Technology Quote by Yukihiro Matsumoto
“Because of the Turing completeness theory, everything one Turing-complete language can do can theoretically be done by another Turing-complete language, but at a different cost. You can do everything in assembler, but no one wants to program in assembler anymore.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Ruby Conference, 2005
All Turing‑complete languages can compute the same things, but practical costs differ; high‑level languages trade speed for ease.
In simple terms: All programming languages can do the same things, but some are harder to use.
Key Takeaway
Choose language based on cost‑benefit.
Themes
programming
computer science
efficiency
Mood
analytical
practical
Type
technical
educational
When to use this quote
- systems programming
- rapid prototyping
- education
- legacy code maintenance
Key Concepts
computability theory
software engineering
Questions to Reflect On
- When is it worth using a low‑level language?
- How do you evaluate language trade‑offs?
A Different Perspective
Low‑level languages may be required for performance‑critical tasks.
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