James Gosling Quotes

'Programming' is a four-letter word.

The critical thing in developing software is not the program, it's the design. It is translating understanding of user needs into something that can be realized as a computer program.

Software Engineering might be science; but that's not what I do. I'm a hacker, not an engineer.

The software industry has to become better in componentization. That's a clear focus for most of the software companies. How components look, how they are maintained, the ability to maintain them separately.

There are two methods in software design. One is to make the program so simple, there are obviously no errors. The other is to make it so complicated, there are no obvious errors.

We've broken the code base into logical chunks, called modules, and the foundation staff delegate authority for the modules to people with the most expertise.

This will surprise some of your readers, but my primary interest is not with computer security. I am primarily interested in writing software that works as intended.

My list of basic tools is a partial answer to the question about what has changed: Over the past few years, large numbers of programmers have come to depend on elaborate tools to interface code with systems facilities.

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

Building technical systems involves a lot of hard work and specialized knowledge: languages and protocols, coding and debugging, testing and refactoring.

Thus, the standard library will serve as both a tool and as a teacher.

In my daily work, I work on very large, complex, distributed systems built out of many Python modules and packages. The focus is very similar to what you find, for example, in Java and, in general, in systems programming languages.

The mark of a mature programmer is willingness to throw out code you spent time on when you realize it's pointless.

My favorite language for maintainability is Python. It has simple, clean syntax, object encapsulation, good library support, and optional named parameters.

Program construction consists of a sequence of refinement steps.

Programming is usually taught by examples.

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

Code writers, they are my idols.

I have the ability to get code done, but I'm impatient, and it's scrappy as a result. Maybe that helped me with 'Minecraft,' as it came quickly. But, well, at some point, I'd like to actually become a good programmer.

We don't know how to actually code, but I wish that I did. It's so much harder than anyone could possibly imagine - it's like learning German.

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

A lot of people assume that creating software is purely a solitary activity where you sit in an office with the door closed all day and write lots of code.

Whether you draw diagrams that generate code or you type at a browser, you are coding.

Don't hurry your code. Make sure it works well and is well designed. Don't worry about timing.

C is a razor-sharp tool, with which one can create an elegant and efficient program or a bloody mess.