Bjarne Stroustrup

"The connection between the language in which we think/program and the problems and solutions we can imagine is very close."

"It is often better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness."

"Interfaces are not determined by what a designer thinks is cool."

"Code that is easy to read is easy to maintain."

"The most important thing in software engineering is to understand the problem you are trying to solve."

"A string is not an array of characters."

"Optimization is the root of all evil in programming."

"We shape our structures and then our structures shape us."

"Remember: those who try to make life appear straightforward and controllable are deluding themselves."

"The standard library saves programmers from having to reinvent the wheel."

"What is your favorite feature of C++? That's a hard one. It would be either templates or RAII."

"Code should be written for humans first and computers second."

"Learning to program is like learning to write."

"The code you write is read more often than it is written."

"I would say don't think about larger abstractions until you need them."

"The most effective debugging tool is still careful thought coupled with judiciously placed print statements."

"A language is not just for writing programs; it is a tool for thinking about programs."

"Testing shows the presence, not the absence, of bugs."

"The best comments are those that explain why, not what."

"If you think C++ is not overly complicated, just what is a string Co-variantly derived vom Has-Allocated?"

"The purpose of software engineering is to control complexity, not to create it."

"The best investment is in the tools of your trade."

"Programming is a social activity."

"Errors are best caught at compile time, not run time."

"The fundamental problem is that we have not yet learned to think in a fundamentally new way."

"I am a strong believer in the principle of separation of concerns."

"Standards are important, but common sense is more important."

"The best code is the code that is not written."

"Reuse is harder than we thought."

"What you must accept is that you will not have time to learn everything you need to know."