Wirth's law
Encyclopedia
Wirth's law is a computing
adage
made popular by Niklaus Wirth
in 1995:
Wirth attributed the saying to Martin Reiser, who, in the preface to his book on the Oberon System
, wrote: The hope is that the progress in hardware will cure all software ills. However, a critical observer may observe that software manages to outgrow hardware in size and sluggishness.(Other observers had noted this for some time before, indeed the trend was becoming obvious as early as 1987.)
Computer hardware has become faster over time, and some of that development is quantified by Moore's law
; Wirth's law points out that this does not imply that work is actually getting done faster.
The law was restated in 2009 and attributed to Larry Page
, founder of Google
. It is frequently referred to as Page's Law. The first use of that name is attributed to Sergey Brin
at Google I/O
Conference 2009.
, the founder of Microsoft
. It is a humorous and ironic observation that the speed of commercial software generally slows by 50% every 18 months, thereby negating all the benefits of Moore's Law
. This could occur for a variety of reasons: "featuritis", "code cruft
", programmer laziness, or a management turnover whose design philosophy does not coincide with the previous manager.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
adage
Adage
An adage is a short but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its long use....
made popular by Niklaus Wirth
Niklaus Wirth
Niklaus Emil Wirth is a Swiss computer scientist, best known for designing several programming languages, including Pascal, and for pioneering several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984 he won the Turing Award for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages.-Biography:Wirth...
in 1995:
Wirth attributed the saying to Martin Reiser, who, in the preface to his book on the Oberon System
Oberon operating system
Oberon is an operating system developed in the late 1980s at ETH Zürich using the Oberon programming language. It has an innovative visual text-based user interface for activating commands.- History :...
, wrote: The hope is that the progress in hardware will cure all software ills. However, a critical observer may observe that software manages to outgrow hardware in size and sluggishness.(Other observers had noted this for some time before, indeed the trend was becoming obvious as early as 1987.)
Computer hardware has become faster over time, and some of that development is quantified by Moore's law
Moore's Law
Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years....
; Wirth's law points out that this does not imply that work is actually getting done faster.
The law was restated in 2009 and attributed to Larry Page
Larry Page
Lawrence "Larry" Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. As of April 4, 2011, he is also the chief executive of Google, as announced on January 20, 2011...
, founder of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. It is frequently referred to as Page's Law. The first use of that name is attributed to Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin
Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin is a Russian-born American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the largest internet companies. , his personal wealth is estimated to be $16.7 billion....
at Google I/O
Google I/O
Google I/O is an annual two-day developer-focused conference held by Google in San Francisco, California. Google I/O features highly technical, in-depth sessions focused on building web, mobile, and enterprise applications with Google and open web technologies such as Android, Chrome, Chrome OS,...
Conference 2009.
Gates' Law
Gates' Law is a variant on Wirth's Law, borrowing its name from Bill GatesBill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, the founder of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. It is a humorous and ironic observation that the speed of commercial software generally slows by 50% every 18 months, thereby negating all the benefits of Moore's Law
Moore's Law
Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years....
. This could occur for a variety of reasons: "featuritis", "code cruft
Cruft
Cruft is jargon for computer software or hardware that is of poor quality. The term originates from source code that is rewritten leaving irrelevant or unwanted data within the code.-History:...
", programmer laziness, or a management turnover whose design philosophy does not coincide with the previous manager.
Further reading
- The School of Niklaus Wirth: The Art of Simplicity by László Böszörményi, Jürg Gutknecht, and Gustav Pomberger (Editors), Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1-55860-723-4.