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Developer Reading List

Below is my top books that have influenced me as a software developer.

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master, Andrew Hunt, David Thomas

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, Robert C. Martin

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Steve McConnell

Test Driven Development: By Example, Kent Beck

Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change, Kent Beck

Working Effectively With Legacy Code, Michael C. Feathers

Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code, Martin Fowler, Kent Beck, John Brant, William Opdyke, Don Roberts

The Practice of Programming, Brian W. Kernighan, Rob Pike

Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, Tom DeMarco, Tim Lister

The Mythical Man Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Frederick P. Brooks Jr.

Java Application Architecture: Modularity Patterns With Examples Using OSGi, Kirk Knoernschild

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software, Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides

Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, Martin Fowler

Refactoring to Patterns, Joshua Kerievsky

Domain Driven Design: Tackling Complexity at the Heart of Software, Eric Evans

The Art of Unit Testing: With Examples in .NET, Roy Osherove

Comments

  1. AdamJune 8, 2014 at 12:27 PM

    Any reason you linked the 1st edition of Code Complete?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AdamJune 8, 2014 at 12:32 PM

    I started reading Peopleware recently and have found it extremely aggravating so far. They make a lot of claims (some innocuous, some outrageous) with no evidence to back them up. They unsupported outrageous claims make it hard for me to put any credence in their milder claims.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jerome TerryJune 8, 2014 at 2:31 PM

    I linked to the first edition of Code Complete because that's the version I have on my bookshelf. The second version is a good read as well.

    I liked Peopleware, probably because I'm much less a stickler for evidence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AdamJune 8, 2014 at 7:39 PM

    It was not until around 1600 that we finally, as a result of experimentation, had a useful characterization of gravity. Up to that point it was obvious to everyone that heavy objects must fall faster than lighter objects, there was no need to check.

    I don't think I'm a stickler, but evidence is certainly worth looking for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerome TerryJune 9, 2014 at 3:42 AM

      Stickler was a poor choice of words Adam.

      I don't look for evidence in these technical books. I look for ideas that I can apply.

      I'd enjoy a technical book that was largely a work of fiction and made false claims if there is something in it I can apply.

      Delete
    2. AdamJune 9, 2014 at 4:41 AM

      Given so many competing ideas, it is nice when there is a rational way to chose between them.

      Delete
  5. GuestApril 29, 2024 at 11:44 PM

    I'm glad to know that you've shared some useful resources here - https://www.lbwaterservices.ca/!

    ReplyDelete

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