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To understand a program, you must become both the machine and the program.

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Become Level Low Machine Understand Program

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Marilyn Monroe Paulo Coelho Abraham Lincoln C. S. Lewis Khalil Gibran Charlie Chaplin Gautama Buddha Isaac Newton

In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble.
ALAN PERLIS

Every Program Long Rubble Run
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.
ALAN PERLIS

Anything Best Book Layman People Wonderland
Every program has (at least) two purposes: the one for which it was written and another for which it wasn’t.
ALAN PERLIS

Every Program Purpose Two Written
Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.
ALAN PERLIS

Complexity Follow Precede Simplicity
Optimization hinders evolution.
ALAN PERLIS

Evolution Hinder One Liner Optimization
Is it possible that software is not like anything else.
ALAN PERLIS

Anything Else Like Possible Software
We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines.
ALAN PERLIS

Bagan Error Feel Free Machine Perfect Responsible Successful
What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and learning to be self-critical?
ALAN PERLIS

Acquire Attention Critical Detail Devote Fun Make Organization Plan Self
There is no such thing as a free variable.
ALAN PERLIS

Free Such Thing Variable
In English every word can be verbed.
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English Language Language Programming Languages
C programmers never die. They are just cast into void.
ALAN PERLIS

Cast Die never Programmer Void
One can’t proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means.
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Formal Informal Mean Proceed
Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones.
ALAN PERLIS

Adapt Behave Machine Mean Old One Program Usual
It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program.
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Against Children Education Go Grain Modern Program Teach
Dealing with failure is easy.
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Deal Easy Failure
FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed – it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.
ALAN PERLIS

Bloom Computer Flower Fortean Grow Hardy Occasionally Weed
We are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat’s next-to-last theorem.
ALAN PERLIS

Fermat Last Next Program Prove Theorem Today Verge
Programmers are not to be measured by their ingenuity and their logic but by the completeness of their case analysis.
ALAN PERLIS

Analysis Complutense Identity Logic Measure Program
In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.
ALAN PERLIS

Bird Early Make Often Software System Worm
Often it is the means that justify the ends: goals advance technique and technique survives even when goal structures crumble.
ALAN PERLIS

Advance Crumble End Justify Often Structure Survive Technique
Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and everything else follows in the same way.
ALAN PERLIS

Cheval Everything Follow Horse Language Learn Same Trivial Way Word
A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.
ALAN PERLIS

Attention Irrelevant Language Low Program Require
Once you understand how to write a program get someone else to write it.
ALAN PERLIS

Once Program Someone Understand Write Wrote
Any noun can be verbed.
ALAN PERLIS

Any Noun One Liner Verb
In programming, as in everything else, to be in error is to be reborn.
ALAN PERLIS

Else Error Everything Program Reborn
We toast the Lisp programmer who pens his thoughts within nests of parentheses.
ALAN PERLIS

Lisp Parentheses Pen Programmer Thought Toast
You’ve solved the wrong problem. Work hard to improve.
ALAN PERLIS

Hard Improve Problem Solve Word Wrong

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