Nathaniel Borenstein

1957– · American computer scientist

Topics: software engineering, software design

• It should be noted that no ethically-trained software engineer would ever consent to write a DestroyBaghdad procedure. Basic professional ethics would instead require him to write a DestroyCity procedure, to which Baghdad could be given as a parameter.

  — Nathaniel Borenstein

• Software patents may be used as a form of outright coercion, providing protection against theft of ideas as a potentially high cost to future inventors.

  — Nathaniel Borenstein

• As more and more good ideas come under the protection of patents, it may become increasingly unlikely that any one program can incorporate the state of the art in user-interface design without sinking into a quagmire of unending royalty payments and legal battles.

  — Nathaniel Borenstein