Steve McConnell Quotes

If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some.

Adding functionality is not just a matter of adding code.

I will, in fact, claim that the difference between a bad programmer and a good one is whether he considers his code or his data structures more important. Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.

Inside every large program is a small program struggling to get out.

Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.

Even if you aren't in doubt, consider the mental welfare of the person who has to maintain the code after you, and who will probably put parens in the wrong place.

I used to be enamored of object-oriented programming. I'm now finding myself leaning toward believing that it is a plot designed to destroy joy.

If you want your program to be readable, consider supplying the argument.

There are already a lot of devices in our lives that have rich text or the ability to handle graphics. Our devices are designed to be understood in less than a quarter of a second.

Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves.

The mark of a mature programmer is willingness to throw out code you spent time on when you realize it's pointless.

People do not read first. First and foremost, they see color. Then they see numbers, then shape, and then, if you still have their attention and they understand what you put in front of them, then they will read.

Don't hurry your code. Make sure it works well and is well designed. Don't worry about timing.

C is a razor-sharp tool, with which one can create an elegant and efficient program or a bloody mess.

Often in writing programs, articulation and clarity are more important than what you actually say.

The camel has evolved to be relatively self-sufficient. On the other hand, the camel has not evolved to smell good. Neither has Perl.

A software system is transparent when you can look at it and immediately see what is going on. It is simple when what is going on is uncomplicated enough for a human brain to reason about all the potential cases without strain

I have met bright students in computer science who have never seen the source code of a large program. They may be good at writing small programs, but they can't begin to learn the different skills of writing large ones if they can't see how others have done it.

Problems with visual design can turn users off so quickly that they never discover all the smart choices you made with navigation or interaction design.

Good code is its own best documentation. As you're about to add a comment, ask yourself, "How can I improve the code so that this comment isn't needed?" Improve the code and then document it to make it even clearer.

The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.

Programs should be written and polished until they acquire publication quality.

All the PHP code I've seen in that experience has been messy, unmaintainable crap. Spaghetti SQL wrapped in spaghetti PHP wrapped in spaghetti HTML, replicated in slightly-varying form in dozens of places.

Learning to program has no more to do with designing interactive software than learning to touch type has to do with writing poetry

Dont confuse legibility with communication. Just because something is legible doesnt mean it communicates and, more importantly, doesnt mean it communicates the right thing.