Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming by Marijn Haverbeke

A wonderful philosophical approach to programming by Marijn Haverbeke. 

http://eloquentjavascript.net/chapter6.html

% The Book of Programming

%% The Two Aspects
Below the surface of the machine, the program moves. Without effort,
it expands and contracts. In great harmony, electrons scatter and
regroup. The forms on the monitor are but ripples on the water. The
essence stays invisibly below.

When the creators built the machine, they put in the processor and the
memory. From these arise the two aspects of the program.

The aspect of the processor is the active substance. It is called
Control. The aspect of the memory is the passive substance. It is
called Data.

Data is made of merely bits, yet it takes complex forms. Control
consists only of simple instructions, yet it performs difficult
tasks. From the small and trivial, the large and complex arise.

The program source is Data. Control arises from it. The Control
proceeds to create new Data. The one is born from the other, the
other is useless without the one. This is the harmonious cycle of
Data and Control.

Of themselves, Data and Control are without structure. The programmers
of old moulded their programs out of this raw substance. Over time,
the amorphous Data has crystallised into data types, and the chaotic
Control was restricted into control structures and functions.

%% Short Sayings

When a student asked Fu-Tzu about the nature of the cycle of Data and
Control, Fu-Tzu replied 'Think of a compiler, compiling itself.'

A student asked 'The programmers of old used only simple machines and
no programming languages, yet they made beautiful programs. Why do we
use complicated machines and programming languages?'. Fu-Tzu replied
'The builders of old used only sticks and clay, yet they made
beautiful huts.'

A hermit spent ten years writing a program. 'My program can compute
the motion of the stars on a 286-computer running MS DOS', he proudly
announced. 'Nobody owns a 286-computer or uses MS DOS anymore.',
Fu-Tzu responded.

Fu-Tzu had written a small program that was full of global state and
dubious shortcuts. Reading it, a student asked 'You warned us against
these techniques, yet I find them in your program. How can this be?'
Fu-Tzu said 'There is no need to fetch a water hose when the house is
not on fire.'{This is not to be read as an encouragement of sloppy
programming, but rather as a warning against neurotic adherence to
rules of thumb.}

%% Wisdom

A student was complaining about digital numbers. 'When I take the root
of two and then square it again, the result is already inaccurate!'.
Overhearing him, Fu-Tzu laughed. 'Here is a sheet of paper. Write down
the precise value of the square root of two for me.'

Fu-Tzu said 'When you cut against the grain of the wood, much strength
is needed. When you program against the grain of a problem, much code
is needed.'

Tzu-li and Tzu-ssu were boasting about the size of their latest
programs. 'Two-hundred thousand lines', said Tzu-li, 'not counting
comments!'. 'Psah', said Tzu-ssu, 'mine is almost a *million* lines
already.' Fu-Tzu said 'My best program has five hundred lines.'
Hearing this, Tzu-li and Tzu-ssu were enlightened.

A student had been sitting motionless behind his computer for hours,
frowning darkly. He was trying to write a beautiful solution to a
difficult problem, but could not find the right approach. Fu-Tzu hit
him on the back of his head and shouted '*Type something!*' The student
started writing an ugly solution. After he had finished, he suddenly
understood the beautiful solution.

%% Progression

A beginning programmer writes his programs like an ant builds her
hill, one piece at a time, without thought for the bigger structure.
His programs will be like loose sand. They may stand for a while, but
growing too big they fall apart{Referring to the danger of internal
inconsistency and duplicated structure in unorganised code.}.

Realising this problem, the programmer will start to spend a lot of
time thinking about structure. His programs will be rigidly
structured, like rock sculptures. They are solid, but when they must
change, violence must be done to them{Referring to the fact that
structure tends to put restrictions on the evolution of a program.}.

The master programmer knows when to apply structure and when to leave
things in their simple form. His programs are like clay, solid yet
malleable.

%% Language

When a programming language is created, it is given syntax and
semantics. The syntax describes the form of the program, the semantics
describe the function. When the syntax is beautiful and the semantics
are clear, the program will be like a stately tree. When the syntax is
clumsy and the semantics confusing, the program will be like a bramble
bush.

Tzu-ssu was asked to write a program in the language called Java,
which takes a very primitive approach to functions. Every morning, as
he sat down in front of his computer, he started complaining. All day
he cursed, blaming the language for all that went wrong. Fu-Tzu
listened for a while, and then reproached him, saying 'Every language
has its own way. Follow its form, do not try to program as if you
were using another language.'