"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute."
A programming language is an engineered language for expressing computer programs, typically allowing software to be written in a human readable manner.
"At first I hoped that such a technically unsound project would collapse but I soon realized it was doomed to success. Almost anything in software can be implemented, sold, and even used given enough determination. There is nothing a mere scientist can say that will stand against the flood of a hundred million dollars."
"My original postulate, which I have been pursuing as a scientist all my life, is that one uses the criteria of correctness as a means of converging on a decent programming language design—one which doesn’t set traps for its users, and ones in which the different components of the program correspond clearly to different components of its specification, so you can reason compositionally about it. [...] The tools, including the compiler, have to be based on some theory of what it means to write a correct program."
"That language is an instrument of human reason, and not merely a medium for the expression of thought, is a truth generally admitted."
"The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offence."
"When someone says "I want a programming language in which I need only say what I wish done," give him a lollipop."
"Cheathams amendment of Conways Law: If a group of N persons implements a [COBOL] compiler, there will be N-1 passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager."