The Laws of Computing

• First law - The Computer is always right.

• Lemma one - Programmers are occasionally right.

• Second law - The amount of time needed to debug a program is inversely proportional to the time allotted for debugging.

• Corollary - Programs never work the first time unless there is virtually unlimited time to complete the program.

• Third law - Any programmer can find 90% of his bugs simply by explaining his program to an uninterested observer.

• Corollary - The uninterested observer may be sleeping, dead, nonhuman, or, in extreme cases, nonexistent.

• Fourth law - The most difficult or nearly impossible programming problems appear obvious or extremely simple to anyone with little or no knowledge of programming.

• Corollary - Those problems most easily solved by a programmer appear to be overwhelmingly complicated and marvelous to the layman.

• Fifth law - Computers are never more intelligent than their programmers.

• Corollary - Most computers are incredibly stupid.

•  Sixth law - The rarest bugs in any operating system or major programming effort will always show up in a demonstration of its use to prospective users or customers.

•  Corollary - These bugs usually cannot be reproduced and therefore cannot be located.

• Lemma one - Customers will never purchase programs which appear to be riddled with bugs as verified by demonstration.

•  Paradox - Most programs are unfit for sale.