Boss: You forgot to assign the result of your map! Hacker: Dang, I'm always forgetting my assignations... Boss: And what's that 'goto' doing there?!? Hacker: Er, I guess my finger slipped when I was typing 'getservbyport'... Boss: Ah well, accidents will happen. Maybe we should have picked APL.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A boss points out common programming mistakes—missing assignments, stray ‘goto’, and typographical errors—suggesting perhaps a language like APL would avoid them.
- In plain terms
- The boss highlights typical coding slip‑ups and jokes about using APL.
- What can you take from it?
- Pay attention to small syntax errors to avoid bugs.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How can teams reduce trivial mistakes?
- What role does language design play in preventing errors?
Another view
Even with tools, human error is inevitable.
More from Larry Wall
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Permalink to quote #167 Yes, we have consensus that we need 64 bit support. :-)
Permalink to quote #164
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