Book Quote by Edsger Dijkstra
“In this respect a program is like a poem: you cannot write a poem without writing it. Yet people talk about programming as if it were a production process and measure "programmer productivity" in terms of "number of lines of code produced". In so doing they book that number on the wrong side of the ledger: we should always refer to "the number of lines of code spent".”
About This Quote
Programming should be seen as a creative, expressive act like poetry, not a purely quantitative output measured by lines.
In simple terms: Programming is creative, not just counting lines.
Key Takeaway
Focus on quality, not quantity.
Themes
creativity
programming
productivity
measurement
Mood
analytical
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- software development
- code reviews
- team metrics
Key Concepts
artistic expression
process thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we better measure programmer impact?
- What creative aspects of coding are overlooked?
A Different Perspective
Lines of code can be a misleading metric for true productivity.
![“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)
