Post #1033965
2026-03-31 08:57 UTC
This gem stays evergreen.
> Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
-- Brian Kernighan
Replies (3)
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@pmmeurcatpics@ieji.de 2026-03-31 09:09
@oli skill issue, omw to write generic/trait object/async-aware debugger (I will _not_ be able to debug it)
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@lkundrak@metalhead.club 2026-03-31 10:16
@oli omg, no, as far as i'm aware, this level of smugness is nowhere to be found in his works. thankfully. what he wrote instead: "Everyone knows that debugging is twice as hard as writing a program in the first place. So if you’re as clever as you can be when you write it, how will you ever debug it?" (also he appears to be wrong about the "everyone knows" part, sadly...)
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@rozeboosje@masto.ai 2026-03-31 11:19
@oli Or: regardless of how cleverly you write your code, it will take you twice as long to debug it than it did to write it. Gross underestimate, in my experience.