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Title: The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt, David Thomas ISBN: 0-201-61622-X Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co Pub. Date: 20 October, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $39.99

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Average Customer Rating: 4.47 (78 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Wisdom and Humor -- what a rare find
Comment: This is, simply, a wonderful book. It is a book that celebrates the real depth of great programming -- something that is too often forgotten or ignored. This is not an idiot's guide to anything -- it is a remarkably entertaining set of dozens of tips to becoming better at what you do, especially if that happens to be programming.

The tips are deceptively simple at times, but only a truly naive or inexperienced reader would miss the rich depth that their combination presents. In fact, that is the real beauty of this book -- it does not present some short-lived miracle-cure approach -- instead, it weaves together small bits of wisdom and practical advice into a powerful work-style.

They have some controversial views -- these authors are witty and opinionated -- but agreeing or disagreeing with each individual idea is not the point -- "seeing the forest" is.

There are numerous specific code examples, but the book is a fun and easy read -- strangely, I also think it would be a wonderful book for someone who is NOT a programmer, but who works with them, perhaps a business manager having a major system built. Even skipping all the really technical parts, it would be a wonderful set of benchmarks to assess how good your programmers really are -- much more powerful than "he has 3 years of C++, 2 years of Linux"...

I am hoping this writing team will follow this book with some specific guides as well, but this one is destined to be a classic. These guys really know what they are talking about, and, as a wonderful bonus, they are terrific writers, as well!

The book has gotten great reviews on slashdot, as well as a couple of programming magazines, including Dr Dobbs and Software Development -- they were well deserved. Buy IT!

Rating: 5
Summary: And you thought you were a real programmmer
Comment: This must be one of very few books I never felt like putting down. Quite a daunting task for any programming book. The reason for not wanting to put it down is probably related to the fact that it should strike a cord with every person that writes code. It effectively force you to ask: Am I writing programs or am I a programmer? If you don't understand this question becuase you think there is no difference then you should definitely read this book.

The techniques and habits the authors describe are very useful. Even if you may not have a use for every single one in every single project, I am quite convinced that you may over a career find all of them useful. The author's don't propogate that this set of ideas are a complete set - what they do propogate, however, is that programmers should work smarter not harder, and that one obviously achieves by thinking about what you are doing (and learning form other - like this book).

The writing style is very entertaining and thus makes a good read. I would say that this book is indespensable in your personal growth as a programmer. It may just prompt you to adapt your way of doing from being a "child" programmer to becoming a "real" ("adult") programmer. If you think you are already a "real" programmer, like I thought, then this book should make you realize that one is never to old to learn, that one should never stop thinking about what (and how) you are doing.

Enjoy a great read.

Rating: 4
Summary: A welcome kind of view
Comment: "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." (Charles McCabe)

By McCabe's definition, this book is very artful. That's a good thing - the opinions are founded on long experience and on broad familiarity with software development. The authors, true to their "pragmatic" promise, often omit the theory and case history that justify the opinions. They offer reams of advice on nearly every part aspect of industrial programming, and I think that all of the advice is good.

I don't agree with all of it - good advice is good within its limits, and my work often lies outside of their limits. Take, for example, their editor fanaticism. I've been hearing for 25 years how much more efficient my work will be if I use editor . First, I move between development environments so much that learning funny key-pokes for one environment just gives me the wrong reflexes for the next environment and the one after that. Mostly, though, text entry is about 5% of my problem. Suppose, after a "near-vertical learning curve", that the cult editor cuts 20% off my editing time - data entry would then be 4% of my problem. The cost/benefit ratio underwhelms me. If you really love your escape-meta-alt-control-shift (emacs) editor, though, don't let me get in your way.

I still think that almost all of the authors' views are good ones, with good reasons behind them. I rabidly agree with lots of them (especially DRY - Don't Repeat Yourself), and for lots more reasons than they give. The book is helpful even where I disagree. When I rethink my own circumstance, it's not that their reasoning is wrong, but that different reasoning is more right.

This is one to keep, not just for the programmers in the trenches but for their managers, as well. Best, it doesn't try to dress up the -ism of the day as holy law - as the title says, it's about pragmatics.

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