The Pragmatic Programmer
Another great piece of computer literature I found in our campus’ library! I’m talking about The Pragmatic Programmer by Andy Hunt and David Thomas. And yes, it’s gooood :)!
Title of the book (in it’s Czech version) states: “How to become better programmer and create high quality software.” Right? I want that!
It’s a sort-of-a compilation of advice on software development from the practical point of view based on the experience of the authors. A lot of books come with a load of theory which is good too, but when you’re digging through the mounds of formal methods, it’s very easy to forget about the practical side of software development.
The very first chapter of talks about the career of a programmer or a software developer. The authors say to take your career choices as investments in your future. Pragmatic programmer should invest often and into a wide range of technologies. I don’t like the investment metaphor, but I like the thought. Computers train is moving fast and it will run you over at some point if you don’t jump in.
What I liked about this book the most is the emphasis on automation of routine tasks through scripting and the DRY principle. Having good knowlege of the environment and tools you work with is the key in any profession. But programmers (including myself) often tend to focus on what are we doing and on the final results rather than how we do it. And frankly, every time I stop and think what I could do better or automatically, I always find some weak spot.
The process of programming as in actually writing the code should not be overseen as trivial. You can save yourself a lot of stress by being creative in this area. The DRY principle is somewhat connected to this. If you repeat yourself, you not only work ineffectively (you’re doing stuff twice), but you also set a trap for yourself, which you intend to step into later in the project.
Overall the book is great and I definitely can recommend it. It’s something over 200 pages or so it shouldn’t take a year to read. It’s also very well written and full of jokes, which makes it fun to read!
