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Summary: If you're serious about software, just read this book.
Review: 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.
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Summary: Absolutely life changing.
Review: For the last year in two different companies I have been evangelizing many of the concepts in "Pragmatic Programmer", but had a hard time validating my thoughts to the more skeptical people in our group. That's over now. "Pragmatic Programmer" has given me not only the ammunition I need to wage war against some of the more Philistine ideas that I must deal with, it has added to my thoughts and made me a better leader, better communicator and a much, much better developer. Any book that tells you to step away from the keyboard before you begin is good, but this book is a masterpiece because it tells you WHY you should take a step back. Every chapter is a gem and stands alone, but taken together with the references and extremely well-written explanations, it almosts reads like a novel. I felt guilty putting it down! If you are serious about software, serious about becoming a real craftsman and a leader in your field, then this book needs to be on your shelf, dog-eared and used.
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Summary: Nice book but too shallow
Review: The Pragmatic Programmer is a book that describes a no non-sense approach to programming. The book covers a lot of ground, from work philosophy, to coding practices to testing to project management. The book offers good advice. The style is engaging. However I am still very disappointed by the book. Why? I found that most topics are better dealt with in other books and chapters are often too short to really do justice to the topics. For example, work philosophy is better handled in 'Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You, Do What Needs to Be Done', coding and testing are much better handled in 'Code Complete', patterns by the gang of four.
The Pragmatic Programmer is a nice book for starting programmers or for a fun read. But the return on investment is very low for a professional programmer.
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Summary: Fantastic book for anyone who codes for fun or work
Review: This book will really make you take a step back at examine how you develop software. It will show you all the things you (and your team, if you're on one) could improve to really bring up your processes and skills. It goes through a series of best practices, going from topics like reducing duplication of all information (Don't Repeat Yourself - DRY), to the value of automation, to keeping separate systems distinct. It has many practical examples, both in code and diagrams, and a lot of resources to follow up on. Highly recommended.
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Summary: First book on your bookshelf
Review: If I ever had to start my book collection over, this would be the first programming book on my bookshelf. It's not one of those books that goes over the latest XYZ buzzword compliant technology of the day. This book talks about timeless principles to apply to a career in programming.
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Summary: Deja Vu - "The Art of Computer Programming"
Review: The foreword gives the entire meaning of the book away, "Software is a craft that is best performed by a practitioner [artist]". As a rational human being, I wouldn't want a craftsman or an artist building my car or the plane my family flies on to Disney Land. And what about the artist lovingly crafting the software that controls the car/plane?
Essentially, the book is a collection of "lessons learned" from the authors' perspective. If you're a software hobbyist, this book might be a good read. However, if you dare call yourself a software engineer, woe betide you...
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe anyone sells it used
Review: This is the best text ever produced for a junior software developer. It touches on the value of almost all current developments in the software creation process and technology and most importantly, why they are valuable. It does not provide the details of any specific technology but instead describes the theory behind why a practice or current technology is popular/good. This allows the intelligent reader to apply the principle to a broad range of situations instead of one aspect of computing. Not suprizingly, the authors advocate writting code that fits that discription as well.
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