Alan Perlis Quotes, Sayings, Remarks, Thoughts and Speeches
Alan Perlis Quotes and Sayings
- 1
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 | Refcard PDF ↑
- 2
A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 3
A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 4
Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 5
Don't have good ideas if you aren't willing to be responsible for them.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 6
Every program has two purposes: The one for which it was written and another for which it wasn't.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 7
Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 8
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 | Refcard PDF ↑
- 9
If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake him up.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 10
If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 11
If your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 12
In computing, turning the obvious into the useful is a living definition of the word "frustration".
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 13
In English every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our programming languages.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 14
In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 15
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 | Refcard PDF ↑
- 16
It goes against the grain of modern education to teach students to program. What fun is there to making plans, acquiring discipline, organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be self critical.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 17
It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 18
It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 19
LISP programmers know the value of everything and the cost of nothing.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 20
One man's constant is another man's variable.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 21
Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 22
Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand progress.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 23
The best book on programming for the layman is "Alice in Wonderland"; but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 24
The computing field is always in need of new cliches.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 25
There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 26
We toast the Lisp programmer who pens his thoughts within nests of parentheses.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
- 27
You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.
Alan Perlis | Refcard PDF ↑
