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Bjarne Stroustrup

Bjarne Stroustrup Books

Scientist

Bjarne Stroustrup is a renowned computer scientist, known as the creator of the C++ programming language. He invented C++ in 1979, a widely-used programming language that has had a profound impact on software engineering. Born on December 30, 1950, Stroustrup's career has been dedicated to the design and development of programming languages and various fields of computer science.

The C++ Programming Language

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C Plus Plus Programming Language

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The Design and Evolution of C++

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Related Quotes

“Proof by analogy is fraud.”

Proof Fraud Analogies

Book:The C++ Programming Language

Source: The C++ Programming Language

“How to test?" is a question that cannot be answered in general. "When to test?" however, does have a general answer: as early and as often as possible.”

Doe Answers Tests

Book:The C++ Programming Language

Source: The C++ Programming Language

“There are more useful systems developed in languages deemed awful than in languages praised for being beautiful - many more.”

Beautiful Language Awful Being Beautiful

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“"Legacy code" often differs from its suggested alternative by actually working and scaling.”

Alternatives Legacy Code

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“[Corporate programming] is often done to the point where the individual is completely submerged in corporate "culture" with no outlet for unique talents and skills. Corporate practices can be directly hostile to individuals with exceptional skills and initiative in technical matters. I consider such management of technical people cruel and wasteful.”

People Matter Done Culture Individual Practice Talent Skills Unique Management Corporate Programming Initiative Hostile Exceptional Outlets Corporate Culture Submerged Unique Talents

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“I do not think that safety should be bought at the cost of complicating the expression of good solutions to real-life problems.”

Thinking Should Real Problem Expression Cost Solutions Safety Real Life

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“The connection between the language in which we think/program and the problems and solutions we can imagine is very close. For this reason restricting language features with the intent of eliminating programmer errors is at best dangerous.”

Thinking Reason Problem Language Imagine Dangerous Solutions Program Connections Errors Features Programmers Eliminating Problems And Solutions

Book:The C++ Programming Language

Source: The C++ Programming Language

“Java isn't platform independent; it is a platform”

Independent Platforms Java

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Some software is actually pretty good, by any standard. Think of the Mars Rovers, Google, and the Human Genome Project. Now, that's quality software!”

Thinking Humans Quality Computer Projects Standards Software Google Mars Genome Genome Project Human Genome Project

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Most of the programmers in ten years will be us, and we won't get much smarter.”

Years Science Ten Mathematics Smarter Programmers

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“To many managers, getting rid of the arrogant, undisciplined, over-paid, technology-obsessed, improperly-dressed etc. programmers would appear to be a significant added benefit”

Technology Benefits Paid Significant Managers Obsessed Etc Arrogant Programmers Undisciplined

Book:The C++ Programming Language

Source: The C++ Programming Language

“Too many managers and executives try to reduce programming to a low-level assembly-line activity. That's inefficient, wasteful, costly in the long run, and inhumane to programmers.”

Trying Long Running Lines Levels Activity Lows Managers Programming Executives Long Runs Assembly Programmers Low Level Inhumane Assembly Line

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“The first law of computer science: Every problem is solved by yet another indirection.”

Firsts Problem Law Computer Computer Science

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“And no, I'm not a walking C++ dictionary. I do not keep every technical detail in my head at all times. If I did that, I would be a much poorer programmer. I do keep the main points straight in my head most of the time, and I do know where to find the details when I need them.”

Ifs Knows Needs Would Be Walking Details All Time Dictionary Programmers

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Always think about how a piece of code should be used: good interfaces are the essence of good code. You can hide all kinds of clever and dirty code behind a good interface if you really need such code.”

Ifs Thinking Needs Should Kind Used Behinds Pieces Essence Clever All Kinds Code Dirty Interfaces

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“My impression was and is that many programming languages and tools represent solutions looking for problems, and I was determined that my work should not fall into that category. Thus, I follow the literature on programming languages and the debates about programming languages primarily looking for ideas for solutions to problems my colleagues and I have encountered in real applications. Other programming languages constitute a mountain of ideas and inspiration-but it has to be mined carefully to avoid featurism and inconsistencies.”

Source: The Design and Evolution of C++

“I assume that a sufficiently skilled will be able to do anything not explicitly forbidden by the hardware.”

Able Assuming Forbidden Hardware

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Destructors for virtual base classes are executed in the reverse order of their appearance in a depth-first left-to-right traversal of the directed acyclic graph of base classes.”

Firsts Order Left Class Depth Appearance Reverse Graphs

Book:C Plus Plus Programming Language

Source: C Plus Plus Programming Language

“There is no one "root of all evil" in software development. Design is hard in many ways. People tend to underestimate the intellectual and practical difficulties involved in building a significant system involving software. It is not and will not be reduced to a simple mechanical "assembly line" process. Creativity, engineering principles, and evolutionary change are needed to create a satisfactory large system.”

“However, when Java is promoted as the sole programming language, its flaws and limitations become serious.”

Language Serious Limitation Programming Flaws Sole Programming Languages Java

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“People who passionately want to believe that the world is basically simple react to this with a fury that goes beyond what I consider appropriate for discussing a programming language.”

People World Want Believe Language Simple Programming Appropriate Fury Discussing Programming Languages

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off.”

“There's an old story about the person who wished his computer were as easy to use as his telephone. That wish has come true, since I no longer know how to use my telephone.”

Knows Persons Stories Use Wish Easy Technology Know How Computer Programming Software Telephones Computer Programming Computer Science Software Design Computer Software

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“The standard library saves programmers from having to reinvent the wheel.”

Book Reading Standards Library Wheels Thought Provoking Librarian Programmers Libraries And Librarians

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“An organisation that treats its programmers as morons will soon have programmers that are willing and able to act like morons only.”

Able Willing Organization Treats Programming Software Programmers Moron Software Engineering Software Design

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Design and programming are human activities; forget that and all is lost.”

Humans Lost Forget Design Activity Programming Software Programming Languages Human Activity Software Design

Book:The C++ Programming Language

Source: The C++ Programming Language

“More good code has been written in languages denounced as "bad'' than in languages proclaimed "wonderful'' - much more.”

Has Beens Language Wonderful Written Simplicity Code Programming Languages

Book:The Design and Evolution of C++

Source: The Design and Evolution of C++

“The most important single aspect of software development is to be clear about what you are trying to build.”

Trying Important Learning Clear Development Aspect Simplicity Programming Software Programmers Software Design Software Development

Book:The C++ Programming Language

Source: The C++ Programming Language

“If you think it's simple, then you have misunderstood the problem.”

Ifs Thinking Problem Simple Mathematics Mathematical Misunderstood Mathematical Problems

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“It is my firm belief that all successful languages are grown and not merely designed from first principles”

Firsts Belief Language Principles Learning Successful Firm Programming Firm Beliefs

Book:The Design and Evolution of C++

Source: The Design and Evolution of C++

“It's easy to win forgiveness for being wrong; being right is what gets you into real trouble.”

Real Pain Winning Easy Trouble Therapy Injury Being Wrong

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“C++ is designed to allow you to express ideas, but if you don't have ideas or don't have any clue about how to express them, C++ doesn't offer much help.”

Ifs Ideas Helping Offers Clue

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“A program that has not been tested does not work.”

Doe Program Tested

Book:C Plus Plus Programming Language

Source: C Plus Plus Programming Language

“Anybody who comes to you and says he has a perfect language is either naive or a salesman.”

Language Perfect Naive Salesman

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“C++ is my favorite garbage collected language because it generates so little garbage”

Littles Language My Favorite Garbage

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Nobody should call themselves a professional if they only knew one language.”

Ifs Should Language

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Defining OO as based on the use of class hierarchies and virtual functions is also practical in that it provides some guidance as to where OO is likely to be successful.”

Use Class Successful Function Practicals Guidance Being Successful Hierarchy Defining

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Clearly, I reject the view that there is one way that is right for everyone and for every problem.”

Way Problem Views One Way Rejects

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“After all, C++ isn't a perfect match for Java's design aims either.”

Perfect Design Aim Java Perfect Match

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“I would encourage nonproprietary standards for tools and libraries.”

Standards Tools Library

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“I find languages that support just one programming paradigm constraining”

Language Support Just One Programming Paradigm

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“It is easy to study the rules of overloading and of templates without noticing that together they are one of the keys to elegant and efficient type-safe containers.”

Together Easy Study Keys Type Safe Efficient Elegant Noticing Containers

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Certainly not every good program is object-oriented, and not every object-oriented program is good.”

Objects Program Very Good

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“First, I'd like to see the basic tools such as compilers, debuggers, profilers, database interfaces, GUI builders, CAD tools, and so forth fully support the ISO standard.”

Firsts Support Standards Tools Builder Interfaces Databases Cad

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Any verbose and tedious solution is error-prone because programmers get bored.”

Solutions Errors Bored Programmers Tedious

Book:C Plus Plus Programming Language

Source: C Plus Plus Programming Language

“Tom [Cargil]s suggestion with a further idea: Propsers of new [C++] features should be required to donate a kidney. That would - Jim [Waldo] pointed out - make people think hard before proposing, and even people without any sense would propose at most two extensions.”

People Thinking Should Two Ideas Hard Features Toms Suggestions Extensions Propose Kidneys Donate

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“Our civilization depends critically on software, and we have a dangerously low degree of professionalism in the computer fields”

Fields Depends Civilization Degrees Computer Lows Software Professionalism

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“The most fundamental problem in software development is complexity. There is only one basic way of dealing with complexity: divide and conquer”

Way Problem Development Fundamentals Conquer Complexity Divides Software Software Development Divide And Conquer

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“This evolution may compromise Java's claim of being simpler than C++, but my guess is that the effort will make Java a better language than it is today.”

May Today Language Effort Evolution Claims Compromise Java

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

“I like doing research that has an impact. If I went to a company to make what they call 'real money,' I'd be just trying to make a system work as fast as possible to meet the product and serice deadlines.”

Ifs Trying Real Company Products Research Impact Deadline

Author:Bjarne Stroustrup

About the Author

Born: December 30, 1950
Known for: Scientist
Quotes: 53

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Books & Sources

The C++ Programming LanguageRelated source material

C Plus Plus Programming LanguageRelated source material

The Design and Evolution of C++Related source material

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