Build is by Tony Fadell (as the book cover in the article suggests), not Derek Sivers
Whoops, thanks good catch!
No probs :)
Books for Software Engineers in 2023
71–80 of 127 posts
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it's a weird comment that looks like spam and is basically incomprehensible for it until you added context. Thanks for doing that, btw.
The Little _________ books themselves are strange, you will either get them or you won't. So it is already a binary classification. The books don't follow a normal book like flow and its basically a giant teacher-student like 1 - 1 mentoring-- building the lesson up from basic axioms, revealing the rules of play slowly, and helping you discover the concepts yourself along the way. . . . . . . TOP ANCHOVY WITH CHEESE.
> The Little _________ books themselves are strange,
I didn't know this, because I didn't read them lol. How was I supposed to know that?
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#73I see SICP listed on every list but I really feel its becoming Knuth-esque. I mean, I didn't learn through that specific book, but after going through it a couple of years ago I found that its kinda alright, but I don't really get this legendary status it has. I've also seen this opinion shared with many seasoned vets throughout my career, just feels overrated.
The book’s idea will carry us for many years but the book is introductory nonetheless. A few years of rigorous CS education definitely calls for deeper materials, but I wouldn’t call the book “overrated”, at least not for novice engineers.
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#74I read two of these last year and I'd recomend both, but I wanted to give my two cents on them. The Phoenix Project: I really enjoyed reading this, but it's told as a story about fictional characters working at a fictional company, which I didn't expect. Because of the way it's written, some other people I know who read it found it a bit too fluffy. Also, from what I've heard, it's pretty much an IT focused version o…
I've read The Unicorn Project. I haven't read the Phoenix one though so I can't draw comparisons, but I enjoyed it immensely because it describes how a big auto parts corporation works from different points of view. One chapter I particularly liked was more about marketing and crm than devops, although there's lots of that in there too.
The Phoenix Project is the same company but earlier in time and following a different team.
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#75I'd also read the books from Teach Yourself CS ( https://teachyourselfcs.com ): - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs - Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective - The Algorithm Design Manual - Mathematics for Computer Science - Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces - Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach - Readings in Database Systems - Crafting Interpreters - Designing Data-Intensive Applications…
As the author of Teach Yourself CS I would definitely suggest against trying to fit this in a year! Maybe aim for CS:APP and 1-2 others, and if you have time for more that's a bonus. Most of these are books to work through, not "read".
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
THIS PLACE IS RESERVED FOR JELLY BEAN STAINS . . . . . The whole The Little|Seasoned|Reasoned Schemer plus its other variants The Little ML'er|Java|Prover|Typer are some of the most mind bending books that you will ever read ever. And it is not the just the end result. Reading these books well will teach you socratic method of teaching/learning, which is great in itself. And will help you teach yourself a wide variet…
I don't like technical books that are infantile for no reason.
Learn You a Haskell, for Great Good! is the same way. Wonder what's up with functional languages that leads them to do this.
Well, I suppose there's also why's (poignant) Guide to Ruby
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#77I see SICP listed on every list but I really feel its becoming Knuth-esque. I mean, I didn't learn through that specific book, but after going through it a couple of years ago I found that its kinda alright, but I don't really get this legendary status it has. I've also seen this opinion shared with many seasoned vets throughout my career, just feels overrated.
Maybe it depends on where you are in your journey when you came across it? For me, I came across it in the early 90s, as it was the first text for my CS class in college. I devoured it and it still holds a special place in my heart. If I read it for the time now, would it be the same? Possibly not. (To wit, I read _The Catcher in the Rye_ for the first time in my 40s. I found it "meh" but can understand how reading i…
SICP is on my to-do list.
WRT when people do it: I have heard from some people that they tried going through it early in their career on their own or as part of a course, and either they could not finish it or did not see what the big deal is. But then they tried again years later, and they could see why so many people recommend it.
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#78Are there any books regarding the history of programming? Going from Visual Basic to Vim to all the fancy languages we have today. Or anything on how what we write as code gets translated into binary and what happens to our computers when the code processes?
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't like technical books that are infantile for no reason.
It is not infantile, it is just a different way of approaching a problem. Instead of telling you what things are, they just ask you questions so that by answering them you discover the things yourself. There is a big difference between two approaches. In the former you get facts as knowledge. In the latter your invent the knowledge yourself, and understand the processes, whys and hows you got there. The latter is a f…
How does the space reserved for jellybean stains guide the reader towards the desired problem-solving approach?
Re: Books for Software Engineers in 2023
#80I recommend "Developer Hegemony". Coming from a career in FAANG, it's helped put words to what bothers me about the power dynamics and management practices. The book also presents a picture of what a healthier and more empowered "software engineering" role/world could look like (one of my 2023 goals is making significant career moves in that direction)
Really great to see a mention of "Developer Hegemony" here. The author compares software engineers to doctors or lawyers. In a law firm, the partners call the shots and the rest of the staff is there to support them. In tech companies, the structure is inverted. The engineers are at the bottom of the power hierarchy, even though it's the engineers that generate the most value. The author suggests that developers shou…
I didn’t read that book but I kind of followed that path. A doctor doesn’t practice health, but heal people, so indeed writing code and making a working software is not the point for me. The obvious example is an independent game developer that wants to make a game for people to have fun.
There is no grand conspiracy of management, it’s just that big companies are usually more akin to factories. There you can’t both be on the assembly line and make strategic and product decisions.
I don’t think freelancing by itself is a solution. Maybe you mean consulting? For me what works is working in small companies and early stage startups. But there are maybe larger companies with alternative organizations that could do it.