With code, what it means is what it does. It doesn't express, not really. It's a very bounded conversation. And writing is not bounded. That's what's hard about it.

Programming is the art of algorithm design and the craft of debugging errant code.

What I hope is that those with the knowledge of the humanities break into the closed society where code gets written: invade it.

Technology does not run backward. Once a technical capability is out there, it is out there for good.

Reading code is like reading all things written: You have to scribble, make a mess, remind yourself that the work comes to you through trial and error and revision.

Writing was a way to get away from my life as a programmer, so I wanted to write about other things, but of course nobody wanted to publish another story about a family, unless it was extraordinary. When I began writing about my life as a programmer, however, people were interested.