If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce
would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing
everyone inside.
—Robert X. Cringely, 1969
34
If builders built houses the way programmers build programs, the first woodpecker to come
along would destroy civilization.
—Gerald Marvin Weinberg
35
A refund for defective software might be nice, except it would bankrupt the entire software
industry in the first year.
—Andrew S. Tannenbaum, 2003
It’s scary to think that the infrastructure of the industrialized world is increasingly based on
software like this.
36
—Anonymous
37
It’s the basic fact that all programming languages suck.
—Larry Wall, 2006
38
The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a
comma.
—Anonymous
39
There is more disputing about the shell then the kernel.
—German proverb
40
The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident.
That’s where we come in; we’re computer professionals. We cause accidents.
—Nathaniel Borenstein, 1991
***
34
With the ongoing development of autonomous (computer-driven) cars, the last goal seems within
reach.
35
As quoted, without a date, by Murali Chemuturi in 2010.
36
This was apparently written in 1992 about AutoCAD rev. 12. In comparison with that program,
most software packages I have to use nowadays are hardware-resource-wasting junk.
37
I have seen this statement attributed to some Stephen Wolfe, but I was unable to confirm this
authorship.
38
Note that L. Wall has himself created one of the languages (Perl), and did not exclude it from
this rule.
39
Sometimes also attributed to the same Larry Wall, but I could not find a reliable confirmation of
his authorship.
40
I find it remarkable how well some old wisdoms work in new contexts – in this case, of the
computer operation system development.
On Sciences and Technologies
53
would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing
everyone inside.
—Robert X. Cringely, 1969
34
If builders built houses the way programmers build programs, the first woodpecker to come
along would destroy civilization.
—Gerald Marvin Weinberg
35
A refund for defective software might be nice, except it would bankrupt the entire software
industry in the first year.
—Andrew S. Tannenbaum, 2003
It’s scary to think that the infrastructure of the industrialized world is increasingly based on
software like this.
36
—Anonymous
37
It’s the basic fact that all programming languages suck.
—Larry Wall, 2006
38
The purpose of most computer languages is to lengthen your resume by a word and a
comma.
—Anonymous
39
There is more disputing about the shell then the kernel.
—German proverb
40
The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident.
That’s where we come in; we’re computer professionals. We cause accidents.
—Nathaniel Borenstein, 1991
***
34
With the ongoing development of autonomous (computer-driven) cars, the last goal seems within
reach.
35
As quoted, without a date, by Murali Chemuturi in 2010.
36
This was apparently written in 1992 about AutoCAD rev. 12. In comparison with that program,
most software packages I have to use nowadays are hardware-resource-wasting junk.
37
I have seen this statement attributed to some Stephen Wolfe, but I was unable to confirm this
authorship.
38
Note that L. Wall has himself created one of the languages (Perl), and did not exclude it from
this rule.
39
Sometimes also attributed to the same Larry Wall, but I could not find a reliable confirmation of
his authorship.
40
I find it remarkable how well some old wisdoms work in new contexts – in this case, of the
computer operation system development.
On Sciences and Technologies
53