Bjarne Stroustrup is a Danish computer scientist and the creator of the programming language C++. He has also held various academic positions in major universities. He is currently the Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, New York City.
He has authored several books:
- The C++ Programming Language
- The Design and Evolution of C++
- A Tour of C++
- Programming: Principles and Practice using C++
The below list of quotes are some of his popular list of quotes across his lifetime of work in computer science.
Quote 1:
“There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses”.
Quote 2:
“There are more useful systems developed in languages deemed awful than in languages praised for being beautiful–many more”.
Quote 3:
“People who think they know everything really annoy those of us who know we don’t”.
Quote 4:
“C++ is my favorite garbage collected language because it generates so little garbage”.
Quote 5:
“If the comment and code disagree, both are probably wrong”.
Quote 6:
“Space is time”. In reference to scattered data increases time complexity.
Quote 7:
“Test early and often”.
Quote 8:
“Any problem in computer science can be solved with another layer of indirection, except of course for the problem of too many indirections”.
Quote 9:
“Nobody should call themselves a professional if they only know one language”.
Quote 10:
“When was the last time you checked the return value of printf?”
Quote 11:
“Java is to JavaScript as ham is to hamster”.
Quote 12:
“Without philosophy language design becomes hacking”.
Quote 13:
“Code should elegant and efficient; I hate to have to choose between those”.
Quote 14:
“Language design is a curious mixture of grand ideas and fiddly details”.
Quote 15:
“The first solution that’s good enough is rarely the best solution”.
Quote 16:
“A program that has not been tested doesn’t work”
Quote 17:
“C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off”.
Quote 18:
“The fact that ‘goto’ can do anything is exactly why we don’t use it”.
Quote 19:
“It’s easy to win forgiveness for being wrong; being right is what gets you into real trouble”.
Quote 20:
“The most important single aspect of software development is to be clear about what you are trying to build”.
Hope these quotes gave a peek into the mind of Bjarne Stroustrup, thank you.
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