A Quote by Niklaus Wirth

Good engineering is characterized by gradual, stepwise refinement of products that yields increased performance under given constraints and with given resources.

Niklaus Wirth

Quote Topics

Constraints Engineering Given Good Gradual Increased Performance Products Refinement Resources Yields

Quote Author

Niklaus Wirth
Swiss - Scientist
Born: February 15, 1934

The challenge of ensuring adequate, nutrient-rich food for an expanding global population is a daunting one, especially given constraints on key resources like water and agricultural land.

Esther Dyson

A service is said to be scalable if when we increase the resources in a system, it results in increased performance in a manner proportional to resources added.

Werner Vogels

Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow (e.g., given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone).

Eric S. Raymond

During the process of stepwise refinement, a notation which is natural to the problem in hand should be used as long as possible.

Niklaus Wirth

It was the old psychosomatic side-step. Everyone in my family dances it at every opportunity. You've given me a splitting headache! You've given me indigestion! You've given me crotch rot! You've given me auditory hallucinations! You've given me a heart attack! You've given me cancer!

Erica Jong

Man is still by instinct a predatory animal given to devilish aggression. The discoveries of science have immensely increased productivity of material things. They have increased the standards of living and comfort. They have eliminated infinite drudgery. They have increased leisure. But that gives more time for devilment. The work of science has eliminated much disease and suffering. It has increased the length of life. That, together with increase in productivity, has resulted in vastly increased populations. Also it increased the number of people engaged in devilment.

Herbert Hoover

Engineering is about finding solutions with a commitment to ongoing refinement. That's what engineering training teaches you.

Shiva Ayyadurai

I walk until given shelter, fast until given food. I don't ask - it's given without asking. Aren't people good! There's a spark of good in everybody, no mater how deeply it may be buried. It's waiting to govern your life gloriously.

Peace Pilgrim

Shifting Philip Morris to the new a non-risk products doesn't mean that I will give market share to my competitors free of charge. In the markets where we are not present with IQOS yet or the other reduced-risk products, you still need to defend your share of the market. They still represent the bulk of our income, and so far they have financed the billions of dollars we have put behind these new products. But once we go national in a market, and absent capacity constraints, then you shift your resources and your focus to these new products.

Andre Calantzopoulos

The term 'natural resources' confuses people. 'Natural resources' are not like a finite number of gifts under the Christmas tree. Nature is given, but resources are created.

Alex Tabarrok

Hackman's paradox: Groups have natural advantages: they have more resources than individuals; greater diversity of resources; more flexibility in deploying the resources; many opportunities for collective learning; and, the potential for synergy. Yet studies show that their actual performance often is subpar relative to "nominal" groups (i.e. individuals given the same task but their results are pooled.) The two most common reasons: groups are assigned work that is better done by individuals or are structured in ways that cap their full potential.

J. Richard Hackman

People, materials, facilities, money, and time are the resources available to us for conducting our business. By applying our skills, we turn these resources into useful products and services. If we do a good job, customers pay us more for our products than the sum of our costs in producing and distributing them. This difference, our profit, represents the value we add to the resources we utilize.

David Packard

It feels good to be able to go from music to film and have a good transition and be given the opportunities I've been given.

Xzibit

Where resources are plentiful (i.e. no constraints), you will find very little creativity. Where resources are scarce (i.e. many constraints), you will find an abundance of creativity.