2 HN users recommended this talk2 months2010–2023score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN commenters point to it as programming inspiration and as a source of Bentley's anecdotes about adding function by deleting code.
Jon Bentley walks through three implementations of Hoare's Quicksort, from a dozen-line C function to a series of systematic code transformations that make the program ever simpler and more powerful. It is a Google Tech Talk on code elegance and program derivation.
“If you're looking for programming inspiration I love these videos” (HN, 2023)
I'm sorry these are videos, but your question made me think of these. If you're looking for programming inspiration I love these videos Jon Bentley - Three Beautiful Quicksorts [this video] Bret Victor - Inventing on Principle [link]
Programming inspiration through beautiful quicksort implementations
I'm reminded of this Google Tech Talk, where the speaker (Jon Bentley) refers to a colleague's praise of someone who "adds function by deleting code": [this video] Edit: Fixed quote
Bentley quoting praise for adding function by deleting code
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