Alan Perlis Quotes

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A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.

Alan Perlis

Believe, Science, Technology

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.

Alan Perlis

Writing, Errors, Two

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM "SIGPLAN" Notices 17 (9), (pp. 7-13), September 1982.

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Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.

Alan Perlis

Life And Love, Suffering, Genius

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.

Alan Perlis

Simplicity, Simple Life, Doe

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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It is better to have 100 functions operate on one data structure than to have 10 functions operate on 10 data structures.

Alan Perlis

Trust, Data, Function

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A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.

Alan Perlis

Learning, Thinking, Knowing

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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When someone says, "I want a programming language in which I need only say what I want done," give him a lollipop.

Alan Perlis

Funny Inspirational, Giving, Needs

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To understand a program, you must become both the machine and the program.

Alan Perlis

Learning, Machines, Program

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Don't have good ideas if you aren't willing to be responsible for them.

Alan Perlis

Ideas, Responsible, Computing

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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One man's constant is another man's variable.

Alan Perlis

Men, Variables, Constant

Alan J. Perlis (1975). “Introduction to computer science”

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C programmers never die. They are just cast into void.

Alan Perlis

Void, Casts, Programmers

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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

Writing, Learning, Thinking

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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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

Book, Wonderland, Programming

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM "SIGPLAN" Notices 17 (9), (pp. 7-13), September 1982.

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In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble.

Alan Perlis

Running, Humorous, Long

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A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.

Alan Perlis

Attention, Levels, Language

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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Optimization hinders evolution. Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.

Alan Perlis

Top Down, Simplicity, Doe

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In man-machine symbiosis, it is man who must adjust: The machines can't.

Alan Perlis

Men, Machines, Symbiosis

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Programmers are not to be measured by their ingenuity and their logic but by the completeness of their case analysis.

Alan Perlis

Analysis, Logic, Cases

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I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot of fun. Of course, the paying customers got shafted every now and then, and after a while we began to take their complaints seriously. We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines. I don't think we are. I think we're responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house. I hope the field of computer science never loses its sense of fun.

Alan Perlis

Fun, Learning, Successful

"The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs". Textbook by Gerald Jay Sussman and Hal Abelson, 2nd edition, 1996.

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Dealing with failure is easy: Work hard to improve. Success is also easy to handle: You've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to improve.

Alan Perlis

Hard Work, Math, Investing

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon.

Alan Perlis

Cancer, Sugar, Causes

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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Every program has (at least) two purposes: the one for which it was written and another for which it wasn't.

Alan Perlis

Two, Purpose, Program

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake him up.

Alan Perlis

Program, Explaining, Listeners

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In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.

Alan Perlis

Technology, Bird, Worms

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It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and learning to be self-critical?

Alan Perlis

Fun, Learning, Self

"Epigrams on Programming". ACM SIGPLAN Notices 17 (9), pp. 7-13, pu.inf.uni-tuebingen.de. September 1982.

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Born: April 1, 1922
Died: February 7, 1990
Occupation: Computer Scientist
Cite this Page: Citation

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