Computer Quotes by Larry Wall

Just don't create a file called.

— Larry Wall

What about WRITING it first and rationalizing it afterwards?

— Larry Wall

In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.

— Larry Wall

It's there as a sop to former Ada programmers.

— Larry Wall

Just don't create a file called '-rf.'

— Larry Wall

I think I'll side with the pissheads on this one.

— Larry Wall

A journey of a thousand miles continues with the second step.

— Larry Wall

You want it in one line? Does it have to fit in 80 columns?

— Larry Wall

Yes, but I did manage to increase the amount of virginity in the world by that method.

— Larry Wall

The young think they are immortal, and are determined to prove otherwise.

— Larry Wall

What is the sound of Perl? Is it not the sound of a wall that people have stopped banging their heads against?

— Larry Wall

The computer should be doing the hard work. That's what it's paid to do, after all.

— Larry Wall

Most of you are familiar with the virtues of a programmer. There are three, of course: laziness, impatience, and hubris.

— Larry Wall

The whole history of computers is rampant with cheerleading at best and bigotry at worst.

— Larry Wall

Computer language design is just like a stroll in the park. Jurassic Park, that is.

— Larry Wall

... an initial underscore already conveys strong feelings of magicalness to a C programmer.

— Larry Wall

...this does not mean that some of us should not want, in a rather dispassionate sort of way, to put a bullet…

— Larry Wall

Post-Modernism was a reaction against Modernism. It came quite early to music and literature, and a little later to architecture. And I…

— Larry Wall

Human languages tend to be much more ambiguous than computer languages because humans are much smarter about interpreting the context.

— Larry Wall

[Perl] gives you the STDERR filehandle so that your program can make snide comments off to the side while it transforms (or…

— Larry Wall

Let's say the docs present a simplified view of reality...

— Larry Wall

Guilty as charged. Perl is happily ugly, and happily derivative.

— Larry Wall

I'm sorry, but you just made me lose my sense of humor, which is deeply regrettable.

— Larry Wall

I think computer science, by and large, is still stuck in the Modern age.

— Larry Wall

I think I'm likely to be certified before Perl is...

— Larry Wall

I just hope I'm never promoted to the level of my incontinence.

— Larry Wall

I think it's a new feature. Don't tell anyone it was an accident.

— Larry Wall

A good messenger expects to get shot.

— Larry Wall

You can prove anything by mentioning another computer language.

— Larry Wall

Just because you're into control doesn't mean you're in control.

— Larry Wall

Save it for my unauthorized autobiography.

— Larry Wall

Don't wear rollerskates to a tug-of-war.

— Larry Wall

There is, however, a strange, musty smell in the air that reminds me of something...hmm...yes...I've got it...there's a VMS nearby, or I'm…

— Larry Wall

The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a comma.

— Larry Wall

Although the Perl Slogan is There's More Than One Way to Do It, I hesitate to make 10 ways to do something.

— Larry Wall

It won't be covered in the book. The source code has to be useful for something, after all...

— Larry Wall

The trouble with being quoted a lot is that it makes other people think you're quoting yourself when in fact you're merely…

— Larry Wall

Lisp has all the visual appeal of oatmeal with fingernail clippings mixed in.

— Larry Wall

Perl is designed to give you several ways to do anything, so consider picking the most readable one.

— Larry Wall

It's easier to make up sayings people like to hear than sayings they like to heed.

— Larry Wall