# Bjarne Stroustrup

Bjarne Stroustrup (born 30 December 1950) is a computer scientist and creator of the C++ programming language.

## Quotes

* Within C++, there is a much smaller and cleaner language struggling to get out.
** The Design and Evolution of C++ (1994), p. 207; a later clarification adds, "And no, that smaller and cleaner language is not Java or C#."
* I do not think that safety should be bought at the cost of complicating the expression of good solutions to real-life problems.
** "Interview with Bjarne Stroustrup" by Dr. Carlo Pescio (1996)
* The connection between the language in which we think/program and the problems and solutions we can imagine is very close. For this reason restricting language features with the intent of eliminating programmer errors is at best dangerous.
** PDF: Notes to the Reader, The C++ Programming Language, Special Edition (2000), p. 9
* There are more useful systems developed in languages deemed awful than in languages praised for being beautiful — many more.
** As quoted in "The Problem with Programming (Interview with Bjarne Stroustrup)" by Jason Pontin, MIT Technology Review (28 November 2006)
* [Corporate programming] is often done to the point where the individual is completely submerged in corporate "culture" with no outlet for unique talents and skills. Corporate practices can be directly hostile to individuals with exceptional skills and initiative in technical matters. I consider such management of technical people cruel and wasteful.
** As quoted in "The Problem with Programming (Interview with Bjarne Stroustrup)" by Jason Pontin, MIT Technology Review (28 November 2006)
* Anybody who comes to you and says he has a perfect language is either naïve or a salesman.
** "C++ 0x - An Overview" (2007) at University of Waterloo Computer Science Club
* I'm convinced that you could design a language about a tenth of the size of C++ (whichever way you measure size) providing roughly what C++ does.
** Masterminds of Programming: Conversations with the Creators of Major Programming Languages (2009) by Federico Biancuzzi, p. 14
* One of the things I really like about programming languages is that it's the perfect excuse to stick your nose into any field. So if you're interested in high energy physics and the structure of the universe, being a programmer is one of the best ways to get in there. It's probably easier than becoming a theoretical physicist.
** "Bjarne Stroustrup - The Essence of C++" talk at the University of Edinburgh's George Square Lecture Theatre (28 April 2014)
* If you do anything useful it will haunt you forever after, and if you have a major success you get decades of hard manual labor — meaning you have to work on the manual.
** "C++ Q&A Community Event with Bjarne Stroustrup" (27 August 2014) · 3m 20s

### The C++ Programming Language (2013)

* Maybe "just one little global variable" isn't too unmanageable, but that style leads to code that is useless except to its original programmer.
** p. 467
* Proof by analogy is fraud.
** p. 692
* Design and programming are human activities; forget that and all is lost.
** p. 693
* A program that has not been tested does not work.
** p. 712
* "How to test?" is a question that cannot be answered in general. "When to test?" however, does have a general answer: as early and as often as possible.
** p. 712
* An organisation that treats its programmers as morons will soon have programmers that are willing and able to act like morons only.
** p. 713

### Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ (2007 - present)

* "Legacy code" often differs from its suggested alternative by actually working and scaling.
** Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ: What is "legacy code"?

#### FAQ: Did you really say that?

    Bjarne Stroustrup Quotes (2007 - present)
* There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses.
* Far too often, "software engineering" is neither engineering nor about software.
* I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone.
** Bjarne Stroustrup states that he did say the above sentence, but also adds "I very much doubt that the sentiment is original."
* People who think they know everything really annoy those of us who know we don't.
* C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off.
* If you think it's simple, then you have misunderstood the problem.

## External links

* Bjarne Stroustrup's homepage