"In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"One man's constant is another man's variable."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"In computing, turning the obvious into the useful is a living definition of the word 'frustration'."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"Every program has two purposes: The one for which it was written and another for which it wasn't."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"The best book on programming for the layman is 'Alice in Wonderland'; but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)
"Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand progress."
—Alan Perlis (1922-1990)