Activity Quote by Edsger Dijkstra
“When we take the position that it is not only the programmer's responsibility to produce a correct program but also to demonstrate its correctness in a convincing manner, then the above remarks have a profound influence on the programmer's activity: the object he has to produce must be usefully structured.”
About This Quote
Source Book: "The Humble Programmer", 1972
Programmers must build code that is both correct and demonstrably reliable.
In simple terms: Write code that can be proven correct.
Key Takeaway
Prioritize verifiable, well‑structured code.
Themes
software engineering
responsibility
quality
Mood
analytical
cautious
Type
philosophical
technical
When to use this quote
- critical systems
- financial software
- medical devices
Key Concepts
formal methods
software correctness
design discipline
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance speed and verification?
- When is formal proof essential?
A Different Perspective
Proving correctness can be costly and time‑consuming.
![“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)
