Programming Proverbs

I went looking for the programming proverbs Henry F. Ledgard collected in his programming books from the 1970s. The exercise is still useful because good programming advice tends to outlive particular languages and tools.

The ideas I keep coming back to are less about syntax than habits of mind:

• Clarity matters. Clever code is not automatically good code.
• Complexity needs discipline. Being inventive is useful; controlling that invention is what keeps a program understandable.
• Editing matters. Programs, like prose, usually improve when unnecessary material is removed and the remaining structure becomes easier to follow.
• Read other people’s work critically. Examples and libraries are valuable, but using code you did not write does not remove the need to understand what you are trusting.
• Build a library of ideas. Patterns, examples, documentation, and previous solutions become more valuable when they are organized well enough to find again.

Ledgard’s Programming Proverbs belongs to an earlier era of computing, but its premise remains relevant: programming is not merely telling a machine what to do. It is expressing a solution precisely enough that people can understand, test, maintain, and improve it.

Last reviewed: August 9, 2026.