Computer Quote by Hal Abelson

“First, we want to establish the idea that a computer language is not just a way of getting a computer to perform operations but rather that it is a novel formal medium for expressing ideas about methodology. Thus, programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.”

Hal Abelson

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Computer Computer language Computers Expressing ideas Firsts Formal Ideas Language Machines Mediums Methodology Novel Operations People Program Programming Want Way Written

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What's important is not just to develop the technology; it's to develop the processes.

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Now, the reason that we think computer science is about computers is pretty much the same reason that the Egyptians thought geometry was about…

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A powerful programming language is more than just a means for instructing a computer to perform tasks. The language also serves as a framework…

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Universities are meant to pass the torch of civilization.

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Applicants must also have extensive knowledge of Unix, although they should have sufficiently good programming taste to not consider this an achievement.

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The computer revolution is a revolution in the way we think and in the way we express what we think.

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[Computer science] is not really about computers and it's not about computers in the same sense that physics is not really about particle accelerators,…

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The computer revolution is a revolution in the way we think and in the way we express what we think. The essence of this…

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There's a good part of Computer Science that's like magic. Unfortunately there's a bad part of Computer Science that's like religion.

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If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.

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Congress is good at doing two things: one is nothing, and the other is overreacting.

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We have also obtained a glimpse of another crucial idea about languages and program design. This is the approach of statified design, the notion…

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Explore all 13 Hal Abelson quotes

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