What others in the trenches say about The Pragmatic Programmer..."The cool thing about this book is that it''''s great for keeping the programming process fresh. The book helps you to continue to grow and clearly comes from people who have been there." --Kent Beck, author of Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change "I found this book to be a great mix of solid advice and wonderful analogies!" --Martin Fowler, author of Refactoring and UML Distilled "I would buy a copy, read it twice, then tell all my colleagues to run out and grab a copy. This is a book I would never loan because I would worry about it being lost." --Kevin Ruland, Management Science, MSG-Logistics "The wisdom and practical experience of the authors is obvious. The topics presented are relevant and useful...By far its greatest strength for me has been the outstanding analogies--tracer bullets, broken windows, and the fabulous helicopter-based explanation of the need for orthogonality, especially in a crisis situation. I have little doubt that this book will eventually become an excellent source of useful information for journeymen programmers and expert mentors alike."--John Lakos, author of Large-Scale C++ Software Design "This is the sort of book I will buy a dozen copies of when it comes out so I can give it to my clients. " --Eric Vought, Software Engineer "Most modern books on software development fail to cover the basics of what makes a great software developer, instead spending their time on syntax or technology where in reality the greatest leverage possible for any software team is in having talented developers who really know their craft well. An excellent book." --Pete McBreen, Independent Consultant "Since reading this book, I have implemented many of the practical suggestions and tips it contains. Across the board, they have saved my company time and money while helping me get my job done quicker! This should be a desktop reference for everyone who works with code for a living." --Jared Richardson, Senior Software Developer, iRenaissance, Inc. "I would like to see this issued to every new employee at my company..." --Chris Cleeland, Senior Software Engineer, Object Computing, Inc. "If I''''m putting together a project, it''''s the authors of this book that I want...And failing that I''''d settle for people who''''ve read their book."--Ward Cunningham Straight from the programming trenches, The Pragmatic Programmer cuts through the increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine the core process--taking a requirement and producing working, maintainable code that delights its users. It covers topics ranging from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt and reuse. Read this book, and you''''ll learn how to *Fight software rot; *Avoid the trap of duplicating knowledge; *Write flexible, dynamic, and adaptable code; *Avoid programming by coincidence; *Bullet-proof your code with contracts, assertions, and exceptions; *Capture real requirements; *Test ruthlessly and effectively; *Delight your users; *Build teams of pragmatic programmers; and *Make your developments more precise with automation. Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with entertaining anecdotes, thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates the best practices and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development.Whether you''''re a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for software projects, use these lessons daily, and you''''ll quickly see improvements in personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You''''ll learn skills and develop habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career. You''''ll become a Pragmatic Programmer.
[...]... the stones, and they sat down with the entire village to enjoy the first square meal any of them had eaten in months There are a couple of morals in the stone soup story The villagers are tricked by the soldiers, who use the villagers' curiosity to get food from them But more importantly, the soldiers act as a catalyst, bringing the village together so they can jointly produce something that they couldn't... was hanging a little too close to his living room fireplace caught on fire The fire department rushed in to save the day—and his house But before they dragged their big, dirty hoses into the house, they stopped—with the fire raging to roll out a mat between the front door and the source of the fire They didn't want to mess up the carpet A pretty extreme case, to be sure, but that's the way it must be... but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking around the programming section of the bookstore In The Pragmatic Programmer Dave and Andy tell us how to program in a way that we can follow How did they get so smart? Aren't they just as focused on details as other programmers? The answer is that they paid attention to what they were doing while they were doing it—and then they tried to do it better Imagine... code have to be thrown out? Educate them on the value of refactoring (see Refactoring, page 184) Do you need to spend time prototyping to determine the best way to proceed (see Prototypes and Post-it Notes, page 53)? Do you need to introduce better testing (see Code That's Easy to Test , page 189, and Ruthless Testing, page 237) or automation (see Ubiquitous Automation, page 230) to prevent it from happening... reaction? If it was the result of someone else's decision, or a management edict, what can you do about it? 3 Stone Soup and Boiled Frogs The three soldiers returning home from war were hungry When they saw the village ahead their spirits lifted—they were sure the villagers would give them a meal But when they got there, they found the doors locked and the windows closed After many years of war, the villagers... that the team must live with for the duration of the project—is all it takes to start the decline If you find yourself working on a project with quite a few broken windows, it's all too easy to slip into the mindset of "All the rest of this code is crap, I'll just follow suit." It doesn't matter if the project has been fine up to this point In the original experiment leading to the "Broken Window Theory,"... extracted from compilable source files, available for download from our Web site: www.pragmaticprogrammer.com There you'll also find links to resources we find useful, along with updates to the book and news of other Pragmatic Programmer developments Send Us Feedback We'd appreciate hearing from you Comments, suggestions, errors in the text, and problems in the examples are all welcome E-mail us at ppbook@pragmaticprogrammer.com... thinking that the meeting could go on forever and that you would rather be programming Dave and Andy would be thinking about why they were having the meeting, and wondering if there is something else they could do that would take the place of the meeting, and deciding if that something could be automated so that the work of the meeting just happens in the future Then they would do it That is just the way... individual, to do better work This book isn't theoretical—we concentrate on practical topics, on using your experience to make more informed decisions The word pragmatic comes from the Latin pragmaticus—"skilled in business"—which itself is derived from the Greek , meaning "to do." This is a book about doing Programming is a craft At its simplest, it comes down to getting a computer to do what you want it to. .. wanted People find it easier to join an ongoing success Show them a glimpse of the future and you'll get them to rally around.[1] [1] While doing this, you may be comforted by the line attributed to Rear Admiral Dr Grace Hopper: "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission." Tip 5 Be a Catalyst for Change The Villagers' Side On the other hand, the stone soup story is also about gentle . smart? Aren't they just as focused on details as other programmers? The answer is that they paid attention to what they were doing while they were doing it—and then they tried to do it better. Imagine. wouldn't be able to tell by looking around the programming section of the bookstore. In The Pragmatic Programmer Dave and Andy tell us how to program in a way that we can follow. How did they get so. What others in the trenches say about The Pragmatic Programmer " ;The cool thing about this book is that it's great for keeping the programming process fresh. [The book] helps you to continue