Brian Kernighan

1942– · Canadian computer scientist, co-inventor of the Unix operating system

Topics: programming, debugging, complexity, unix

• The most effective debugging tool is still careful thought, coupled with judiciously placed print statements.

  — Brian Kernighan

• Everyone knows that debugging is twice as hard as writing a program in the first place. So if you're as clever as you can be when you write it, how will you ever debug it?

  — Brian Kernighan

• Do what you think is interesting, do something that you think is fun and worthwhile, because otherwise you won't do it well anyway.

  — Brian Kernighan

• Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming.

  — Brian Kernighan

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

  — Brian Kernighan

• Associative arrays are very very useful things and if you are only going to have one data structure that's the one to have. Because you could build everything else with it if you want.

  — Brian Kernighan

• Mechanical rules are never a substitute for clarity of thought.

  — Brian Kernighan