Notes on Structured Programming (1970) [pdf]

(cs.utexas.edu)

64 points | by BerislavLopac 11 days ago

4 comments

  • Someone 9 days ago
    For some, the transcription of this text https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD02xx/E..., via https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/index02xx.html) may be easier to read.

    It definitely is better searchable.

  • Swizec 9 days ago
    > What I am really concerned about is the composition of large programs, the text of which may be, say, of the same size as the whole text of this booklet.

    At 88 pages, I think that falls on the smaller end of what most programmers deal with these days. Sounds like the ideas of structured programming and later evolutions have been a huge success!

    • wglb 9 days ago
      Agreed.

      What is interesting is that this is of the era when he mentioned that Americans tended to talk about how many lines of code their compiler had. He claimed that Europeans tended to emphasize how few lines their compiler had.

  • eimrine 9 days ago
    I like "on our inability to do much" part.
  • ape4 9 days ago
    By the man who said "Goto considered harmful" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Considered_harmful
    • Jtsummers 9 days ago
      No, by the man who wrote a letter/article which got that title. Wirth, as the article you linked indicates, gave it that title.
      • wglb 9 days ago
        Yes, you are strictly correct. But the headline does reflect the sense of the article.

        (Full Disclosure: I read the article when I came out. I was working with Fortran at the time and could not have agreed more.)