Lately I've been reading Steve McConnell Code Complete and it's awesome. That made me wonder if there's other programming books out there which are must-haves for every programmer? I'm not looking for any language specific books but rather something that offers tips and good practices for everyone. Or, if I have to be more specific, maybe something related to using patterns in practice.
Programmer's books: Must-haves?
- Thread starter Miksu
- Start date
Lord Darkblade
Newcomer
According to many of our lecturers a very well recommended book is " Zen and the art of Motorcylce Maintanance"
(Amazon.co.uk link)
(Amazon.co.uk link)
They're probably pulling your leg. It's a good book, but the section on pointers to pointers needs re-working some. Try reading Hesse's The Glass Bead Game instead. Far better.Lord Darkblade said:
I'm resurrecting my old thread.
Just finished Martin Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture and it was great. Maybe not so much as Code Complete but still a must-read.
Just finished Martin Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture and it was great. Maybe not so much as Code Complete but still a must-read.
DudeMiester
Regular
I dunno, The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth maybe? I've heard it's pretty good.
It's a great book if you want to read several hundred pages on what makes a good random number generator.
It's certainly not a must have, but it's interesting if you're really heavilly into algorythm theory.
I don't think there are universal must hav Programming books, it depends to some extent on your field.
Refactoring by Fowler is considered a treatise on the subject but if you've worked in large code bases for an extended period there is nothing new in it.
The patterns books are worth reading because it provides a common language to discuss concepts that existed long before the book did.
The extreme programming books are worth reading, because they were considered a fairly extreme departure from standard software practices. But when you've read them you'll realise they really aren't.
Agile development is a fairly current buzz word, and agaiun it's not really anything new.
All most SE books generally try and present is "What Good Looks Like" and that's valuable, but there is no replacement for experience.
Refactoring by Fowler is considered a treatise on the subject but if you've worked in large code bases for an extended period there is nothing new in it.
The patterns books are worth reading because it provides a common language to discuss concepts that existed long before the book did.
The extreme programming books are worth reading, because they were considered a fairly extreme departure from standard software practices. But when you've read them you'll realise they really aren't.
Agile development is a fairly current buzz word, and agaiun it's not really anything new.
All most SE books generally try and present is "What Good Looks Like" and that's valuable, but there is no replacement for experience.
If you work or plan to work within any corporation, The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering.
I wish i had thought of creating this site, but:
http://www.programmingbooks.org/
They have programmers rank books, the problem is that popularity doesnt imply best:
http://www.programmingbooks.org/Books_Every_Programmer_Should_Read
--The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
--Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
--Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
--Code Complete
--Introduction to Algorithms
--The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering
--Peopleware - Productive Projects and Teams
--Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
--The Practice of Programming
--Haskell: The Craft of Functional Programming
I havent read all of them, but its a great list of books to start with.
epic
http://www.programmingbooks.org/
They have programmers rank books, the problem is that popularity doesnt imply best:
http://www.programmingbooks.org/Books_Every_Programmer_Should_Read
--The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
--Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
--Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
--Code Complete
--Introduction to Algorithms
--The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering
--Peopleware - Productive Projects and Teams
--Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
--The Practice of Programming
--Haskell: The Craft of Functional Programming
I havent read all of them, but its a great list of books to start with.
epic
Similar threads
