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Books every developer should read

blog.iterate.no

11–20 of 25 posts

Re: Books every developer should read

#11
That's according to you. So the title is misleading.

None of these books are any good. I've been in software development for over 20 years and I would recommend a completely different list of books, that are not as trendy as yours, but probably more important.

Re: Books every developer should read

#12
Speaking as a non-developer, here's one which I think every developer and manager should read: Rapid Development by Steve McConnell. I am currently about 3/4 of the way through and it has been excellent so far.

Re: Books every developer should read

#13

These are a bit specific. I feel as though they might, in fact, have been the last 4 books the author has happened to read. Anyhow, I expect we'll get the usual round up here. Code Complete , of course; plus a smattering of rebels who think it was boring or irrelevant. The Pragmatic Programmer will receive universal praise, especially from those who didn't take the time to read Code Complete from cover to cover. Some…

I read Peopleware recently, and I think you've put it in the wrong category. It's short, to the point and quite readable.

Re: Books every developer should read

#14
post #7

" The books chosen are generally and broadly useful and not tied to some too limited domain " Yet 3 of 4 have "lean" or "agile" in the tile ..

They might be tied to our preferred software development methodologies, but what we meant is that they are not tied to any specific business domain or programming language.

Re: Books every developer should read

#15

I'll be honest, I've read a very small number of books on software development throughout the years. I've learned all my stuff on the way, from mistakes I've made, associated documentation, and from reading the code that's powering production systems from the engineers before me. In the end? I'm doing pretty well. I'm sure that anyone else in a similar situation would agree. Reading these books isn't going to make yo…

I disagree. While it's true that it won't make you a "ninja" programmer, books are still one of the best way to learn something, and obviously that doesn't apply only to programming. Hands-on experience is a very important complement, but if the engineers thatbwrote the production code you learn from aren't any good, and your coworkers are so-so, how will you ever know you're doing things wrong?

Books may also open your mind to new ways of doing things, or a deeper understanding of how / why some things work the way they do. Yes it requires dedication, learning (durably) is hard, it should not be a passive read. For example, I've always been curious about how compilers work, and I'm currently reading the Dragon Book. It is hard, but extremely interesting and fulfilling (if that's the right word, english is not my native language).

So my advice, yes keep writing and reading code (especially from a well-known open-source project), but DO read books. Combined with hands-on experience and serious dedication, the lessons learned will become part of your instincts.

Re: Books every developer should read

#16

I'll be honest, I've read a very small number of books on software development throughout the years. I've learned all my stuff on the way, from mistakes I've made, associated documentation, and from reading the code that's powering production systems from the engineers before me. In the end? I'm doing pretty well. I'm sure that anyone else in a similar situation would agree. Reading these books isn't going to make yo…

This would be a much stronger argument if you didn't start by saying you hadn't read many books. Both Code Complete and Refactoring changed the way I wrote (and thought) about code in a lasting way.

Re: Books every developer should read

#17

These are a bit specific. I feel as though they might, in fact, have been the last 4 books the author has happened to read. Anyhow, I expect we'll get the usual round up here. Code Complete , of course; plus a smattering of rebels who think it was boring or irrelevant. The Pragmatic Programmer will receive universal praise, especially from those who didn't take the time to read Code Complete from cover to cover. Some…

I'd recommend staying away from the classics and also a lot of popular history books, in fact stay away from the books most commonly read by the general population and also by your peers. (Unless you really want to read them, or have nothing better to read, suit your fancy.) Why? If something is read widely, the important parts of it are likely to seep into your brain sooner or later regardless of if you read the book anyway. Especially if the book is fiction, but it works with popular nonfiction too. The advice is for avoiding commonly read books, however, not subjects or genres (indeed, fining uncommon books on "known" subjects that contradict that which is "known" can be very rewarding), and the "by your peers" qualifier allows "guiltless" reading of bestsellers your peers have no clue about.

Reading less-read things will give you an orthogonal base of knowledge from your peers. This will make you more valuable as an individual. (Though if you're ignorant of the cogwork everyone must know as general knowledge you might face job dangers.) By definition adding another dimension to what you know gives you a whole new place to explore that you never could have gone to beforehand. There is a lot more potential to be found by reading the more uncommon things.

Since we're all leaving book recommendations, the last book I read was The Information, http://www.amazon.com/The-Information-History-Theory-Flood/d.... Not incredibly rare but not incredibly common--hardly any of its elaborated history was ever mentioned in my K-12 education. I wouldn't say everyone should read it, though I thoroughly enjoyed it, and you can read the reviews on Amazon if you want a sample of opinions.

Re: Books every developer should read

#18
one big problem that i found most software development methodology ignore is whether you are the developer or the client (the IT department hiring contracting the developer)

you have to agree on an offer/contract, which include scope + price/cost

how can i be lean or agile or whatever, if i am bound by a contract from the start ... making change requests mean that me the IT department failed to deliver on time and on budget, which eventually leads to bad annual reviews ...

having the have a contract or a signed offer approved by business, enforces the water fall model, an internal IT department have to do this to protect itself from the client when a change request is made later on ...

of course i am only speaking on the situation where you work in an IT department and getting your software developed by external vendors

Re: Books every developer should read

#19
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. Reading lightly in human factors and systems has been a real eye-opener. Reading deeply on Olympic weightlifting, strength training and so forth has also given what are to me deep analogies back into software development. Similarly, some bits of the bible really speak to me, even though I'm an atheist and I think most of it is hilaribad. There is nothing new under the sun ...

Strength training as in the famous Starting Strength book?

I have the second edition. I counted the other day and found that I have 10 books on Olympic weightlifting and another 8 books on related topics.
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