Book Review: The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
Posted by Jon Lee in Reviews, Web Development, tags: book, pragmatic, programming, review
The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master is written by the pragmatic programmers themselves (the same people behind Agile Web Development on Rails). This book is often cited as one of the two “must-haves” for any programmer. The other must-have is Code Complete which I haven’t read yet.
This book does not teach a particular language or a particular framework; instead, it is advocating a philosophy of programming — a programmer’s bible in a way. The pragmatic way of programming is a smarter way to program that covers important aspects of programming in much more detail than other books such as:
- Prototyping
- Tuning Algorithm and Optimizing Speeds
- Choosing an appropriate language for a project
- Choosing appropriate tools (Text editor etc.)
- Automation
- Commenting/Documentation
- Robust Code Testing
- Debugging
- Handling Exceptions
As you can see, the range of topics covered is huge — everything from pre-planning to maintenance. As a result, one doesn’t need to read the book from front to back. Most chapters are independent so you can skip to any section that interests you and dismiss entire sections that don’t.
Personal Opinion – Borrow it, don’t buy it
The book is a great read. It teaches and advocates so much that just isn’t taught in schools or covered in other books. I would recommend it to programmers but I would not recommend buying it. If possible, borrow a copy from a library or from a friend. I didn’t find much in that book that was worth keeping as a reference. Most of these things become habit and second nature once you begin doing it (if you don’t already).
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I’ve not read Code Complete, but I can definitely vouch for “The Pragmatic Programmer”. It’s a must have book, especially for bridging the gap between what’s learned in school and what’s needed in the real world.
If you call this book as a “must-have” for any programmer then why don’t you recommend buying it then to just borrow it or grab it from the library. If it is like a bible for the programmer then isn’t it better to keep a copy for ready reference.
I just mean it’s widely regarded as a must-have but I didn’t believe it was since I didn’t find much re-read or reference value in the booke!
[...] For anyone that spends a significant amount of time coding, this book is definitely a must have. It will give you a new way of looking at the way you design and code, essentially turning it into an artform instead of just a routine task. Being pragmatic means being practical and efficient. Spend a few hours skimming through this book and you’ll save hundreds of hours later on. You can read my book review here. [...]