Reliable and transparent programs are usually not in the interest of the designer.

I am convinced that there is a need for high quality software, and the time will come when it will be recognized that it is worth investing effort in its development and in using a careful, structured approach based on safe, structured languages.

The possible solutions to a given problem emerge as the leaves of a tree, each node representing a point of deliberation and decision.

The belief that complex systems require armies of designers and programmers is wrong. A system that is not understood in its entirety, or at least to a significant degree of detail by a single individual, should probably not be built.

Program construction consists of a sequence of refinement steps.

Many people tend to look at programming styles and languages like religions: if you belong to one, you cannot belong to others. But this analogy is another fallacy.

Reliable and transparent programs are usually not in the interest of the designer.