Geoffrey James

Only a fool expects rational behavior from his fellow humans. Why do you expect it from a machine that humans have constructed?

A well-written program is its own heaven; a poorly-written program is its own hell.

The Tao gave birth to machine language. Machine language gave birth to assembler. The assembler gave birth to the compiler. Now there are ten thousand languages. Each language has a purpose, however humble. Each language expresses the yin and yang of software. Each language has its place within the Tao. But do not program in Cobol if you can avoid it.

A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little nor too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity.

Never make a technical decision based upon the politics of the situation, and never make a political decision based upon technical issues.

The greatest mistake made in human/computer interfaces is the denial of the computer. Systems that are backfitted to previous conceptions of the universe are always limited by what has gone before. Computers should not simulate reality - they should transcend it.

A novice asked the master, 'What is the true meaning of programming?' The master replied: 'Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are fatigued, program when the moment is right.'