Programmer's Bookshelf - "The Pragmatic Programmer"

December 10, 2019

“People should see your name on a piece of code and expect it to be solid, well written, tested, and documented.”
~ David Thomas, Andrew Hunt

Today I proudly finished “The Pragmatic Programmer” by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt 😊

I recommend it to anyone looking for solid tips for every aspect of developer’s work: from technical to project management. Also, it may just ensure you in the correctness of your workflow 😊

What I have learned from the book:

„Provide Options, Don’t Make Excuses” – take responsibility for your errors and provide solutions.
“Don’t Live with Broken Windows” – prevent damage to your projects by not ignoring anything potentially harmful and fixing it.
“Invest Regularly in Your Knowledge Portfolio” – embrace any opportunity to learn!
“Involve your users in the trade-off” – remember that you’re writing software for other people.
Users not only decide what they want but also when they want it and how good it should be, because…
“You Can’t Write Perfect Software”. Yes, that statement hurts me too…
Estimate tasks with a range of scenarios, not a single value.
Write failing test for the bug before fixing it.
The idea of keeping Engineering Daybook – small journal of your everyday work .
“Take Small Steps – Always” - don’t predict too much into the future.
Idea of Actors and Processes for concurrency.
If new ideas don’t appear, give it time. Do something else, they’ll come by themselves.
“Don’t Program by Coincidence” – plan ahead and be aware of what you are doing; if you can explain what you’ve done to someone else, then you’re OK.
“Testing Is Not About Finding Bugs” – it’s also about a process of problem-solving itself and the design.
“No One Knows Exactly What They Want” – requirements is a constantly evolving process, for that the feedback loop is needed.

… And many more 😄

I feel I need to start reading something new. Do you have any recommendations? 😊