HackerTube.dev

Leslie Lamport: Thinking Above the Code

Microsoft Research · 403.5K views · 2014-07-15 · 59:50

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Leslie Lamport argues that programmers, like architects, should write rigorous specifications before coding, especially for concurrent and distributed systems. The talk introduces the case for writing specs (the TLA+ mindset) as a way of thinking above the code.

On Hacker News

HN points people to it as Lamport's own case for thinking and writing a spec before coding, and as an entry point to TLA+.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2015–2026

Topics

Logic & formal methodsDistributed systemsSoftware architecture & design
Search by tags
tla+specificationleslie lamportsoftware design

What people said

b_fiive · 2022-09 · Strong recommendation

I've invested a fair amount of time into learning TLA+, have bought Hillel Wayne's book (Practical TLA+), and found his stuff super valuable. However, if I could do it again, I would have started in the following order: - 1. Watch [VIDEO] - 2. Watch all of [LINK] - 3. Work through examples on [LINK] I'm normally not a huge fan of YouTube over books / web sites, but in this case the best content comes from Lamport himself, and he's presented it as a YouTube Course. Also, the costume changes are hilarious.

Read the original HN comment ↗
gobdovan · 2026-05 · Recommendation

>He argues that conceptual integrity comes from both simplicity and straightforwardness If you want to follow this advice, I think Leslie Lamport's formulation is the most concrete. His version is: - Write down a small model of what you are about to build before building it. - Try to see how that model could fail. If it still looks good, either make the spec/design doc/model clearer and more concrete, or start writing the code. - If plain text gets too vague, use math. If you want tools to check it, use TLA+ with TLC or Apalache. Quint and stateright.rs are nearby tools in the same area. --- Materials: - TLA+ videocourse by Lamport: [LINK] - How to win a Turing Award speech: [LINK] - Thinking above the code: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
kediz · 2020-06 · Recommendation

Most of the real world distributed systems would have some videos in some conferences: Spanner: [LINK] Chubby: [LINK] Anything Leslie Lamport: [VIDEO] [LINK] Also the Distributed system course at MIT is fantastic. The labs are also great way to get your hands dirty with distributed system. The link to the class schedule is here: [LINK]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Microsoft Research, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources