Edsger W. Dijkstra [LWN.net]

Let us pause a moment to remember Edsger W. Dijkstra, who passed away on August 7. Mr. Dijkstra was the source of much wisdom in Computer Science, and we are all in his debt. Much of what we now take for granted (i.e. the semaphores in the Linux kernel) is rooted in his work. He is one of our founding fathers.

For a number of years I have been familiar with the observation that the quality of programmers is a decreasing function of the density of go to statements in the programs they produce.

--Go To Statement Considered Harmful, CACM, March 1968.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.

The use of anthropomorphic terminology when dealing with computing systems is a symptom of professional immaturity.

The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offence.

--How do we tell truths that might hurt?, June 1975.

Today a usual technique is to make a program and then to test it. But: program testing can be a very effective way to show the presence of bugs, but it is hopelessly inadequate for showing their absence.

The competent programmer is fully aware of the strictly lmited size of his own skull; therefore he approaches the programming task in full humility, and among other things he avoids clever tricks like the plague.

-- The Humble Programmer

The Humble Programmer was Dijkstra's 1972 Turing Award lecture; it can be obtained as a difficult to read PDF file.

In the end, Dijkstra valued simplicity as the key to program reliability. One might hope that he would have found things to admire (along with things to criticize) in the free software world and its accomplishments.

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