Edsger Dijkstra

The only way to achieve high quality software is through rigorous intellectual discipline.

The programmer's greatest enemy is complexity.

The only way to make progress in computing is to be intellectually honest.

The computer is a medium for expression.

The only way to write good programs is to write a lot of programs.

The programmer's task is to construct a correct program, not to find a correct program.

The computer is a tool for extending human intellect.

The only way to achieve clarity is through precision.

The programmer's job is to make the program work, not to make it look good.

The only way to write efficient programs is to write correct programs.

The computer is a tool for formalizing thought.

The only way to master a complex system is to understand its simple parts.

The programmer's task is to make the program understandable to himself.

The only way to build reliable software is to build it from reliable components.

The most important property of a program is whether it is correct. The second most important property is whether it is easy to understand.

A good programmer is someone who always looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.

The competent programmer is fully aware of the limited size of his own skull. He therefore approaches his task with full humility, and avoids clever tricks that are difficult to understand.

It is not the task of the programmer to make the computer understand; it is the task of the programmer to make the human understand.

The only way to make a program reliable is to make it simple enough that you can prove it correct.

The computing scientist's main challenge is not to get confused by the complexity of his own constructions.