Quotes from Linus Torvalds

I'm generally a very pragmatic person: that which works, works.

Excusing bad programming is a shooting offence, no matter what the circumstances.

There's innovation in Linux. There are some really good technical features that I'm proud of. There are capabilities in Linux that aren't in other operating systems.

I see myself as a technical person who chose a great project and a great way of doing that project.

Microsoft isn't evil, they just make really crappy operating systems.

I'm interested in Linux because of the technology, and Linux wasn't started as any kind of rebellion against the 'evil Microsoft empire.'

Talk is cheap. Show me the code.

software is like sex : it's better when it's free..

Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.

I like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended.

Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.

Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.

Only wimps use tape backup. REAL men just upload their important stuff on ftp and let the rest of the world mirror it.

I am not a visionary. I'm an engineer. I'm happy with the people who are wandering around looking at the stars but I am looking at the ground and I want to fix the pothole before I fall in.

I will, in fact, claim that the difference between a bad programmer and a good one is whether he considers his code or his data structures more important. Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.

Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.

Don't ever make the mistake [of thinking] that you can design something better than what you get from ruthless massively parallel trial-and-error with a feedback cycle. That's giving your intelligence much too much credit.

Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time.

I did learn fairly early that the best and most effective way to lead is by letting people do things because they want to do them, not because you want them to. The best leaders also know when they are wrong, and are capable of pulling themselves out. And the best leaders enable others to make decisions for them. Let me rephrase that. Much ofLinux's success can be attrib­uted to my own personality flaws: 1) I'm lazy; and 2) I like to get credit for the work of others.

I'd argue that everybody wants to do something that matters

For high school graduation in Finland, you wear a fluffy white hat with a black band. There's a ceremony in which they hand out diplomas, and when you come home all your relatives are there with lots of champagne, flowers, and cake. And there's also a party for the entire class at a local restaurant. We did all that, and I guess I had fun, but I don't remember anything special about it. But ask me about the specs on my 68008-chip machine and I can rattle them off with total recall.

An ugly system is one in which there are special interfaces for everything you want to do. Unix is the opposite. It gives you the building blocks that are sufficient for doing everything. That's what having a clean design is all about.

I'm a bastard. I have absolutely no clue why people can ever think otherwise. Yet they do. People think I'm a nice guy, and the fact is that I'm a scheming, conniving bastard who doesn't care for any hurt feelings or lost hours of work if it just results in what I consider to be a better system. And I'm not just saying that. I'm really not a very nice person. I can say 'I don't care' with a straight face, and really mean it.

Benevolent dictator? No, I'm just lazy. I try to manage by not making decisions and letting things occur naturally. That's when you get the best results.