Computer Programmers Quotes

The unavoidable price of reliability is simplicity. ~ Tony Hoare

Teaming up with the scientists, researchers and computer programmers at Intel to collaborate and co-develop new ways to communicate, create, inform and entertain is going to be amazing. ~ Will.i.am

The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim. ~ Edsger Dijkstra

Think of the many articles one can find every year in the Wall Street Journal describing some entrepreneur or businessman as being a "pioneer" or a "maverick" or a "cowboy." Think of the many times these ambitious modern men are described as "staking their claim" or boldly pushing themselves "beyond the frontier" or even "riding into the sunset." We still use this nineteenth-century lexicon to describe our boldest citizens, but it's really a code now, because these guys aren't actually pioneers; they are talented computer programmers, biogenetic researchers, politicians, or media monguls making a big splash in a fast modern economy.

But when Eustace Conway talks about staking a claim, the guy is literally staking a goddamn claim. Other frontier expressions that the rest of us use as metaphors, Eustace uses literally. He does sit tall in the saddle; he does keep his powder dry; he is carving out a homestead. When he talks about reining in horses or calling off the dogs or mending fences, you can be sure that there are real horses, real dogs or real fences in the picture. And when Eustace goes in for the kill, he's not talking about a hostile takeover of a rival company; he's talking about really killing something. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

I didn't realize how good I was with technology until I met my parents ... my dad told me "You're good; you should be a computer programmer." I said, "You're bad ... you should be a caveman." ~ Mike Birbiglia

Geniuses of certain kinds - mathematicians, chess players, computer programmers - seem, if not mad, at least lacking in the social skills most easily identified with sanity. ~ James Gleick

What a waste of time it would be to insist that everyone develop each of the specialties we call upon to an equal level. We'd get bogged down in remedial training programs, trying to get the cornet players up to speed with the computer programmers, sacrificing the tends to be exceptional in so many individual situations in order to be average in all of them. ~ Robert Watson

If we want developed societies with women doctors, political leaders, teachers, bus drivers, and computer programmers, we will need qualified people to give loving care to their children. And there is no reason why every society should not enjoy such loving paid child care. ~ Barbara Ehrenreich

Poke the box How do computer programmers learn their art? Is there a step-by-step process that guarantees you'll get good? All great programmers learn the same way. They poke the box. They code something and see what the computer does. They change it and see what the computer does. They repeat the process again and again until they figure out how the box works. The box might be a computer or it might be a market or it might be a customer or it might be your boss. It's a puzzle, one that can be solved in only one way - by poking. ~ Seth Godin

Low-level programming is good for the programmer's soul. ~ John Carmack

A computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. ~ Bill Bryson

More computing sins are committed in the name of efficiency (without necessarily achieving it) than for any other single reason - including blind stupidity. ~ William Wulf

On every full moon, rituals ... take place on hilltops, beaches, in open fields and in ordinary houses. Writers, teachers, nurses, computer programmers, artists, lawyers, poets, plumbers, and auto mechanics
women and men from many backgrounds come together to celebrate the mysteries of the Triple Goddess of the Dance of Life. The religion they practice is called Witchcraft. ~ Starhawk

The most successful computer programmers aren't the ones who approach programming as a task they have to carry out in order to get their paychecks. They're the ones for whom programming is a joyful game. ~ Anonymous

The computer programmer is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver. No playwright, no stage director, no emperor, however powerful, has ever exercised such absolute authority to arrange a stage or field of battle and to command such unswervingly dutiful actors or troops. ~ Joseph Weizenbaum

For a long time it puzzled me how something so expensive, so leading edge, could be so useless. And then it occurred to me that a computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. They are, in short, a perfect match. ~ Bill Bryson

How many computer programmers does it take to change a light bulb? Are you kidding? That's a hardware problem! ~ Various

That's the thing about people who think they hate computers. What they really hate is lousy programmers. ~ Larry Niven

Finding a technical cofounder would have been difficult for me. I was an English major and didn't know any computer programmers. ~ Jessica Livingston

Trying to outsmart a compiler defeats much of the purpose of using one. ~ Brian Kernighan

Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships. ~ Linus Torvalds

Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer. ~ Edsger W. Dijkstra

If you cannot grok the overall structure of a program while taking a shower, you are not ready to code it. ~ Richard E. Pattis

I think that computer programming shows in my writing. Often when I write about computer programmers I'll write about the way that they see the world and they structure the world. ~ Walter Mosley

The best computer programmers are much better than novices at remembering the overall structure of programs because they understand better what they're intended to do and how. ~ Geoff Colvin

Computer programmers, biotechnologists, environmental scientists, neuroscientists, nanotech engineers - all of these fields, and more, should have at least a course in ethics as part of their degree requirements. ~ Jamais Cascio

it's confusing to have a controller and a manager and a driver in the same
code base. What is the essential difference between a DeviceManager and a Protocol-Controller? Why are both not controllers or both not managers? Are they both Drivers really? The name leads you to expect two objects that have very different type as well as
having different classes.

A consistent lexicon is a great boon to the programmers who must use your code. ~ Robert C. Martin

You see, unlike most writers today, I do not use a computer. I write the old-fashioned way: on the walls of caves. ~ Cuthbert Soup

My abilities on the computer are limited pretty much to iTunes and YouTube. I check my email as much as anybody, but I'm more old-fashioned in a certain sense. ~ Josh Hartnett

For a generation that gets most of its information off a computer screen (be it Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or what have you), an athlete has to be very careful about the public/private aspect of that. Be careful not to be overly critical, be careful with use of language, and understand the whole world is watching. ~ Leigh Steinberg

I did 'Call of Duty Modern Warfare' as Gaz, then I did Ghost in 'Modern Warfare 2,' which has become one of the most iconic figures in the history of computer games. ~ Craig Fairbrass

What the gears cannot do the computer might. The computer is the Proteus of machines. Its essence is its universality, its power to simulate ~ Seymour Papert

[T]he form that an animal's subjective experience takes will be a property of the internal computer model. That model will be designed, in evolution, for its suitability for useful internal representation, irrespective of the physical stimuli that come to it from outside. Bats and we need the same kind of internal model for representing the position of objects in three-dimensional space. The fact that bats construct their internal model with the aid of echoes, while we construct ours with the aid of light, is irrelevant. ~ Richard Dawkins

Microsoft has a new version out, Windows XP, which according to everybody is the 'most reliable Windows ever.' To me, this is like saying that asparagus is 'the most articulate vegetable ever.' ~ Dave Barry

I started getting into Internet technologies and computers. I wasn't especially interested in being a musician, but I wound up finding my way back to being interested in music through computers. ~ Eric Avery

So, Diana thought, that was the bait she had to lay out for Jack. Of course. What else? He might lust for Diana, and long for Brianna, but Jack's true love was made of silicon. ~ Michael Grant

The modern computer with all its various gadgets and wonderful electronic facilities now makes it possible to preserve and reinvigorate all the cultural richness of mankind. ~ Alan Lomax

Now, with no hate group to run, Jerry spent his days playing Mah-jong on his computer ~ Louis Theroux

On second thought, this might not be spurious. Computer science doctorates vs. Comic book sales ~ Tyler Vigen

I think it would be cool if you were writing a ransom note on your computer, if the paper clip popped up and said, 'Looks like you're writing a ransom note. Need help? You should use more forceful language, you'll get more money.' ~ Demetri Martin

Computer animation is one way to liberate people from their circumstantial gravity, and it is one way to give them mental freedom. ~ Cai Guo-Qiang

If I had a spreadsheet on my computer, it looked like I was busy. ~ Nate Silver

Software development is the process of creating a computer software.
It includes preparing a design, coding the program, and fixing the
bugs. The final goal of software development is to translate user
needs to software product, while continuously improving the team
and the process. ~ Paulo Caroli

I don't think Steve [Jobs] started Apple as a scam. But he understood early on the power of marketing. The idea of the computer as a bicycle for the human mind - I think that was something he believed. ~ Alex Gibney

Well, the thought that everybody might have a personal computer at their desk or their home was certainly not on the mainstream of anybody's activity at that time. ~ Jack Kilby

The computer is down. I hope it's something serious. ~ Stanton Delaplane

lunge for the computer and pull up the only lifeline I have. Twitter. ~ J.A. Huss

I think computers are the ultimate writing tool. I'm a very slow writer, so I appreciate it every day. ~ Sherry Turkle

I think we're in an age where artists really have an incredible range of materials at their command now. They can use almost anything from household items - Jackson Pollock used house paint - to, you know, advanced computer systems, to good old oil paint and acrylic paint. ~ Bill Viola

There is nothing - no program, no hobby, no vice, no crime - that does not 'create jobs'. Tsunamis, computer viruses and shooting convenience store clerks all 'create jobs'. So that claim misses the plot; it applies to all so is an argument in favor of none. Instead of an argument on the merits, it is an admission that one has no such arguments. ~ Chris Horner

When someone says, "I want a programming language in which I need only say what I want done," give him a lollipop. ~ Alan Perlis

You are not reading this book because a teacher assigned it to you, you are reading it because you have a desire to learn, and wanting to learn is the biggest advantage you can have. ~ Cory Althoff

When I pull out vinyl - which isn't that often anymore - it's undeniable that I get a different feeling. There's a different physiology happening between the sound waves and the body that doesn't happen with music playing off the computer. ~ Beck

I do not believe in objects. I believe only in their relationships. ~ Georges Braque

Turn off the computer. Often, an open computer screen distracts us from other activities. Our eye catches a glimpse of something and before you know it, we're back at the desk and surfing away. ~ James Chartrand

When the Mac first came out, Newsweek asked me what I [thought] of it. I said: Well, it's the first personal computer worth criticizing. So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you'll rule the world. ~ Alan Kay

On my walks, that's when the good ideas come. The kind of hard, gritty work is when you're sitting at the computer and it's kind of intense and you're kind of in super control of it - the walks are when you let go. That's when the really big breakthroughs come in, and it's very strange. ~ Maria Semple

Computer languages differ not so much in what they make possible, but in what they make easy. ~ Larry Wall

I feel like we are so used to CGI [computer-generated imagery] and thank god because it is a wonderful tool, but there is an element of everything you are looking at has been created in the comfort of a studio. I want to return to a world where I can celebrate when you are really interacting with the world. ~ Larry Fessenden

I first began to worry about this during the summer of 1989, when it began to be clear that string theory would not quickly lead to a unique theory of everything. Henry Tye, a string theorist from Cornell University, had told me of his computer program to produce new string theories. When you run Tye's program, you input a rough description of a universe you would like to describe. You tell it the dimension of spacetime, and something about how the world should look. It outputs all the string theories it can construct that lead to the world you requested, one per page. ~ Lee Smolin

Why pay a fee for Internet content when a million free sites are just a click away? There's no incentive until people are too addicted to the Net to turn off their computers, yet are bored with what's available. ~ Nathan Myhrvold

For those who wish to stay and work in computer science or technology, fields badly in need of their services, let's roll out the welcome mat. ~ Sheldon Adelson

This book felt, at times, entirely impossible, but a lot of people made it possible. I'll start with my son, Orin, who reminded me to take frequent breaks by pointing to my computer and saying, "Close it. ~ Hank Green

I hope you're appreciating the rich irony here: hospitals and doctors are using the Medicare subsidy (Medicare is the federal agency that doles out the HITECH dollars) to buy computer systems that allow them to bill Medicare more effectively. ~ Robert Wachter

The computer should be doing the hard work. That's what it's paid to do, after all. ~ Larry Wall

You don't even need a computer plugged into the back of your head to be hopelessly dependent on the system. ~ Russell Eric Dobda

Dive from a high platform, walk a country lane, watch your computer freeze, cross a finish line, hear your morning alarm, look for a parking space, toast on your anniversary, embrace a friend after a funeral. As you live your life, what do you feel? Terror, serenity, frustration, relief, groaning reluctance, patient endurance, pride, satisfaction, or a grief made bearable because somehow life will go on. We experience life as feelings. ~ Donald Maass

Maybe you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but like every American, you carry a deed to 635 million acres of public lands. That's right. Even if you don't own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and many other natural treasures. ~ John Garamendi

Memory has always been social. Now we're using search engines and computers to augment our memories, too. ~ Clive Thompson

Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books. Instant information is not for me. I prefer to search library stacks because when I work to learn something, I remember it. And, Oprah, can you imagine curling up in bed to read a computer? Weeping for Anna Karenina and being terrified by Hannibal Lecter, entering the heart of darkness with Mistah Kurtz, having Holden Caulfield ring you up - some things should happen on soft pages, not cold metal. ~ Harper Lee

Or maybe, he thought now, he just didn't recognize all those other girls. The way a computer drive will spit out a disk if it doesn't recognize the formatting.
When he touched Eleanor's hand, he recognized her. He knew. ~ Rainbow Rowell

People don't want to talk about death, just like they don't want to talk about computer security. Maybe I should have named my workstation Fear. People are so motivated by fear. ~ Dan Farmer

With the greatest of respect, I have watched Apple from the day it started. I was publishing magazines about the Apple II before most people had ever heard what a personal computer was. ~ Felix Dennis

Saying that programmers should just accomplish twice as much doesn't work. They can gain skills and effectiveness, but they cannot get more done on demand. More time at the desk does not equal increased productivity for creative work. ~ Kent Beck

We grew up in the good old days before kids had these damn computers and actually played outside. ~ Jon Stewart