On the characteristics of technology entrepreneurs from Dijkstra's Turing Award speech

Catalog

1 The Humble Programmer

2 Characteristics of Technology Entrepreneurs

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Dear readers , notice Dijkstra, Do you feel particularly familiar ？ Did you think of it Dijkstra Shortest path ,​GOTO On harmfulness , Semaphores and PV The original language , Banker Algorithm , The dining problem of philosophers ？ Today, let's start with humble programmers , Talk to tech entrepreneurs , Think about how humility makes us do a good job in science and technology entrepreneurship .

 

picture source ：The humble programmer | ACM Turing award lectures

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E.W.Dijkstra Archive: The Humble Programmer (EWD 340)

1 The Humble Programmer

Turing prize winner, Dutch computer scientist Edsger Wybe Dijkstra stay 1972 year 8 month 14 Award winning speech on the th “ Humble programmer ”(The Humble Programmer) in , This paper discusses the relationship between programmer psychology and computer programming . Dijkstra Always emphasize , The essential task of programming is to control the extreme complexity of Computer Science . He believes that programming is the only thing that requires mastering from the bottom to the top 9 Human activities that differ in detail by orders of magnitude . In his speech, he affirmed Fortran,Algol, LISP Other languages , And for PL/I, He thought it was a failure . In his speech, he emphasized how to build reliable software , How to try to avoid introducing errors when programming , Instead of eliminating mistakes later , This is not only of technical significance , And it is very important in economy . Dixtra's above views have won the understanding and support of more and more people . Today, fifty years later , Many opinions are still insightful .

picture source ：Edsger Dijkstra quote: The competent programmer is fully aware of the strictly limited...

Dijkstra Because it was first pointed out “goto It's harmful ” And the first structured programming . His contributions to computer science are very extensive , In programming technology 、 Algorithm and algorithm theory 、 There are many innovations in many aspects of compilers and operating systems . His publication is entitled “ Mentally retarded programmers ”(The Humble Programmer) Turing Prize speech , Published in Communicationof ACM,1973 year 10 month ,859~866 page . It can also be seen in 《 front 20 Year of ACM Turing prize speeches 》(ACM Turing Award Lectures-The First 20 Years:1966-1985, ACMPr.)17~32 page .

Here are some important remarks .

• Those who want really reliable software will discover that they must find a means of avoiding the majority of bugs to start with, and as a result the programming process will become cheaper.

• We should confine ourselves to intellectually manageable programs.

• We must not forget that it is not our business to make programs; it is our business to design classes of computations that will display a desired behaviour.

• It is a usual technique to make a program and then to test it. But: program testing can be a very effective way to show the presence of bugs, but it is hopelessly inadequate for showing their absence.

• The competent programmer is fully aware of the strictly limited size of his own skull; therefore he approaches the programming task in full humility, and among other things he avoids clever tricks like the plague.

• The question: "Can you code this in less symbols?" or, "Guess what it does?" - as if this were of any conceptual relevance!

• As long as machines were the largest item in the budget, the programming profession could get away with its clumsy techniques.

• As a result of a long sequence of coincidences I entered the programming profession officially on the first spring morning of 1952, and as far as I have been able to trace, I was the first Dutchman to do so in my country.

• We must be very careful when we give advice to younger people: sometimes they follow it!

• The major cause [of the software crisis] is that the machines have become several orders of magnitude more powerful! To put it quite bluntly: as long as there were no machines, programming was no problem at all; when we had a few weak computers, programming became a mild problem, and now we have gigantic computers, programming has become an equally gigantic problem. In this sense the electronic industry has not solved a single problem, it has only created them, it has created the problem of using its products.

• FORTRAN's tragic fate has been its wide acceptance, mentally chaining thousands and thousands of programmers to our past mistakes.

• LISP has been jokingly described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer". I think that description a great compliment because it transmits the full flavor of liberation: it has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.

• When FORTRAN has been called an infantile disorder, full PL/1, with its growth characteristics of a dangerous tumor, could turn out to be a fatal disease.

• If you want more effective programmers, you will discover that they should not waste their time debugging, they should not introduce the bugs to start with.

• Program testing can be a very effective way to show the presence of bugs, but it is hopelessly inadequate for showing their absence.

  • Compare more succinct phrasings cited above.

• The effective exploitation of his powers of abstraction must be regarded as one of the most vital activities of a competent programmer.

2 Characteristics of Technology Entrepreneurs

About the entrepreneurship of technologists , I wrote about

【 Rich imagination 】 What kind of programmers are suitable for entrepreneurship ？_ Apple II blog -CSDN Blog

About how to find technical talents , I wrote  【 Rich imagination 】 How to recruit talents for entrepreneurial knowledge-based enterprises ？_ Apple II blog -CSDN Blog .

Observe and compare the successful and failed science and technology entrepreneurs around , I have the following experience , For your reference .

• Not satisfied with the pleasure of making something , Instead, consider how the work brings real value , How to help enterprises and people who really need it .

 

 

picture source ：Value Equation | University of Utah Health

• Don't just be satisfied with the realization of Technology , Put the product concept and service concept into the soul .

picture source ：Service Word Written By 3d Man Stock Photo | Royalty-Free | FreeImages

• Put the glory of doing technology behind your head , If the work doesn't sell , Just a bunch of useless waste . Learn to sell yourself , Learn to focus on marketing and sales .

picture source ：Spectra Hospitality Services - Service Provider of Support Services & Initial Investigation from Gurgaon

• If you don't have enough business and management skills, toss yourself , It's better to work and be supported , Because there will always be someone who will raise technology .

picture source ：Quotes Making Mistakes At Work. QuotesGram

 

picture source ：Creating Value For Customers – The Good and The Bad

May you all make continuous efforts , Make a work , Continue to create value .

I am from technology development and technology management , Continue to think and determine the direction of entrepreneurship and innovation in tossing and exploring , Welcome to leave a message .