The Best Programs Are Written So That

...one Of The Most Important Lessons, Perhaps, Is The Fact That Software Is Hard. From Now On I Shall Have Significantly Greater Respect For Every Successful Software Tool That I Encounter. During The Past Decade I Was Surprised To Learn That The Writing Of Programs For Tex And Metafont Proved To Be Much More Difficult Than All The Other Things I Had Done (like Proving Theorems Or Writing Books). The Creation Of Good Software Demand A Significiantly Higher Standard Of Accuracy Than Those Other Things Do, And It Requires A Longer Attention Span Than Other Intellectual Tasks.

In Fact, My Main Conclusion After Spending Ten Years Of My Life Working On The Tex Project Is That Software Is Hard. It's Harder Than Anything Else I've Ever Had To Do.

I Try To Learn Certain Areas Of Computer Science Exhaustively; Then I Try To Digest That Knowledge Into A Form That Is Accessible To People Who Don't Have Time For Such Study.

I Have A Hunch That The Unknown Sequences Of Dna Will Decode Into Copyright Notices And Patent Protections.

I Can’t Go To A Restaurant And Order Food Because I Keep Looking At The Fonts On The Menu.