--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In general, they do what you want, unless…" description: "\"In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.\" — Larry Wall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png" --- # In general, they do what you want, unless you want… ![“In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.” quote by Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png) > “In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.” [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement highlights the trade‑off between flexibility and reliability in software or systems: they can be made to do anything you ask, but they may not behave consistently without extra effort. **In simple terms:** Flexibility vs consistency Key Takeaway Flexibility can sacrifice reliability Themes trade‑off software design reliability flexibility user expectations Mood thoughtful cautious Type observation advice When to use this quote - building custom scripts - configuring servers - writing code for varied tasks Key Concepts system behavior design constraints Practical Applications - software development - system administration Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance flexibility and consistency in your projects? - What safeguards can you add to ensure predictable outcomes? A Different Perspective Consistent behavior can be engineered with proper testing and standards, so flexibility need not preclude reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Consistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consistency/) [What you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-want/) ## Related quotes > [We all give ourselves a lot of leeway, but we want consistency from other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/we-all-give-ourselves-a-lot-of-leeway-but-we-want-consistency-from/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [What I really want is consistency - to keep working, for God to keep blessing me with all the amazing people in my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natti-natasha/what-i-really-want-is-consistency-to-keep-working-for-god-to-keep/) [Natti Natasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natti-natasha/) > [A team like McLaren doesn't want to keep changing drivers at a time when they're developing the car. They want consistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/a-team-like-mclaren-doesn-t-want-to-keep-changing-drivers-at-a-time/) [Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/) > [I don't want to do something unless it feels organic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-mota/i-don-t-want-to-do-something-unless-it-feels-organic/) [Bethany Mota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-mota/) > [“Just don't expect to get what you want unless we decide its what you need - this isn't a hotel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/just-don-t-expect-to-get-what-you-want-unless-we-decide-its-what-you/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I cannot move, I cannot even want to move, unless I hear the music first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-balanchine/i-cannot-move-i-cannot-even-want-to-move-unless-i-hear-the-music-first/) [George Balanchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-balanchine/) > [Most players in this league say they want consistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-players-in-this-league-say-they-want-consistency/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I want consistency. Is there a double standard?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-cnn-journalist/i-want-consistency-is-there-a-double-standard/) [a CNN journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-cnn-journalist/) > [I want the consistency in my effort, my competitiveness. I want my game to continually improve. But that doesn't mean that the results will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shelton/i-want-the-consistency-in-my-effort-my-competitiveness-i-want-my-game/) [Ben Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shelton/) > [“You may come in. I won’t bite,” he said with a wry grin. He watched her shut the door behind her and walk further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franca-storm/you-may-come-in-i-won-t-bite-he-said-with-a-wry-grin-he-watched-her/) [Franca Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franca-storm/) > [Christmas is never over,unless you want it to be... Christmas is a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/christmas-is-never-over-unless-you-want-it-to-be-christmas-is-a-state/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [You aren't ever going to be anything in this world unless you do what you want to do, when you want to do it--don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/you-aren-t-ever-going-to-be-anything-in-this-world-unless-you-do-what/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Unless you want to drink. Then I won’t, and I can drive you home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-michael/unless-you-want-to-drink-then-i-won-t-and-i-can-drive-you-home/) [Ted Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-michael/) > [Never put lettering in your photos unless you want it read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-maisel/never-put-lettering-in-your-photos-unless-you-want-it-read/) [Jay Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-maisel/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Larry Wall > [Not that I have anything much against redundancy. But I said that already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/not-that-i-have-anything-much-against-redundancy-but-i-said-that/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Perhaps you should compile your Perl with long doubles one of these megaseconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perhaps-you-should-compile-your-perl-with-long-doubles-one-of-these/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Take Lisp, you know its the most beautiful language in the world -- at least up until Haskell came along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/take-lisp-you-know-its-the-most-beautiful-language-in-the-world-at/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I'm reminded of the day my daughter came in, looked over my shoulder at some Perl 4 code, and said, 'What is that, swearing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-m-reminded-of-the-day-my-daughter-came-in-looked-over-my-shoulder/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Yes, but I did manage to increase the amount of virginity in the world by that method.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/yes-but-i-did-manage-to-increase-the-amount-of-virginity-in-the-world/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I won't mention any names, because I don't want to get sun4's into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-won-t-mention-any-names-because-i-don-t-want-to-get-sun4-s-into/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [And besides, if Perl really takes off in the Windows space, I think the rest of us would just as soon have a double-agent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/and-besides-if-perl-really-takes-off-in-the-windows-space-i-think-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I suppose you could switch grammars once you've seen 'use strict subs'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-suppose-you-could-switch-grammars-once-you-ve-seen-use-strict-subs/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [While I have historically been a late worker, you know, sometimes I even like to get up early and see what's happened in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/while-i-have-historically-been-a-late-worker-you-know-sometimes-i/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [All language designers are arrogant. Goes with the territory...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/all-language-designers-are-arrogant-goes-with-the-territory/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Perl has a long tradition of working around compilers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perl-has-a-long-tradition-of-working-around-compilers/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Part of language design is perturbing the proposed feature in various directions to see how it might generalize in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/part-of-language-design-is-perturbing-the-proposed-feature-in-various/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [We can debug relationships, but it's always good policy to consider the people themselves to be features. People get annoyed when you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/we-can-debug-relationships-but-it-s-always-good-policy-to-consider/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [The whole intent of Perl 5's module system was to encourage the growth of Perl culture rather than the Perl core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-whole-intent-of-perl-5-s-module-system-was-to-encourage-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [The choice of approaches could be made the responsibility of the programmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-choice-of-approaches-could-be-made-the-responsibility-of-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) [Explore all 226 Larry Wall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## More Computer quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Our brains are great at knowing what to forget. We actually have to teach computers to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/our-brains-are-great-at-knowing-what-to-forget-we-actually-have-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress the way you dress?Why do you do what you do with your time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-conway/why-do-you-do-what-you-do-why-do-you-dress-the-way-you-dress-why-do/) [Tim Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-conway/) > [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) [Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Wall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/larry-wall-1576_computer_in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless_88660.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.” — Larry Wall", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Larry Wall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In general, they do what you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```