Guido van Rossum
Creator of the Python programming language.
Most quoted
"The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters: Beautiful is better than ugly. Explicit is better than implicit. Simple is better than complex. Complex is better than complicated. Flat is better than nested. Sparse is better than dense. Readability counts. Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules. Although practicality beats purity. Errors should never pass silently. Unless explicitly silenced. In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess. There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it. Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch. Now is better than never. Although never is often better than *right* now. If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea. If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea. Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!"
— from PEP 20 -- The Zen of Python, 1999
"The joy of coding Python should be in seeing short, concise, readable classes that express a lot of action in a small amount of clear code — not in reams of trivial code that bores the reader to death."
— from Blog post
"I'm a benevolent dictator for life, but I'm not a dictator. I'm a benevolent dictator for life, but I'm not a dictator. I'm a benevolent dictator for life, but I'm not a dictator."
— from Conference talk, 2008
All quotes by Guido van Rossum (330)
I think the biggest mistake I made with Python 3 was not being more aggressive about breaking compatibility.
I don't believe in 'one true way' of doing things. There are always trade-offs.
The best way to learn Python is to write Python.
I'm not a fan of 'clever' code. I prefer code that is easy to understand.
The most important thing in programming is to communicate effectively with other programmers.
I don't think there's any such thing as a 'perfect' language. Every language has its strengths and weaknesses.
The goal of Python is to make programming fun.
I think the biggest challenge for Python in the future is to remain relevant.
I'm not a fan of 'magic' in programming. I prefer things to be explicit.
Python is a language that tries to get out of your way.
I don't think there's any such thing as 'bad' code, only code that is not yet understood.
I'm not a fan of 'enterprise' software. I prefer simple, elegant solutions.
Python is a language that encourages good programming practices.
I think the biggest strength of Python is its community.
I'm not a fan of 'frameworks' that try to do everything for you.
The best way to improve Python is to use it.
I'm not a fan of 'boilerplate' code. I prefer concise, expressive code.
Python is a language that is constantly evolving.
I think the biggest challenge for Python is to maintain its simplicity as it grows.
I'm not a fan of 'dogmatic' approaches to programming.
Contemporaries of Guido van Rossum
Other Computer Sciences born within 50 years of Guido van Rossum (1956).