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The art of programming is the art of organizing complexity.

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
Organizing
Programming
Complexity
Art

More quotes by Edsger Dijkstra

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The computing scientist's main challenge is not to get confused by the complexities of his own making.
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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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Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians.
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Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
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It is a mistake to think that programmers wares are programs. Programmers have to produce trustworthy solutions and present it in the form of cogent arguments. Programs source code is just the accompanying material to which these arguments are to be applied to.
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Much of the excitement we get out of our work is that we don't really know what we are doing.
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PL/1, the fatal disease, belongs more to the problem set than to the solution set.
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Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.
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If in physics there's something you don't understand, you can always hide behind the uncharted depths of nature. You can always blame God. You didn't make it so complex yourself. But if your program doesn't work, there is no one to hide behind. You cannot hide behind an obstinate nature. If it doesn't work, you've messed up.
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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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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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I don't need to waste my time with a computer just because I am a computer scientist.
Edsger Dijkstra
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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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Teaching COBOL ought to be regarded as a criminal act.
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Mentally mutilated potential programmers beyond hope of regeneration.
Edsger Dijkstra
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I mentioned the non-competitive spirit explicitly, because these days, excellence is a fashionable concept. But excellence is a competitive notion, and that is not what we are heading for: we are heading for perfection.
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There should be no such thing as boring mathematics.
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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.
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Industry suffers from the managerial dogma that for the sake of stability and continuity, the company should be independent of the competence of individual employees.
Edsger Dijkstra
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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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