
ALAN PERLIS