--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it…" description: "\"FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.\" — Alan Perlis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png" --- # FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it is hardy… ![“FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.” quote by Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png) > “FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.” [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Programming languages can be resilient and adaptable, thriving in many environments despite being old-fashioned. **In simple terms:** Old code can still be useful and adaptable. Key Takeaway Value legacy tools for their robustness. Themes programming resilience legacy adaptability Mood reflective analytical Type technical humorous When to use this quote - maintaining old systems - teaching programming fundamentals - debugging legacy code Key Concepts software engineering systems theory Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance using old tools with adopting new ones? - What makes a language endure? A Different Perspective Legacy systems may lack modern features and security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computer language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-language/) [Computer programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-programming/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Fortran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortran-427789/) [Fortran Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortran-flower-804916/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Grows Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows-computer-804918/) [Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardy/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Programming languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming-languages/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weed/) [Weed Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weed-hardy-804917/) ## Related quotes > [FORTRAN, the infantile disorder, by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly inadequate for whatever computer application you have in mind today: it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/fortran-the-infantile-disorder-by-now-nearly-20-years-old-is/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [FORTRAN was the language of choice for the same reason that three-legged races are popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-thompson/fortran-was-the-language-of-choice-for-the-same-reason-that-three/) [Ken Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-thompson/) > [When someone says, "I want a programming language in which I need only say what I want done," give him a lollipop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/when-someone-says-i-want-a-programming-language-in-which-i-need-only/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. 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There's an incredible, rigorous,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hertzfeld/it-s-programming-the-only-job-i-can-think-of-where-i-get-to-be-both/) [Andy Hertzfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hertzfeld/) > [Programming languages, like pizzas, come in only too sizes; too big and too small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-pattis/programming-languages-like-pizzas-come-in-only-too-sizes-too-big-and/) [Richard E. Pattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-pattis/) > [ One purpose of CRC cards \[a design tool\] is to fail early, to fail often, and to fail inexpensively. It is a lot cheaper… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cay-s-horstmann/one-purpose-of-crc-cards-a-design-tool-is-to-fail-early-to-fail-often/) [Cay S. Horstmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cay-s-horstmann/) > [Computer Science is the only discipline in which we view adding a new wing to a building as being maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-horning/computer-science-is-the-only-discipline-in-which-we-view-adding-a-new/) [Jim Horning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-horning/) > [A teacher's job is to take a bunch of live wires and see that they are well-grounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darwin-d-martin/a-teacher-s-job-is-to-take-a-bunch-of-live-wires-and-see-that-they/) [Darwin D. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darwin-d-martin/) > [When certain concepts of TeX are introduced informally, general rules will be stated; afterwards you will find that the rules aren't strictly true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-knuth/when-certain-concepts-of-tex-are-introduced-informally-general-rules/) [Donald Knuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-knuth/) > [The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coveyou/the-generation-of-random-numbers-is-too-important-to-be-left-to-chance/) [Robert Coveyou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coveyou/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [If you cannot grok the overall structure of a program while taking a shower, you are not ready to code it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-pattis/if-you-cannot-grok-the-overall-structure-of-a-program-while-taking-a/) [Richard E. Pattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-pattis/) ## More by Alan Perlis > [You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/you-can-measure-a-programmer-s-perspective-by-noting-his-attitude-on/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [In English every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our programming languages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/in-english-every-word-can-be-verbed-would-that-it-were-so-in-our/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [LISP programmers know the value of everything and the cost of nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/lisp-programmers-know-the-value-of-everything-and-the-cost-of-nothing/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/simplicity-does-not-precede-complexity-but-follows-it/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Optimization hinders evolution. Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/optimization-hinders-evolution-everything-should-be-built-top-down/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [The computing field is always in need of new cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/the-computing-field-is-always-in-need-of-new-cliches/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/fools-ignore-complexity-pragmatists-suffer-it-some-can-avoid-it/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/a-programming-language-is-low-level-when-its-programs-require/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/syntactic-sugar-causes-cancer-of-the-semicolon/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [When a professor insists computer science is X but not Y, have compassion for his graduate students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/when-a-professor-insists-computer-science-is-x-but-not-y-have/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/a-year-spent-in-artificial-intelligence-is-enough-to-make-one-believe/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/in-software-systems-it-is-often-the-early-bird-that-makes-the-worm/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [In man-machine symbiosis, it is man who must adjust: The machines can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/in-man-machine-symbiosis-it-is-man-who-must-adjust-the-machines-can-t/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Every program has two purposes: The one for which it was written and another for which it wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/every-program-has-two-purposes-the-one-for-which-it-was-written-and/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) [Explore all 57 Alan Perlis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) ## More Computer quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Our brains are great at knowing what to forget. We actually have to teach computers to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/our-brains-are-great-at-knowing-what-to-forget-we-actually-have-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress the way you dress?Why do you do what you do with your time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-conway/why-do-you-do-what-you-do-why-do-you-dress-the-way-you-dress-why-do/) [Tim Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-conway/) > [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) [Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Perlis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is-hardy-occasionally-blooms/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is-hardy-occasionally-blooms/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/alan-perlis-11812_computer_fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is_2475255.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed - it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.” — Alan Perlis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Perlis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "FORTRAN is not a flower but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is-hardy-occasionally-blooms/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/fortran-is-not-a-flower-but-a-weed-it-is-hardy-occasionally-blooms/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```