Programming quotes tooted every few hours.
I will, in fact, claim that the difference between a bad programmer and a good one is whether he considers his code or his data structures more important. Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.
— Linus Torvalds
A programmer does not primarily write code; rather, he primarily writes to another programmer about his problem solution. The understanding of this fact is the final step in his maturation as technician.
— anonymous
Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.
— Isaac Asimov
We build systems like the Wright brothers built airplanes build the whole thing, push it off the cliff, let it crash, and start over again.
— Nato Software Engineering Conference '68
Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight.
— Bill Gates
Software sucks because users demand it to.
— Nathan Myhrvold
Correctness is clearly the prime quality. If a system does not do what it is supposed to do, then everything else about it matters little.
— Bertrand Meyer
The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time.
— Tom Cargill
Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming.
— Brian Kernighan
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
The only sin is to make a choice without knowing you are making one.
— Jonathan Shewchuk
It's a curious thing about our industry: not only do we not learn from our mistakes, we also don't learn from our successes.
— Keith Braithwaite
Theory is when you know something, but it doesn't work. Practice is when something works, but you don't know why. Programmers combine theory and practice: Nothing works and they don't know why.
— anonymous
A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.
— Alan J. Perlis
The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer.
— Cunningham's Law
Programming languages, like pizza, come in only two sizes: too big and too small.
— Richard Pattis
A smart terminal is not a smartass terminal, but rather a terminal you can educate.
— Rob Pike