We have persistent objects, they're called files.

One of my most productive days was throwing away 1,000 lines of code.

It is only the inadequacy of the criminal code that saves the hackers from very serious prosecution.

When in doubt, use brute force.

It's always good to take an orthogonal view of something. It develops ideas.

If you want to go somewhere, goto is the best way to get there.

You can't trust code that you did not totally create yourself.

I think the major good idea in Unix was its clean and simple interface: open, close, read, and write.

No amount of source-level verification or scrutiny will protect you from using untrusted code.

SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check out!

I don't think there are many people up in research who have strong ideas about things that they haven't really had experience with.

My progress was rendered delightful by the sylvan elegance of the groves, chearful meadows, and high distant forests, which in grand order presented themselves to view.

I think when you experience things in your life, dealing with good and bad things, you just become stronger in so many ways.

It's true that America can't solve every problem, but I don't know of any major problem in the world that can be solved without us.

A good scare is worth more than good advice.

I think the experience of feeling isolated, of not fitting in, creates the urge to explore.

It is the eternal, inescapable law that growth comes only from work and preparation, whether the growth be material, mental, or spiritual. Work has no substitute.

I know that I am a black man in a white world. . . I know that I never had it made.

All broken hearts are circumstantial. Every lovelorn jerk is the victim of bad timing, good intentions, and someone else’s poor decision making.

The bravest people are the ones who don’t mind looking like cowards.

There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel.