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PL/1, the fatal disease, belongs more to the problem set than to the solution set.

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
Fatal
Belongs
Solution
Humorous
Solutions
Disease
Problem

More quotes by Edsger Dijkstra

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Teaching COBOL ought to be regarded as a criminal act.
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The effective exploitation of his powers of abstraction must be regarded as one of the most vital activities of a competent programmer.
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Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.
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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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I don't need to waste my time with a computer just because I am a computer scientist.
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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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Mentally mutilated potential programmers beyond hope of regeneration.
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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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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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The use of anthropomorphic terminology forces you linguistically to adopt an operational view. And it makes it practically impossible to argue about programs independently of their being executed.
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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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It is not the task of the University to offer what society asks for, but to give what society needs.
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Thank goodness we don't have only serious problems, but ridiculous ones as well.
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A most important, but also most elusive, aspect of any tool is its influence on the habits of those who train themselves in its use. If the tool is a programming language this influence is, whether we like it or not, an influence on our thinking habits.... A programming language is a tool that has profound influence on our thinking habits.
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A convincing demonstration of correctness being impossible as long as the mechanism is regarded as a black box, our only hope lies in not regarding the mechanism as a black box.
Edsger Dijkstra
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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.
Edsger Dijkstra
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The prisoner falls in love with his chains.
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APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection.
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In their capacity as a tool, computers will be but a ripple on the surface of our culture. In their capacity as intellectual challenge, they are without precedent in the cultural history of mankind.
Edsger Dijkstra
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The problems of the real world are primarily those you are left with when you refuse to apply their effective solutions.
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