FORTRAN, the infantile disorder, by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly inadequate for whatever computer application you have in mind today: it is now too clumsy, too risky, and too expensive to use.

In the software business there are many enterprises for which it is not clear that science can help them; that science should try is not clear either.

We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.

Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer.

The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim.

Aim for brevity while avoiding jargon.

The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.