Bjarne Stroustrup

"A well-designed language helps you write better code; a poorly designed one makes it harder."

"The best advice I can give anyone is to use modern C++ properly, not just use the language."

"I wanted to write code that was as close to the hardware as possible while remaining elegant."

"When you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability."

"The connection between different areas of programming is stronger than most people realize."

"Don't just learn the language, learn how to think in the language."

"We need people to think about software the way architects think about buildings."

"The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim."

"Your reputation is determined by what you do when no one is watching."

"I like to think of C++ as a language of possibilities, not restrictions."

"The code that is hardest to write is often the code that solves the most important problems."

"Overspecification is the enemy of flexibility."

"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is not worth learning."

"Efficiency is a very important foundation for good design."

"You must understand what you're trying to do before you write the code."

"People often think I'm against style guides, but I'm actually for thoughtful ones."

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

"I find abstraction to be one of the most important tools in a programmer's toolkit."

"People underestimate how much thought goes into language design decisions."

"Make it work, make it right, make it fast—in that order."

"Complexity is the enemy of correctness."

"I've always believed that you should be able to understand your program's performance."

"The standard library is a fundamental part of the language experience."

"When in doubt, choose the simplest solution."

"Good code is code that can be maintained by someone other than the original author."

"Correctness is not optional."

"I think that the ability to evolve is more important than the ability to predict."

"The secret to good design is knowing what not to include."

"Programming is understanding; coding is just the means of expression."

"Generality is a fundamental principle of good design."