Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
Edsger DijkstraRead
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Simplicity in design leads to more reliable systems.
Edsger Dijkstra highlights the importance of simplicity as a foundational aspect in the creation of reliable results or systems. In the context of technology and programming, keeping things simple can prevent errors and complexities that may lead to failures or unreliable outcomes.
Themes
SimplicityReliabilityDesignSystemsWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a presentation about software design principles to emphasize the need for simplicity.
More from Edsger Dijkstra
All quotes βThe purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.
Edsger DijkstraRead
We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.
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The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.
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LISP has jokingly been described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer." I think that description is a great compliment because it transmits the full flavour of liberation: it has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
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A most important, but also most elusive, aspect of any tool is its influence on the habits of those who train themselves in its use. If the tool is a programming language this influence is, whether we like it or not, an influence on our thinking habits.... A programming language is a tool that has profound influence on our thinking habits.
Edsger DijkstraRead
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