It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.
Tags: potential, impossible, hope, good

Other Quotes by "Edsger Dijkstra"

Teaching to unsuspecting youngsters the effective use of formal methods is one of the joys of life because it is so extremely rewarding.
Tags: formal, use, because, life
If 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and say to yourself: 'Dijkstra would not have liked this', well that would be enough immortality for me.
Tags: i-am, yourself, you, me
The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.
Tags: question, more, think, computers
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
Tags: prerequisite, reliability, simplicity
Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.
Tags: much, oneself, learning
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