Sunday, November 01, 2026 Text is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 licence.

Linus Torvalds


Computer programmer, best known as the creator of the Linux kernel.
Linus Torvalds
And what's the Internet without the rick-roll?
Torvalds quotes
Controlling a laser with Linux is crazy, but everyone in this room is crazy in his own way. So if you want to use Linux to control an industrial welding laser, I have no problem with your using PREEMPT_RT.
Torvalds
Every time I see some piece of medical research saying that caffeine is good for you, I high-five myself. Because I'm going to live forever.




Torvalds Linus quotes
I like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended.
Torvalds Linus
I wish everybody was as nice as I am.
Linus Torvalds quotes
To kind of explain what Linux is, you have to explain what an operating system is. And the thing about an operating system is that you're never ever supposed to see it. Because nobody really uses an operating system; people use programs on their computer. And the only mission in life of an operating system is to help those programs run. So an operating system never does anything on its own; it's only waiting for the programs to ask for certain resources, or ask for a certain file on the disk, or ask to connect to the outside world. And then the operating system steps in and tries to make it easy for people to write programs.
Linus Torvalds
Your code is shit... your argument is shit.
Torvalds Linus quotes
I chose 1000 originally partly as a way to make sure that people that assumed HZ was 100 would get a swift kick in the pants.
Torvalds
The main reason there are no raw devices [in Linux] is that I personally think that raw devices are a stupid idea.
Torvalds Linus
Dijkstra probably hates me.
Linus Torvalds
You see. I don't think any new thoughts. I think thoughts that other people have thought, and I rearrange them. But Sara, she thinks thoughts that never were before.




Linus Torvalds quotes
OK, I admit it. I was just a front-man for the real fathers of Linux, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.
Linus Torvalds
Now, most of you are probably going to be totally bored out of your minds on Christmas day, and here's the perfect distraction. Test 2.6.15-rc7. All the stores will be closed, and there's really nothing better to do in between meals.
Torvalds quotes
It was such a relief to program in user mode for a change. Not having to care about the small stuff is wonderful.
Torvalds Linus
When you say, "I wrote a program that crashed Windows," people just stare at you blankly and say, "Hey, I got those with the system, for free."
Torvalds Linus quotes
I'm always right. This time I'm just even more right than usual.
Linus Torvalds
Portability is for people who cannot write new programs.
Linus Torvalds quotes
Friends don't let friends use [gcc] "-W".
Linus Torvalds
I'm an egotistical bastard, and I name all my projects after myself. First Linux, now git.
Torvalds Linus
Well, I probably won't get too good grades even without you: I had an argument (completely unrelated – not even pertaining to OS's) with the person here at the university that teaches OS design. I wonder when I'll learn :)


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