The Pragmatic Programmer : From Journeyman to Master 1st Edition

I bought this on a friend's recommendation, but expected yet another book rehashing the same standard rules: write comments, don't duplicate code, have plans for your projects, eat your vegetables.Hunt and Thomas vastly exceeded my expectations. This book is never dry, often humorous, and always educational. They don't always say what you expect them to say (e.g., about commenting code), and I didn't always agree with them, but every sentence is full of thoughtful analysis.One of the best features is their incredibly practical advice -- while yes, this book does teach philosophy and encourages thought, it also provides many immediately-implementable suggestions.If you aren't a programmer with 10 years experience, buy it anyway -- it is not just for experienced programmers. While you will absorb less of the book, there is still enough to learn, and it's a great book to keep and re-read.The book includes a pull-out card of the pithy sayings the authors use to sum up each section. Perhaps my mind just doesn't work the way theirs does, but I didn't find their summations to be helpful all the time -- I found myself frequently having to flip back to the section to remember what a particular phrase meant. But it's still useful.

...and what's the difference? I've often felt that the difference was attitude. Programmers (or "professionals" if you prefer) were continually thinking about what they did, why they did it and how they could do it better. And I don't just mean searching for a new language ("maybe I should learn Java this week?").The rest of us are just tooling around doing the best we can and wondering why it sometimes doesn't work."The Pragmatic Programmer" is clearly written by and for professional programmers. Reading it with attention will force you to think deeply about the way you develop software. If your first response is "but this isn't pragmatic" or "I don't have time to do these things" then I encourage you to think again. Perhaps the barrier is change itself. Sure, applying the practices in this book may slow you down in the short term (you always go slower when you're learning a new skill) but the benefits to establishing these practices as habits are enormous.We are working through this book as part of a weekly study group at our office. This seems to be a great way to investigate things you're uncomfortable. And I don't agree with every practice in this book, but please think about them as deeply as you can before you reject them!Whenever I interview someone I ask them what book has most influenced the way they develop software. If they answer "The Pragmatic Programmer" (or "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance") then they have the job!

This is, simply, a wonderful book. It is a book that celebrates the real depth of great programming -- something that is too often forgotten or ignored. This is not an idiot's guide to anything -- it is a remarkably entertaining set of dozens of tips to becoming better at what you do, especially if that happens to be programming. The tips are deceptively simple at times, but only a truly naive or inexperienced reader would miss the rich depth that their combination presents. In fact, that is the real beauty of this book -- it does not present some short-lived miracle-cure approach -- instead, it weaves together small bits of wisdom and practical advice into a powerful work-style. They have some controversial views -- these authors are witty and opinionated -- but agreeing or disagreeing with each individual idea is not the point -- "seeing the forest" is. There are numerous specific code examples, but the book is a fun and easy read -- strangely, I also think it would be a wonderful book for someone who is NOT a programmer, but who works with them, perhaps a business manager having a major system built. Even skipping all the really technical parts, it would be a wonderful set of benchmarks to assess how good your programmers really are -- much more powerful than "he has 3 years of C++, 2 years of Linux"...I am hoping this writing team will follow this book with some specific guides as well, but this one is destined to be a classic. These guys really know what they are talking about, and, as a wonderful bonus, they are terrific writers, as well! The book has gotten great reviews on slashdot, as well as a couple of programming magazines, including Dr Dobbs and Software Development -- they were well deserved. Buy IT!

As a programmer, I like to think of myself as pragmatic. Programming is the most precise discipline there is and justifies the cynical joke, "How many character changes does it take to turn `success' into `failure'? Answer: Only one if you are a programmer." However, pragmatic is a very subjective word, so the obvious question that any reader interested in this book would ask is, "So what criteria do the authors use to define a pragmatic programmer?" In listing the criteria and explaining their reasoning, the authors show their depth of understanding of what is both right and wrong with the current state of the development art. Every keystroke or mouse click that we perform has a consequence, not only today, but in the future. When performing them, we should always be looking ahead to the future, whether that be thinking about how the code will be maintained, how the users will respond to what they find or how your current skill set is expanding or contracting. This eye on the future is the primary theme of the book. The tips are kept simple, which is effective and is consistent with the secondary theme of the book. Complex systems are what we build, but in totality we cannot comprehend them. Only by breaking a project down into manageable parts can we hope to interact with it in an effective manner. Furthermore, the inertia against changes is much less severe when they are small and simple. Whether it be Ockham's razor, Einstein's statement about the simplicity of theories or simply reciting the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) mantra, reducing complexity is effective. Some very good analogies are used to explain the principles, with my favorite being the broken window tale. The basic story is simple, abandoned buildings or automobiles on the street remain untouched until a window is broken. Left unrepaired, this sends a message that the object is fair game so within a very short time, vandals destroy the rest. The same thing happens in software development. Once a subpar feature is passed as acceptable, the signal to everyone is clear, and the quality of the remaining work suffers. Granted, most of us in development are severely time challenged and have little to spare to either read or perform code clean ups. However, this is a book where the interest paid over the short and long term will dominate the initial investment. Applying even a few of these principles will help reduce the load in the future as you begin spending less time in all phases of the software cycle. It takes approximately a one percent increase in efficiency to save a half hour a week. This is a book that should be read by all programmers, especially those who wish to control their own destiny.

Someone said to me today:"Humans have been humans for a long time now, but we don't seem to be getting any better at it."The statement struck me because it is clear, concise, and absolutely true; So is this book. What's more, this book tells you how to be a better human.The Pragmatic Programmer explains, step by step, how to master the craft of programming. It describes tricks, techniques, but more importantly *attitudes* that most people learn the hard way over several decades- if at all. What's more, it lays it all out in a neat, approachable, and immediately applicable way that is independent of specific technologies and languages.I've been looking for many years for a book like this to give students. Now I've got it. It'll go on my shelf next to "The Mythical Man Month" and will probably be popular and applicable for just as long.