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Dijkstra's 1978 critique of natural language programming resurfaces

Original: The foolishness of "natural language programming" (1978)

Edsger W. Dijkstra's 1978 essay arguing against the idea of programming in natural language is being discussed again, drawing hundreds of engagements. In the piece, Dijkstra contends that the precision and discipline required to control computers make natural language inherently unsuitable as a programming medium. Readers are debating whether his arguments hold up in the era of AI code generation from plain-English prompts.

Why now: The renewed debate over prompt-based AI programming has revived interest in Dijkstra's classic argument against natural language as a programming language.

Edsger W. DijkstraUniversity of Texas at Austin

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• The foolishness of "natural language programming" (1978) · xiaoyu2006 · 390

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