It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.
ALAN PERLISIf your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.
More Alan Perlis Quotes
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C programmers never die. They are just cast into void.
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Because of its vitality, the computing field is always in desperate need of new cliches.
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If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some.
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There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.
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Are more sure when you can write, even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.
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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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A language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.
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If a listener nods his head when you’re explaining your program, wake him up.
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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.
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That it is meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a soap bubble?
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A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.
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Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.
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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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When someone says, “I want a programming language in which I need only say what I want done,” give him a lollipop.
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Training will not substantially help matters. We have to learn to live with it.
ALAN PERLIS






