Top Niklaus Wirth Quotes - Quotesmemo.com

Niklaus Wirth Biography

Niklaus Emil Wirth (born 15 February 1934) is a Swiss computer scientist, best known for designing several programming languages, including Pascal, and for pioneering several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984 he won the Turing Award, generally recognized as the highest distinction in computer science, for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages.

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Niklaus Wirth Quotes

During the process of stepwise refinement, a notation which is natural to the problem in hand should be used as long as possible.

Hands, Long, Natural, Notation, Problem

In the practical world of computing, it is rather uncommon that a program, once it performs correctly and satisfactorily, remains unchanged forever.

Computer, Computing, Forever, Program, Unchanged, World

Go To statement considered harmful.

Considered, Harmful, Statement, Statements

Clearly, programming courses should teach methods of design and construction, and the selected examples should be such that a gradual development can be nicely demonstrated.

Demonstrated, Design, Development, Example, Examples, Gradual

Nevertheless, I consider OOP as an aspect of programming in the large; that is, as an aspect that logically follows programming in the small and requires sound knowledge of procedural programming.

Aspect, Follows, Knowledge, Programming, Sound

Programs should be written and polished until they acquire publication quality.

Code Quality, Polished, Program, Publication, Should, Written

A good designer must rely on experience, on precise, logic thinking; and on pedantic exactness. No magic will do.

Death, Design, Good, Magic, Precise, Thinking

Software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster.

Faster, Hardware, Slower, Software

Professors typically spend their time in meetings about planning, policy, proposals, fund-raising, consulting, interviewing, traveling, and so forth, but spend relatively little time at their drawing boards. As a result, they lose touch with the substance of their rapidly developing subject. They lose the ability to design; they lose sight of what is essential; and they resign themselves to teach academically challenging puzzles.

Design, Drawing, Planning, Sight, Spend

I am convinced that there is a need for high quality software, and the time will come when it will be recognized that it is worth investing effort in its development and in using a careful, structured approach based on safe, structured languages.

Convinced, Effort, Quality, Time, Worth

But active programming consists of the design of new programs, rather than contemplation of old programs.

Active, Contemplation, Design, Old, Program

C++ is an insult to the human brain

Brain, Human, Human Brain, Insult

The belief that complex systems require armies of designers and programmers is wrong. A system that is not understood in its entirety, or at least to a significant degree of detail by a single individual, should probably not be built.

Army, Complex, Degrees, Designers, Details, Wrong

The possible solutions to a given problem emerge as the leaves of a tree, each node representing a point of deliberation and decision.

Decision, Given, Problem, Representing, Tree

My duty as a teacher is to train, educate future programmers.

Duty, Educate, Education, Future, Teacher, Train

Prolific programmers contribute to certain disaster.

Certain, Contribute, Disaster, Programming

Our ultimate goal is extensible programming. By this, we mean the construction of hierarchies of modules, each module adding new functionality to the system.

Construction, Functionality, Goal, Hierarchy, Mean, Ultimate

Whereas Europeans generally pronounce my name the right way ('Ni-klows Wirt'), Americans invariably mangle it into 'Nick-les Worth'. This is to say that Europeans call me by name, but Americans call me by value.

Names, Way, Call Me, Right, Say, Call

Indeed, the woes of Software Engineering are not due to lack of tools, or proper management, but largely due to lack of sufficient technical competence.

Due, Engineering, Tools, Woe, Woes

Good engineering is characterized by gradual, stepwise refinement of products that yields increased performance under given constraints and with given resources.

Engineering, Good, Resources, Yield

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