Cases Quote by Edsger Dijkstra
“The required techniques of effective reasoning are pretty formal, but as long as programming is done by people that don't master them, the software crisis will remain with us and will be considered an incurable disease. And you know what incurable diseases do: they invite the quacks and charlatans in, who in this case take the form of Software Engineering gurus.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: 1972 ACM Turing Award Lecture, Edsger Dijkstra
Formal reasoning methods are essential, yet many programmers lack them, causing persistent software problems and attracting unqualified experts.
In simple terms: Lack of formal reasoning leads to ongoing software issues and charlatans.
Key Takeaway
Improve formal reasoning skills in software development.
Themes
software quality
formal methods
professionalism
Mood
concerned
critical
Type
cautionary
analytical
When to use this quote
- software project planning
- team training
- code review
- risk assessment
- education
Key Concepts
logic
software crisis
expertise
Questions to Reflect On
- How can organizations enforce formal reasoning?
- What barriers prevent programmers from mastering these techniques?
A Different Perspective
Even with formal methods, human error and complexity can still cause failures.
![“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)
![“[As in the case of] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not work.” quote by Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/212/sam-branson-36458_alcohol_as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-il_8703.jpg)
