"A software development project attempts to solve a problem in producing a solution which includes a software system. Any acceptable solution must meet a set of functional requirements anda set of constraints. Constraints are negative requirements (e.g., compatibility, performance, interface specifications). The more requirements a project has, the more difficult it will be to meet them all.
A particular problem has some fixed requirements and many flexible ones (i.e., unspecified or loosely specified). When a system gets designed for execution on a computer, additional constraints must be imposed (e.g., sequential execution, control structures). Additional constraints are imposed then it is implemented (e.g., finite resources, discrete arithmetic). These constraints are `artificial' in that they did not come with the original problem.
It is important not to impose any more artificial constraints than necessary in order to aid productivity. Then more room is left for tradeoffs which can produce a more desirable result. These views come directly from the belief that simplicity is better than complexity..." Kim Harris, "The FORTH Philosophy," DDJ, September 1981.
"A hacker is an artist, and computer artistry is not distinguished from other art forms except in the medium chosen....
"It is the nature of great art that it compresses a great deal of design, intellectual sweat and individual personality into the created object. There are no great paintings painted by a committee or artists. Curiously, it seems to matter little what tools the artist had, or where his starting point was, provided that his accomplishment from that point exceeds what the rest of us could have done. Ansel Adams had color and motion available, but he chose to limit himself to black and white stills---and what art he created! A virtuoso on a violin produces art; the same sound from a Moog is ho-hum....
"...Unlike painting, sculpture, music, and the like, few people can really appreciate the artistry in a computer product. Perhaps that will change." --- Tom Pittman," Festschrift for Doctor Dobb." DDJ, February 1985.