“I realised that both verification and testing were using the same technology—assertions—on a common goal of improving software products in their speed of delivery, their quality, and their reliability.”
Tony Hoare
Theories of Programming: The Life & Works of Tony Hoare (Primary source)
In the final chapter, Tony Hoare reflects personally on his career and contributions, emphasizing humility, collaboration, and the enduring importance of clear thinking and formal reasoning in programming. He encourages future generations to pursue both rigorous theory and practical impact with curiosity and generosity.
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“The scales fell from my eyes. I realised that both verification and testing were using the same technology—assertions—on a common goal of improving software products in their speed of delivery, their quality, and their reliability. Ever since then I have renounced all the principles which I preached as an academic, about the superior results of proving programs instead of testing them. I would concentrate instead on reconciling these two previously opposing positions.”
Tony Hoare
“What is the central core of the subject [computer science]? What is it that distinguishes it from the separate subjects with which it is related? What is the linking thread which gathers these disparate branches into a single discipline? My answer to these questions is simple—it is the art of programming a computer.”
— Tony Hoare Primary source“There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies.”
— Tony Hoare Primary source“The price of reliability is the pursuit of the utmost simplicity.”
— Tony Hoare Primary source“A crude measure of the simplicity of an engineering tool is the length of the manual required to give a full and complete account of how to use it and avoid misusing it.”
— Tony Hoare Primary source“It’s common for men to give pretended reasons instead of one real one.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right—not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“The design of products has a duty to contribute to a sustainable reduction in the number of products as a whole. Therefore the goal for product culture in the coming decades will be ‘less, but better’.”
— Dieter Rams Primary source“Focused, hard work is the real key to success. Keep your eyes on the goal, and just keep taking the next step towards completing it. If you aren’t sure which way to do something, do it both ways and see which works better.”
— John Carmack Primary source