--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of most computer languages is…" description: "\"The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a comma.\" — Larry Wall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png" --- # The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your… ![“The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a comma.” quote by Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png) > “The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a comma.” [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. Programming languages often serve as résumé boosters rather than tools for problem solving. **In simple terms:** Languages can pad resumes. Key Takeaway Focus on practical skill development. Themes career technology language design resume building Mood pragmatic critical Type analysis career advice When to use this quote - job interviews - skill assessments - learning plans Key Concepts skill relevance job market Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose languages for growth? - What skills matter most? A Different Perspective May undervalue deep technical expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computer language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-language/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [But the possibility of abuse may be a good reason for leaving capabilities out of other computer languages, it's not a good reason for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/but-the-possibility-of-abuse-may-be-a-good-reason-for-leaving/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Human languages tend to be much more ambiguous than computer languages because humans are much smarter about interpreting the context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/human-languages-tend-to-be-much-more-ambiguous-than-computer/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [So many computer languages try to force you into one way of thinking and Perl is very much the opposite of that approach. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/so-many-computer-languages-try-to-force-you-into-one-way-of-thinking/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Computer languages differ not so much in what they make possible, but in what they make easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/computer-languages-differ-not-so-much-in-what-they-make-possible-but/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [There are two types of computer languages; those that people hate and those that nobody uses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ousterhout/there-are-two-types-of-computer-languages-those-that-people-hate-and/) John Ousterhout > [One of the most important and fascinating of all computer languages is Lisp (standing for "List Processing"), which was invented by John McCarthy around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hofstadter/one-of-the-most-important-and-fascinating-of-all-computer-languages/) [Douglas Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hofstadter/) > [Computer languages of the future will be more concerned with goals and less with procedures specified by the programmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/computer-languages-of-the-future-will-be-more-concerned-with-goals/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Whereas smaller computer languages have features designed into them, C++ is unusual in having a whole swathe of functionality discovered, like a tract of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verity-stob/whereas-smaller-computer-languages-have-features-designed-into-them-c/) Verity Stob > [Composing computer programs to solve scientific problems is like writing poetry. You must choose every word with care and link it with the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/composing-computer-programs-to-solve-scientific-problems-is-like/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [In New York, f\*\*\* isn't even a word. It's a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/in-new-york-f-isn-t-even-a-word-it-s-a-comma/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Practically everyone is going to have a general purpose computer in their pocket, it's so easy to underestimate that, that has got to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/practically-everyone-is-going-to-have-a-general-purpose-computer-in/) [Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/) > [Most of you are familiar with the virtues of a programmer. There are three, of course: laziness, impatience, and hubris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/most-of-you-are-familiar-with-the-virtues-of-a-programmer-there-are/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [It is easier to port a shell than a shell script.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/it-is-easier-to-port-a-shell-than-a-shell-script/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [You can prove anything by mentioning another computer language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/you-can-prove-anything-by-mentioning-another-computer-language/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Computer language design is just like a stroll in the park. Jurassic Park, that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/computer-language-design-is-just-like-a-stroll-in-the-park-jurassic/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## 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/) > [In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/) [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/) [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": "The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a comma.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Wall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-is-to-lengthen-your-resume-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-is-to-lengthen-your-resume-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/larry-wall-1576_computer_the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-i_1380741.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a comma.” — 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": "The purpose of most computer languages...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-is-to-lengthen-your-resume-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-purpose-of-most-computer-languages-is-to-lengthen-your-resume-by/#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 } } ] } ```