Rob Pike

1956– · software engineer

Topics: programming, software design, unix, engineering leadership

• Data dominates. If you've chosen the right data structures and organized things well, the algorithms will almost always be self-evident. Data structures, not algorithms, are central to programming.

  — Rob Pike

• Syntax highlighting is juvenile. When I was a child, I was taught arithmetic using colored rods. I grew up and today I use monochromatic numerals.

  — Rob Pike

• Object-oriented design is the roman numerals of computing.

  — Rob Pike

• Eventually, I decided that thinking was not getting me very far and it was time to try building.

  — Rob Pike

• The Unix room still exists, and it may be the greatest cultural reason for the success of Unix as a technology.

  — Rob Pike