Quote

Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon.

Alan Perlis

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Alan Perlis
Age: 67 †
Born: 1922
Born: April 1
Died: 1990
Died: February 7
Computer Scientist
Mathematician
University Teacher
Pittsburg
Pennsylvania
Alan Jay Perlis
Alan J. Perlis
Lisp
Programming
Sugar
Cancer
Causes
Syntactic
Semicolon

More quotes by Alan Perlis

Image
A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.
Alan Perlis
Image
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
Image
One can't proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means.
Alan Perlis
Image
One man's constant is another man's variable.
Alan Perlis
Image
We are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat's next-to-last theorem.
Alan Perlis
Image
You think you KNOW when you learn, are more sure when you can write, even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.
Alan Perlis
Image
One can only display complex information in the mind. Like seeing, movement or flow or alteration of view is more important than the static picture, no matter how lovely.
Alan Perlis
Image
You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.
Alan Perlis
Image
If your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.
Alan Perlis
Image
In English every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our programming languages.
Alan Perlis
Image
In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.
Alan Perlis
Image
Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.
Alan Perlis
Image
Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer.
Alan Perlis
Image
C programmers never die. They are just cast into void.
Alan Perlis
Image
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
Image
Optimization hinders evolution.
Alan Perlis
Image
Optimization hinders evolution. Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.
Alan Perlis
Image
It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.
Alan Perlis
Image
Any noun can be verbed.
Alan Perlis
Image
There are two ways to write error-free programs only the third one works.
Alan Perlis