Jamie Zawinski Quotes

I'm kind of a retired software engineer. I don't write code anymore.

Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering.

I have never written a line of commercial code in my life. Nor should I.

I know one business, and that's how to make software.

We're the toolmakers. Our developers are the real creative geniuses.

Software eventually and necessarily gained the same respect as any other discipline.

Anyone can squash a bug but all professors of this world couldn't build one.

There was something amazingly enticing about programming.

The most sought-after candidates in the world today by companies like mine are people who make computer software - there's a shortage of talent.

Code writers, they are my idols.

I grew up as a computer scientist, and I've always been fascinated by algorithms.

I am a programmer.

I'm really good at making software for publishing.

We're losing track of the vastness of the potential for computer science. We really have to revive the beautiful intellectual joy of it, as opposed to the business potential.

As a kid, I was always into art at the same time as computers, and eventually I realised I was making more interesting stuff with my keyboard than with my hands. I really enjoyed modifying computer games more than playing them, so that got me into programming.

People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on eachother, like a wall of mini stones.

The manuals we got from IBM would show examples of programs and I knew I could do a heck of a lot better than that. So I thought I might have some talent.

If you know how to make software, then you can create big things.

Many days I don't write any code at all, and some days I spend all day writing code.

I designed and developed an unbelievable number of applications early in my life.

When you learn to code, it opens up for you to learn many other things.

Sometimes it's not always about what you can see or hear but what's under the hood of a game that's most impressive. Between those thousands and thousands of lines of code, magic happens. Sometimes the most amazing feats of gaming wizardry happen without you even noticing.

The computer offers another kind of creativity. You cannot ignore the creativity that computer technology can bring. But you need to be able to move between those two different worlds.

After graduating in 1973 I went into the programming field.

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.