Re: Code Complete

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>]

I just want to emphatically agree with Richard.  Code Complete is
definitely one of the best books I have ever read. I read it in 1995
and it changed my writing and my career. It gave me insights into the
process and history of programming I would have never known.

I think it is a must-read for all technical writers, not just those
aspiring to programming jobs. After reading the book, I had a much
greater understanding of what the engineers and programmers did.  This
helped me to communicate better with the engineers and the audience I
was writing for.

All high-tech writers should read Code Complete. In fact, I am going
to buy another copy and have the consultants at my company read it.

...................................
Andrew Plato
President / Principal Consultant
Anitian Consulting, Inc.
www.anitian.com
...................................


---Richard Mateosian <xrm -at- EMAIL -dot- MSN -dot- COM> wrote:
>
> >I'd also suggest you get _Code Complete_, by Steve McConnell
>
> I second that. Here's my August 1993 (how time flies!) review of it
> from IEEE Micro.
>
>
> Code Complete by Steve McConnell (Microsoft Press, Redmond, 1993,
> 877pp, $35.00)
>
> If you are or aspire to be a professional programmer, this may be
> the wisest $35 investment you'll ever make. Don't stop to read the
> rest of this review. Just run out and buy the book.
>
> Many computer books are as thick as this one, but few have as much
> reason to be. McConnell's stated purpose is to narrow the gap
> between the knowledge of industry gurus and common commercial
> practice. To do this he sets out to explain everything important
> that those gurus know about programming The amazing thing is that he
> succeeds.
>
> This book addresses a huge gap in the education of programmers.
> Whether they are high-school amateurs turned pro or computer science
> graduates, most programmers know only scattered bits of the large
> body of practical knowledge about programming.
>
> I don't know of any formal apprenticeship programs. The few
> programmers lucky enough to be apprenticed informally to masters
> learn the techniques in this book. The rest are left to reinvent the
> wheel for themselves. Now, through this book, any programmer can
> have many of the benefits of apprenticeship.
>
> McConnell covers everything from a practical standpoint. Nothing is
> beneath his notice. He considers the maintainability of different
> ways of formatting comments. He enumerates common confusing naming
> practices and shows how to improve on them. He shows the flaws in
> common techniques for indenting programs and suggests a better way.
>
> McConnell tries to bring in the results of academic research. For
> example, as he tries to explain what distinguishes top programmers
> from lower levels, he cites a study that shows that only 30% of an
> average programmer's time is spent working alone. Such citations
> appear throughout the book, usually accompanied by a "hard data"
> icon in the margin.
>
> I knew this book was exceptional when I got to the chapter on high
> quality routines. In the late 1960s, before the structured
> programming revolution, many of us grappled with issues of how to
> organize our programs. McConnell's discussion of valid reasons to
> create a routine is more thorough and clear sighted than any
> treatment of that subject I've seen in the intervening 25 years.
>
> There is so much in this book that it's hard to single out parts to
> mention. Debugging is one of the areas that I think separate the
> professionals from the amateurs. McConnell quite rightly ridicules
> some common practices. He doesn't offer a magic formula, but he
> tries to put you in the right frame of mind to approach the task.
> His principal suggestion for further reading on debugging is Martin
> Stitt's book (see Micro Review, February 93), a recommendation I
> heartily agree with.
>
> McConnell devotes a chapter to where to go for more information. His
> top two "highbrow programmer journals" are our sister publications
> IEEE Software and IEEE Computer. He doesn't mention Micro--a serious
> oversight, but forgivable. His top ten list of books starts with
> Weinberg's Psychology of Computer Programming (Van Nostrand
> Reinhold, 1971) and Bentley's Programming Pearls (Addison-Wesley,
> 1986). He says he uses something he learned from Bentley every day
> of his professional life.
>
> McConnell treats one subject you might find surprising: personal
> character. He applies the same hard-headed practical analysis to
> intellectual honesty, discipline, and habits that he applies to
> formatting code and naming variables.
>
> What I like most about this book is that I agree with so much of
> what he says. As a contract technical writer I see the inner
> workings of many programming projects, both in large companies and
> in small. I rarely encounter anyone who thinks like McConnell or
> applies even a small part of what he says in this book. That's a
> pity, and I hope this book helps to change the situation.
>
> At the risk of repeating myself, I recommend that you go out and buy
> this book. Set aside some time over the next year to read it
> carefully from cover to cover. You'll be glad you did.
>




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