Geoffrey James - The Tao Of Programming

Something mysterious is formed, born in the silent void. Waiting aloneand unmoving, it is at once still and yet in constant motion. It isthe source of all programs. I do not know its name, so I will call itthe Tao of Programming.

If the Tao is great, then the operating system is great. If theoperating system is great, then the compiler is great. If the compileris great, then the application is great. The user is pleased and theiris harmony in the world.

The Tao of Programming flows far away and returns on the wind ofmorning.

The Tao gave birth to machine language. Machine language gave birth tothe assembler.

The assembler gave birth to the compiler. Now their are ten thousandlanguages.

Each language has its purpose, however humble. Each language expressesthe Yin and Yang of software. Each language has its place within theTao.

But do not program in COBOL if you can avoid it.

In the beginning was the Tao. The Tao gave birth to Space and Time.Therefore Space and Time are Yin and Yang of programming.

Programmers that do not comprehend the Tao are always running out oftime and space for there programs. Programmers that comprehend theTao always have enough time and space to accomplish their goals.

How could it be otherwise?

The wise programmer is told about Tao and follows it. The averageprogrammer is told about Tao and searches for it. The foolishprogrammer is told about Tao and laughs at is.

If it were not for laughter, there would be no Tao.

The highest sounds are hardest to hear. Going forward is a way toretreat. Great talent shows itself late in life. Even a perfectprogram still has bugs.

The programmers of old were mysterious and profound. We cannot fathomtheir thoughts, so all we do is describe their appearance.

Aware, like a fox crossing the water. Alert, like a general on thebattlefield. Kind, like a hostess greeting her guests. Simple, likeuncarved blocks of wood. Opaque , like black pools in darkened caves.

Who can tell the secrets of their hearts and minds?

The answer exists only in Tao.

Grand Master Turing once dreamed that he was a machine. When he awokehe exclaimed:

"I dont know whether I am Turing dreaming that I am a machine,or a machine dreaming that I am Turing!."

A programmer from a very large computer company went to a softwareconference and then returned to report to his manager, saying: "Whatsort of programmers work for other companies? They behaved badly andwere unconcerned with appearances. There hair was long and unkeptand their clothes were wrinkled and old. They crashed out hospitalitysuite and they made rude noises during my presentation."

The manager said: "I should have never sent you to the conference.Those programmers live beyond the physical world. They consider lifeabsurd, an accidental coincidence. They come and go without knowinglimitations. Without a care, they live only for their programs. Whyshould they bother with social conventions?

They are alive within the Tao."

A novice asked the Master: "Here is a programmer that never designs,documents or tests his programs. Yet all who know him consider himone of the best programmer in the world. Why is this?"

The Master replies: "That programmer has mastered the Tao. He hasgone beyond the need for design; he does not become angry when thesystem crashes, but accepts the universe without concern. He has gonebeyond the need for documentation; he no longer cares if anyone elsesees his code. He has gone beyond the need for testing; each of hisprograms are perfect within themselves, serene and elegant, theirpurpose self-evident. Truly, he has entered the mystery of Tao."

There once was a man who went to a computer trade show. Each day ashe entered, the man told the guard at the door:

"I am a great thief, renowned for my feats of shoplifting. Beforewarned, for this trade show shall not escape unplundered."

This speech disturbed the guard greatly, because there were millionsof dollars of computer equipment inside, so he watched the mancarefully. But the man merely wandered from booth to booth, hummingquietly to himself.

When the man left, the guard took him aside and searched his clothes,but nothing was to be found.

On the next day of the trade show, the man returned and chided theguard saying: "I escaped with a vast booty yesterday, but today willbe even better." So the guard watched him ever more closely, but tono avail.

On the final day of the trade show, the guard could restrain hiscuriosity no longer. "Sir Thief," he said, "I am so perplexed, Icannot live in peace. Please enlighten me. What is it that you arestealing?"

The man smiled. "I am stealing ideas," he said.

There once was a master programmer who wrote unstructured programs. Anovice programmer, seeking to imitate him, also began to writeunstructured programs. When the novice asked the master to evaluatehis progress, the master criticized him for writing unstructuredprograms, saying "What is appropriate for the master is notappropriate for the novice. You must understand Tao beforetranscending structure."

There was once a programmer who was attached to the court of thewarlord of Wu. The warlord asked the programmer: "Which is easier todesign: an accounting package or an operating system?"

"An operating system," replied the programmer.

The warlord uttered an exclamation of disbelief. "Surely anaccounting package is trivial next to the complexity of an operatingsystem," he said.

"Not so," said the programmer, "when designing an accounting package,the programmer operates as a mediator between people having differentideas: how it must operate, how its reports must appear, and how itmust conform to the tax laws. By contrast, an operating system is notlimited by outside appearances. When designing an operating system,the programmer seeks the simplest harmony between machine and ideas.This is why an operating system is easier to design."

The warlord of Wu nodded and smiled. "That is all good and well, butwhich is easier to debug?"

The programmer made no reply.

A manager went to the master programmer and showed him therequirements document for a new application. The manager asked themaster: "How long will it take to design this system if I assign fiveprogrammers to it?"

"It will take one year," said the master promptly.

"But we need this system immediately or even sooner! How long will ittake if I assign ten programmers to it?"

The master programmer frowned. "In that case, it will take twoyears."

"And what if I assign a hundred programmers to it?"

The master programmer shrugged. "Then the design will never becompleted," he said.

A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like astring of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should beretained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much,neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack ofstructure nor overwhelming rigidity.