Good engineering is characterized by gradual, stepwise refinement of products that yields increased performance under given constraints and with given resources.

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.

Software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster.

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

During the process of stepwise refinement, a notation which is natural to the problem in hand should be used as long as possible.

Software development is technical activity conducted by human beings.

Whereas Europeans generally pronounce my name the right way ('Ni-klows Wirt'), Americans invariably mangle it into 'Nick-les Worth'. This is to say that Europeans call me by name, but Americans call me by value.