Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics; the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians. — Edsger Dijkstra Branches Copy Share Image
The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense. — Edsger Dijkstra Cobol Copy Share Image
The competent programmer is fully aware of the limited size of his own skull. He therefore approaches his task with full humility,… — Edsger Dijkstra Clever Copy Share Image
In the software business there are many enterprises for which it is not clear that science can help them; that science should… — Edsger Dijkstra Business Copy Share Image
Thanks to the greatly improved possibility of communication, we overrate its importance. Even stronger, we underrate the importance of isolation. — Edsger Dijkstra Communication Copy Share Image
It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they… — Edsger Dijkstra Exposure Copy Share Image
LISP has jokingly been described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer." I think that description is a great compliment… — Edsger Dijkstra Compliment Copy Share Image
I think of the company advertising "Thought Processors" or the college pretending that learning BASIC suffices or at least helps, whereas the… — Edsger Dijkstra Advertising Copy Share Image
FORTRAN, the infantile disorder, by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly inadequate for whatever computer application you have in mind today:… — Edsger Dijkstra Application Copy Share Image
John von Neumann draws attention to what seemed to him a contrast. He remarked that for simple mechanisms, it is often easier… — Edsger Dijkstra Attention Copy Share Image
It is a mistake to think that programmers wares are programs. Programmers have to produce trustworthy solutions and present it in the… — Edsger Dijkstra Argument Copy Share Image
Don't blame me for the fact that competent programming, as I view it as an intellectual possibility, will be too difficult for… — Edsger Dijkstra Around the corner Copy Share Image
Many mathematicians derive part of their self-esteem by feeling themselves the proud heirs of a long tradition of rational thinking; I am… — Edsger Dijkstra Heirs Copy Share Image
Please don't fall into the trap of believing that I am terribly dogmatical about [the goto statement]. I have the uncomfortable feeling… — Edsger Dijkstra Believe Copy Share Image
I mentioned the non-competitive spirit explicitly, because these days, excellence is a fashionable concept. But excellence is a competitive notion, and that… — Edsger Dijkstra Competitive Copy Share Image
In passing I draw attention to another English expression which often occurs in Dutch texts: "the real world". In Dutch - and… — Edsger Dijkstra Attention Copy Share Image
In their capacity as a tool, computers will be but a ripple on the surface of our culture. In their capacity as… — Edsger Dijkstra Capacity Copy Share Image
If 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your… — Edsger Dijkstra Dirty Copy Share Image
Are you quite sure that all those bells and whistles, all those wonderful facilities of your so called powerful programming languages, belong… — Edsger Dijkstra Bells Copy Share Image
Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes, biology is about microscopes or chemistry is about beakers and… — Edsger Dijkstra Astronomy Copy Share Image
I now have had my foggy crystal ball for quite a long time. Its predictions are invariably gloomy and usually correct, but… — Edsger Dijkstra Balls Copy Share Image
The students that, like the wild animal being prepared for its tricks in the circus called 'life', expects only training as sketched… — Edsger Dijkstra Circus Copy Share Image
The required techniques of effective reasoning are pretty formal, but as long as programming is done by people that don't master them,… — Edsger Dijkstra Cases Copy Share Image
![“Please don't fall into the trap of believing that I am terribly dogmatical about [the goto statement]. I have the uncomfortable feeling that others are making a religion out of it, as if the conceptual problems of programming could be solved by a single trick, by a simple form of coding discipline!” quote by Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6ad/edsger-dijkstra-5102_believe_please-don-t-fall-into-the-trap-of-belie_167695.jpg)
