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FORTRAN, the infantile disorder, by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly inadequate for whatever computer application you have in mind today: it is now too clumsy, too risky, and too expensive to use.

Edsger Dijkstra

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Edsger Dijkstra
Age: 72 †
Born: 1930
Born: May 11
Died: 2002
Died: August 5
Computer Scientist
Engineer
Mathematician
Physicist
Scientist
University Teacher
R'dam
Edsger Dijkstra
Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Dijkstra
EWD
E.W. Dijkstra
Nearly
Hopelessly
Expensive
Infantile
Computer
Risky
Whatever
Clumsy
Use
Inadequate
Today
Disorder
Mind
Application
Years
Programming
Fortran

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Production speed is severely slowed down if one works with half-time people who have other obligations as well. This is at least a factor of four probably it is worse.
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We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.
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Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians.
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The effort of using machines to mimic the human mind has always struck me as rather silly. I would rather use them to mimic something better.
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The ability of discerning high quality unavoidably implies the ability of identifying shortcomings.
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The use of COBOL cripples the mind its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense.
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How do we convince people that in programming simplicity and clarity - in short: what mathematicians call elegance - are not a dispensable luxury, but a crucial matter that decides between success and failure?
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Aim for brevity while avoiding jargon.
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Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.
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The art of programming is the art of organizing complexity.
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It used to be the program's purpose to instruct our computers it became the computer's purpose to execute our programs.
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Probably I am very naive, but I also think I prefer to remain so, at least for the time being and perhaps for the rest of my life.
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When we had no computers, we had no programming problem either. When we had a few computers, we had a mild programming problem. Confronted with machines a million times as powerful, we are faced with a gigantic programming problem.
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Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!
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If there is one 'scientific' discovery I am proud of, it is the discovery of the habit of writing without publication in mind.
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Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better.
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Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer.
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APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection.
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Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
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Beauty is our business.
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