The Pragmatic Programmer. From Journeyman to Master

Andrew Hunt und David Thomas beantworten im erfolgreichen Pragmatic Programmer diese Frage, die man jetzt auch auf Deutsch im Hanser Verlag nachlesen kann. Ein guter Entwickler ist ein Pragmatiker -- er ist nicht interesselos und werkelt bloß seinen Code herunter, sondern er hat das Projekt und seine Realisierung vor Augen. Dazu bringt er ein paar Fähigkeiten mit, die man nicht in einem Informatikstudium oder Handbuch zu Algorithmen nachlesen kann. Er ist interessiert an neuen Technologien, er lernt gern dazu, er probiert neue Dinge aus und er arbeitet sinnvoll organisiert: Er testet seine Software, er verwendet die richtigen Werkzeuge und beherrscht sie, er übt sich darin, sinnvolle Zeitabschätzungen über seine Arbeit und das Projekt zu liefern. Er lässt sich von wilden Marketing-Versprechungen von Produkt X nicht beeindrucken und bildet sich eine eigene Meinung.

Um diese Fähigkeiten und wie man sie sich aneignet geht es im Pragmatischen Programmierer -- nicht um eine tolle Architektur X oder ein Projektverfahren Y. Das Handbuch richtet sich explizit an Entwickler -- die zentrale Frage ist die eigene Arbeit und ihre Verbesserung und nicht wie in vielen Handbüchern zu Projektmanagement die Verbesserung der Arbeit anderer. Hunt liefert viele hilfreiche Tipps -- einige sollten zwar selbstverständlich sein und bieten nicht viel mehr als gesunden Menschenverstand und ein gewisses Qualitätsbewusstsein der eigenen Arbeit gegenüber, andere Hinweise sind für unerfahrene Entwickler sicher inspirierend.

Der Pragmatische Programmierer ist ein amerikanisches Buch -- wer diesen Ansatz und die Sprache mag, wird ein sehr gutes und hilfreiches Buch mit interessanten Gedanken finden. Es richtet sich an Entwickler, die neue Impulse für ihre Arbeit suchen oder unerfahrene Entwickler, die sich das erste Mal fragen, was eigentlich ein guter Programmierer sein könnte. --Susanne Schmidt

Amazon.co.uk
Programmers are craftspeople. They are trained to use a certain set of tools(editors, object mangers, version trackers) to generate a certain kind of product (programs) that will operate in some environment (operating systems on hardware assemblies). Like any other craft, computer programming has spawned a body of wisdom, most of which isn't taught at universities or in certification classes. Rather, most programmers arrive at the so-called tricks of the trade over time, by independent experimentation. In ThePragmatic Programmer, Andrew Hunt and David Thomas codify many of the truths they've discovered during their respective careers as designers of software and writers of code.

Some of the authors' nuggets of pragmatism are concrete, and the path to their implementation is clear. They advise readers to learn one text editor, for example, and use it for everything. They recommend the use of version-tracking software for even the smallest projects, and promote the merits of learning regular expression syntax and a text-manipulation language. Other (perhaps more valuable) advice is softer. The authors note in their section on debugging, "if you see hoof prints think horses, notzebras". That is, suspect everything, but start looking for problems in the most obvious places. They offer some advice on making estimates of time and expense, and on integrating testing into the development process. You'll want a copy of The Pragmatic Programmer for two reasons: It displays your own accumulated wisdom more cleanly than you ever bothered to state it and it introduces you to methods of work that you may not yet have considered. Working programmers will enjoy this book.

Topics covered: A workmanlike approach to software design and construction that allows for efficient, profitable development of high-quality products. Elements of the approach include specification development, customer relations, team management, design practices, development tools, and testing procedures. The authors present their approach with the help of anecdotes and technical problems. --DavidWall, amazon.com

Amazon.com
Programmers are craftspeople trained to use a certain set of tools (editors, object managers, version trackers) to generate a certain kind of product (programs) that will operate in some environment (operating systems on hardware assemblies). Like any other craft, computer programming has spawned a body of wisdom, most of which isn't taught at universities or in certification classes. Most programmers arrive at the so-called tricks of the trade over time, through independent experimentation. In The Pragmatic Programmer, Andrew Hunt and David Thomas codify many of the truths they've discovered during their respective careers as designers of software and writers of code.

Some of the authors' nuggets of pragmatism are concrete, and the path to their implementation is clear. They advise readers to learn one text editor, for example, and use it for everything. They also recommend the use of version-tracking software for even the smallest projects, and promote the merits of learning regular expression syntax and a text-manipulation language. Other (perhaps more valuable) advice is more light-hearted. In the debugging section, it is noted that, "if you see hoof prints think horses, not zebras." That is, suspect everything, but start looking for problems in the most obvious places. There are recommendations for making estimates of time and expense, and for integrating testing into the development process. You'll want a copy of The Pragmatic Programmer for two reasons: it displays your own accumulated wisdom more cleanly than you ever bothered to state it, and it introduces you to methods of work that you may not yet have considered. Working programmers will enjoy this book. --David Wall

Topics covered: A useful approach to software design and construction that allows for efficient, profitable development of high-quality products. Elements of the approach include specification development, customer relations, team management, design practices, development tools, and testing procedures. This approach is presented with the help of anecdotes and technical problems.