The rules of life of famous programmers: Guido van Rossum

Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python, which has become one of the most popular programming languages in the world. The life and work story of a famous coder inspires many to new achievements. In this article, we share several principles and rules that are specific to Guido.

And if your child also wants to become a programmer, we look forward to seeing him at Progkids!

Guido van Rossum's top 5 rules in life

#1. Find something that inspires you

Guido has been interested in technology and electronics since childhood. This laid the foundation for his future career in computer science. Guido started studying programming at university and quickly became interested in this activity. His interest in software development grew as he learned new languages and technologies.

In the late 1980s, Guido started working on his own programming language, which was meant to be simple and easy to use. This is how Python was born, a language that became Van Rossum's true passion and work of life.

#2. Believe in the impossible

If someone told little Guido that he would create his own programming language, he probably wouldn't believe it. However, the more skills he learned, the more he believed that the whole world was open to him.

#3. Find your flock

If you have a favorite activity, try to find like-minded people — people who like things you do. It's much easier to go together. Let there be people by your side who will always support and help you.

#4. Don't leave yourself “loopholes”

In 2000, Guido van Rossum received an offer to join the Beopen.com startup. This required moving to the US and giving up a stable job. Guido decided to take the risk and move as it was necessary to promote Python. He knew that if he failed, he would have to find a new job.

Guido later admitted that his former boss had long doubted the advisability of moving and advised him to think about a backup plan. However, Guido did not want to stay still and chose to act without focusing on possible failures. As a result, things were unexpected: after participating in several startups that soon closed, he spent seven years at Google and six more at Dropbox. At these companies, he could devote half of his time to developing Python.

Guido was confident in his decision and didn't worry about possible failures. Although working with the startup didn't work out, it turned out to be a good thing: events happened that were impossible to predict. In the US, Python development has reached a new level, and the language has become known all over the world.

This story proves that taking risks often leads to more than we could have imagined. There are no wrong decisions!

#5. Do your best to be productive

Organize your time and work space so that nothing prevents you from focusing on the essentials. Try to automate small tasks and delegate everything you can.

By the way, it was precisely the idea of increasing productivity that made Guido take up Python development.

Guido van Rossum's top 10 rules at work

No.1. Simple and readable code

Guido always strives to keep code simple and easy to understand. He believes that code readability is just as important as its functionality. This rule is even reflected in Python's motto.

#2. Clear structure

The code should be structured and logical. Python's use of indents instead of braces emphasizes the importance of a clear structure.

#3. Minimalism

Guido believes in a minimalist approach to language design, where less is more.

#4. Code consistency

This helps other programmers understand and work with your code more quickly. Follow the same style and everyone will be happy =)

#5. Practicality

Guido believes that programs should be useful and solve real problems.

#6. Openness to change

While Python has its own traditions, it remains open to improvements. Guido supports any ideas as long as they make the language more user-friendly.

#7. Community

Building a strong community around Python has been one of Guido's goals from the start. It encourages knowledge sharing and support among programmers.

#8. Documenting

Good documentation makes the language accessible to beginners and advanced users. Guido has always paid attention to the quality of Python documentation.

#9. Respect for users

It is important for Guido to consider clients' needs.

#10. Self-development

Guido is always ready to learn new things and develop along with the language in order to remain in demand in the rapidly changing world of technology.

Zen Python

Python's Zen is a Python programming philosophy created by Tim Peters that includes 19 key programming principles. Tim Peters contributed significantly to Python's development and was even involved in its early design. He formulated these principles and shared them in 1999. Tim left Principle 20 blank so that Guido van Rossum, the author of Python, could complete it. However, this principle has remained open. Python's Zen provides a basis for understanding the language's design philosophy and is included in official Python documentation. It is available in the Python interpreter like an easter egg: if you enter the `import this` command, the text of the document will appear on the screen.

And here's the text itself

1. Beautiful is better than ugly.
2. Explicit is better than implicit.
3. Simple is better than complicated.
4. Complicated is better than complicated.
5. Flat is better than nested.
6. Sparse is better than dense.
7. Readability matters.
8. Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
9. At the same time, practicality is more important than perfection.
10. Mistakes should not go unnoticed.
11. Unless they were clearly depressed.
12. When faced with ambiguity, put aside the temptation to guess.
13. There should be one and preferably only one obvious way to do this.
14. Although it might not be obvious at first if you're not Dutch.
15. It's better now than ever.
16. Although it's never better than right now.
17. If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
18. If the implementation is easy to explain, it might be a good idea.
19. Namespaces are great stuff! We will make more of them!

Does your child want to be a programmer too? Then write it down to free trial lesson at Progkids! We know more and more about computers!