Alan Perlis Quotes - Page 2

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• I think it is inevitable that people program poorly. Training will not substantially help matters. We have to learn to live with it.

  Alan Perlis

  Learning, Technology, Thinking

  9 Copy quote

• Every reader should ask himself periodically “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.

  Alan Perlis

  Fun, Philosophy, Bittersweet

  8 Copy quote

• A good programming language is a conceptual universe for thinking about programming.

  Alan Perlis

  Learning, Thinking, Language

  7 Copy quote

• 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?

  Alan Perlis

  Fun, Learning, Self

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  10 Copy quote

• Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones.

  Alan Perlis

  Mean, Machines, Fit

  56 Copy quote

• In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.

  Alan Perlis

  Technology, Bird, Worms

  28 Copy quote

• In English every word can be verbed.

  Alan Perlis

  Language, English Language, Programming Languages

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  10 Copy quote

• In computing, turning the obvious into the useful is a living definition of the word "frustration".

  Alan Perlis

  Frustration, Frustrated, Definitions

  9 Copy quote

• Motto for a research laboratory: what we work on today, others will first think of tomorrow.

  Alan Perlis

  Thinking, Research, Today

  14 Copy quote

• In computing, the mean time to failure keeps getting shorter.

  Alan Perlis

  Mean, Computing

  5 Copy quote

• It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.

  Alan Perlis

  Change, Vices, Computer

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  8 Copy quote

• A LISP programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of nothing.

  Alan Perlis

  Cost, Programmers, Lisp

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  6 Copy quote

• When a professor insists computer science is X but not Y, have compassion for his graduate students.

  Alan Perlis

  Compassion, Students, Graduates

  8 Copy quote

• Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a soap bubble?

  Alan Perlis

  Soap Bubbles, Software, Discarded

  8 Copy quote

• Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand progress.

  Alan Perlis

  Progress, Language, Programming

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  8 Copy quote

• 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.

  Alan Perlis

  Swag, Swagger

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  4 Copy quote

• Once you understand how to write a program get someone else to write it.

  Alan Perlis

  Writing, Program

  4 Copy quote

• Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer.

  Alan Perlis

  Computer, Computer Science, Embarrassed

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM "SIGPLAN" Notices 17 (9), (pp. 7-13), September 1982.

  9 Copy quote

• Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and everything else follows in the same way.

  Alan Perlis

  Funny, Horse, Humor

  4 Copy quote

• You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.

  Alan Perlis

  Attitude, Perspective, Vitality

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  8 Copy quote

• Because of its vitality, the computing field is always in desperate need of new cliches: Banality soothes our nerves.

  Alan Perlis

  Humorous, Technology, Needs

  "Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

  9 Copy quote

• Often it is the means that justify the ends: goals advance technique and technique survives even when goal structures crumble.

  Alan Perlis

  Mean, Goal, Technique

  4 Copy quote

• Optimization hinders evolution.

  Alan Perlis

  Learning, Evolution, Programming

  9 Copy quote

• We toast the Lisp programmer who pens his thoughts within nests of parentheses.

  Alan Perlis

  Nests, Ballpoint Pens, Parentheses

  "The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs". Textbook by Gerald Jay Sussman and Hal Abelson, 2nd edition, 1996.

  9 Copy quote

• If your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.

  Alan Perlis

  Japan, Speak English, Computer

  16 Copy quote

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