My being a teacher had a decisive influence on making language and systems as simple as possible so that in my teaching, I could concentrate on the essential issues of programming rather than on details of language and notation.

But active programming consists of the design of new programs, rather than contemplation of old programs.

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

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

Clearly, programming courses should teach methods of design and construction, and the selected examples should be such that a gradual development can be nicely demonstrated.

I have never designed a language for its own sake.

Program construction consists of a sequence of refinement steps.