Book Recommendations For A New Programming Shop? 19
QwkHyenA asks: "I'm a new programmer who has been working for a DOD government contracting company for 2 years now. We started off with 2 programmers in house and will move up to 6-8 within the next 3 months. What books/resources can help me with setting up a real programming shop (i.e. language references, CVS, Do's & Don'ts...)"
Re:make it an extreme shop! (Score:1)
For something a bit more basic, but equally concerned with results check out "The Pragmatic Programmer" by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas. This book nailed down lots of points about programming for me. It would be especially useful for a new shop because it would give your crew a common vocabulary for the fundamentals.
--Tim
Have a look at more than programming (Score:1)
"Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams" (2nd ed) by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
"Extreme Programming Explained" by Kent Beck
You may not agree with everything in these books but nonetheless they offer a lot of ideas to consider. I would suggest that is much easier to overcome poor software tools than poor project management and leadership.
Personal Software Process (Score:1)
Re:make it an extreme shop! (Score:1)
I would also stand behind 'The Pragmatic Programmer'. While it it is focused much more on the individual programmer, it has sound advice that applies to just about any programming work environment
- Mike
Re:Classics (Score:1)
- Mike
Steve McConnell's books are gems (Score:1)
In particular, his "Software Project Survival Guide" does a great job of describing a good process you should follow to give your software the best chance possible of shipping on time, within budget, and with as few bugs as possible. I especially like that Steve is not dogmatic about his approach; he readily admits that not everyone is going to find it a panacea. However, it *is* a very good place to start, especially if you're new to professional software development. Once you've followed his recommendations on a few projects you'll know enough to know when you should deviate from those recommendations.
When dealing with developers who have recently graduated from college, or those that haven't worked with more than a couple other developers, I've found that this book provides excellent guidance. Most of this kind of developer just don't understand why and how formal policies and procedures are important, but this book makes intelligent arguments that are quite persuasive. (Some folks will never get it, though, and the best thing you can do is get rid of them as quickly as possible before their ways doom the project.) I bought copies for every person on my development teams and had weekly reading assignments that we'd discuss over beers on Friday afternoons. It made for great conversation and learning!
books, books, books, ..... (Score:1)
For any language Programming Pearls by Jon Bently(Addison-Wesley) is great.
For Linux-
The Unix Programming Environment by Brian W. Kerninghan and Rob Pike(Addison-Wesley)
If your using ANSI/ISO C++ then:
If you are using C++ and Windows I'm moving to Canada. And you should have The Official Reference Library for Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0(Microsoft Press)
In my opinion these books kick ass.--
Spelling by m-w.com [m-w.com].
Re:Personal Software Process (Score:1)
The Pragmatic Programmer (Score:1)
For overall coding efficiency and insight, I warmly recommend "The Pragmatic Programmer". Not linked to any programming language or paradigm in particular, it explains the secrets of the trade in clear and concise terms. I have given this book to others regularly, and rookie and veteran coders alike benefit from the advise in the book.
Re:books, books, books, ..... (Score:1)
Re:Have a look at more than programming (Score:1)
Re:Books I like: (Score:1)
Ah...
To ONLY program!
Happy Holidays!
Re:books, books, books, ..... (Score:1)
I will look into the book Programming Pearls thou.
I'm looking more for ways to keep our shop operating smoothly and keep us all from straying off the project path (i.e. Who's doing what, is anyone breaking someones else's code and are we using enough comments?! :P)
Languages used here are:
C++
Sun's Java 1.2
*whispers* VB (not by choice thou!)
Thanks,
QH
Re:make it an extreme shop! (Score:1)
Thanks,
QH
Thanks Everyone!! (Score:1)
Thanks to everyone for their help on this matter!
Happy Holidays to Everyone!!
QH
Books I like: (Score:1)
anything by Laura Lemay
_The Design of Everyday Things_ (aka The Psychology of Everyday Things)
_One Hundred Years of Solitude_ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Classics (Score:2)
I would also look through the publication catalogs of the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society.
My basic library (Score:2)
The basic set of books I recomend for a company library are:
Bjarne Stroustrup (Score:2)