--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way I see it, if you declare…" description: "\"The way I see it, if you declare something portable, you'll always be wrong, and if you declare it non-portable, you'll always be right.\" — Larry Wall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png" --- # The way I see it, if you declare something portable… ![“The way I see it, if you declare something portable, you'll always be wrong, and if you declare it non-portable, you'll always be right.” quote by Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png) > “The way I see it, if you declare something portable, you'll always be wrong, and if you declare it non-portable, you'll always be right.” [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. Labeling something as portable or not is a false dichotomy; flexibility defies strict categories. **In simple terms:** Portability isn’t absolute. Key Takeaway Embrace adaptable design. Themes software design flexibility abstraction Mood analytical pragmatic Type technical advice When to use this quote - software development - technology planning - cross‑platform projects Key Concepts programming paradigms system architecture Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance portability with performance? - When is non‑portability beneficial? A Different Perspective Rigid labels can limit innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I'm portable. I carry a laptop and a little recording studio on my back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-cornish/i-m-portable-i-carry-a-laptop-and-a-little-recording-studio-on-my-back/) [Abbie Cornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbie-cornish/) > [The Jews invented a portable religion in the shape of the Bible, the Torah, and eventually the Talmud, and with other portable forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-jews-invented-a-portable-religion-in-the-shape-of-the-bible-the/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [With portable cameras and affordable data and non-linear digital editing, I think this is a golden age of documentary filmmaking. These new technologies mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-walker/with-portable-cameras-and-affordable-data-and-non-linear-digital/) [Lucy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-walker/) > [Just the idea to have everything you need essentially stored in one piece of portable technology is very exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-mctavish/just-the-idea-to-have-everything-you-need-essentially-stored-in-one/) [Graham McTavish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-mctavish/) > [The harfoots are nomadic. And if a society is on the move, its instruments have to be portable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/the-harfoots-are-nomadic-and-if-a-society-is-on-the-move-its/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [Whatever people thought the first time they held a portable phone the size of a shoe in their hands, it was nothing like where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/whatever-people-thought-the-first-time-they-held-a-portable-phone-the/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [We should all have the legal right to purchase health insurance from any insurance company in any state, and we should be able use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/we-should-all-have-the-legal-right-to-purchase-health-insurance-from/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) > [My guiding star always is, Get hold of portable property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/my-guiding-star-always-is-get-hold-of-portable-property/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The portable device is the future of digital media—at least in the short term—and there is nothing more portable than good audio content. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kern/the-portable-device-is-the-future-of-digital-media-at-least-in-the/) Jonathan Kern > [I was mugged when I was 12. I had a portable radio, and I ran into this building and these two guys came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-prinze/i-was-mugged-when-i-was-12-i-had-a-portable-radio-and-i-ran-into-this/) [Freddie Prinze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-prinze/) > [Even when I'm travelling - which is when I do most of my writing - I have a little portable keyboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-blue/even-when-i-m-travelling-which-is-when-i-do-most-of-my-writing-i-have/) [Jonas Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-blue/) > [We're really lucky because we have a portable studio, which enables us to work wherever we like. 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When they are right, they afford a portable pleasure, which one may travel with, without any trouble or encumbrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-collier/thoughts-take-up-no-room-when-they-are-right-they-afford-a-portable/) [Jeremy Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-collier/) ## 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. 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It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Sometimes I look at my awesome twitter followers & think to myself, What the hell would I do without them :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sometimes-i-look-at-my-awesome-twitter-followers-think-to-myself-what/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [Penis goes in , sperms cums out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/penis-goes-in-sperms-cums-out/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) Michael Fishman [Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The way I see it, if you declare something portable, you'll always be wrong, and if you declare it non-portable, you'll always be right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Wall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-something-portable-you-ll-always-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Funny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-something-portable-you-ll-always-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/larry-wall-1576_funny_the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-somethin_502660.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The way I see it, if you declare something portable, you'll always be wrong, and if you declare it…” — 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 way I see it, if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-something-portable-you-ll-always-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-way-i-see-it-if-you-declare-something-portable-you-ll-always-be/#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 } } ] } ```