Alan Perlis

Scientist

1922-04-01 – 1990-02-07

Alan Perlis was an American computer scientist and educator, the first recipient of the Turing Award and a pioneer of programming languages.

Books by Alan Perlis

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Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a soap bubble?
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A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.
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In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.
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We toast the Lisp programmer who pens his thoughts within nests of parentheses.
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One man's constant is another man's variable.
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You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.
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Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand progress.
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The best book on programming for the layman is 'Alice in Wonderland'; but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman.
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There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.
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