Eric S. Raymond

The easiest programs to use are those which demand the least new learning from the user

— Eric S. Raymond

Often, the most striking and innovative solutions come from realizing that your concept of the problem was wrong.

— Eric S. Raymond

The central problem of C and C++ is that they require programmers to do their own memory management

— Eric S. Raymond

“nobody who can think should ever be forced into a situation that bores them.)”

— Eric S. Raymond

If you treat your beta-testers as if they're your most valuable resource, they will respond by becoming your most valuable resource.

— Eric S. Raymond

When your language is nowhere near Turing-complete, syntactic sugar can be your friend.

— Eric S. Raymond

Good programmers know what to write. Great ones know what to rewrite (and reuse)

— Eric S. Raymond

A software system is transparent when you can look at it and immediately see what is going on. It is simple when…

— Eric S. Raymond

Of course, C proved indispensible to the developers of all its alternatives. Dig down through enough implementation layers under any of the…

— Eric S. Raymond

“It may well turn out that one of the most important effects of open source’s success will be to teach us that…

— Eric S. Raymond

When writing gateway software of any kind, take pains to disturb the data stream as little as possible - and never throw…

— Eric S. Raymond

As a Facebook user, do I have control of the data Facebook keeps about me? Concretely: can I examine and modify that…

— Eric S. Raymond

“Part of the answer certainly lies in the fact that using software does not decrease its value. Indeed, widespread use of open-source…

— Eric S. Raymond

Provided the development coordinator has a communications medium at least as good as the Internet and knows how to lead without coercion,…

— Eric S. Raymond

Linux evolved in a completely different way. From nearly the beginning, it was rather casually hacked on by huge numbers of volunteers…

— Eric S. Raymond

“Investors are still thinking through the consequences of reinventing the software industry as one with an explicit focus on service rather than…

— Eric S. Raymond

“The verdict of history seems to be that free-market capitalism is the globally optimal way to cooperate for economic efficiency; perhaps, in…

— Eric S. Raymond

“In a future that includes competition from open source, we can expect that the eventual destiny of any software technology will be…

— Eric S. Raymond

“Another vital factor was the development of a leadership style and set of cooperative customs that could allow developers to attract co-developers…

— Eric S. Raymond

Does Facebook act as though I own my online life, or as though it does? Concretely: Can I control what data it…

— Eric S. Raymond

“It's not all that important that you be able to originate brilliant ideas... The more important talent is to be able to…

— Eric S. Raymond

Thompson and Ritchie were among the first to realize that hardware and compiler technology had become good enough that an entire operating…

— Eric S. Raymond

People who study primate societies make a distinction between two kinds of cultural interactions, agonic and hedonic. In agonic societies, you gain…

— Eric S. Raymond

A critical factor in its success was that the X developers were willing to give the sources away for free in accordance…

— Eric S. Raymond