Code Complete, Second Edition
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I detest it. I found it very pompous and dogmatic with the few good concepts hidden amongst some really bad ideas and generalizations. As I've said in past critiques of the book, I still say read it through with a skeptical eye then toss it in the trash.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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Haven't a chance to peek into CC, but PP is marvellous.
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I have the 2nd edition; it's well worth the cost. Table of Contents[^]
BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven Wright -
Unless you have the 1st. I read both versions cover to cover, and I found 2nd edition to be a waste since I read the 1st. I even matched up a few chapters to see if anything was changed.
McConell discusses some differences between the 2 editions here[^]. Based off that, I'd agree with you that it doesn't sound like many big changes were made. I guess calling it the 2nd edition, rather than adding a sub-title, like ':Coding in the 21st century', sort of implies that. :rolleyes:
BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven Wright -
I'm thinking about buying the book Code Complete, Second Edition. How many of you have actually read it and how good was it. I know there are things like naming your booleans descriptively like isThisBookGood or buyThisBook instead of itbg_TF. Is there more to this book than that? I want to really learn something that will help me be a better architect of my software and a better coder also. What do you think? Is The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master good also?
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I guess a lot of people have commented already. I bought it based on all the positive commentary around on the book, then I looked through it and realised that I had just wasted my money. I would recommend it to anyone gettting into programming as a profession, but for anyone with a more than a couple of years experience (and having worked on more than two projects) I'd say skip it and invest your reading time elsewhere. Perhaps stop by the library and flick through their copy first.
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I'm thinking about buying the book Code Complete, Second Edition. How many of you have actually read it and how good was it. I know there are things like naming your booleans descriptively like isThisBookGood or buyThisBook instead of itbg_TF. Is there more to this book than that? I want to really learn something that will help me be a better architect of my software and a better coder also. What do you think? Is The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master good also?
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I own the first edition and still dip into it from time to time. However, few developers seem to be aware of it or a comparable book.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
I want to really learn something that will help me be a better architect of my software and a better coder also.
It's more about basic coding than architecture. Perhaps one of the design patterns books would be better for that.
Kevin
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Joe Woodbury wrote:
Don't have one readily available.
Rather pompous of you not to be able to back up what you say with an example isn't it? At least the author of the book backs up everything he says. If anything, the problem with that book is you weren't ready to read it as your cup was already full of your own ideas reifying your own subjective opinion designed to see your code as better no matter the evidence. Go look in a mirror next time you say pompous. =) If your code is so good, send to the authors so they can put it in the next edition.
Stick^ wrote:
Rather pompous of you not to be able to back up what you say with an example isn't it? At least the author of the book backs up everything he says.
Not really; I read the book some years ago and I'm not going to remember specific criticisms, which were many. I seriously doubt that if you see a bad movie you remember the specifics, but rather a general impression.
Stick^ wrote:
If anything, the problem with that book is you weren't ready to read it as your cup was already full of your own ideas reifying your own subjective opinion designed to see your code as better no matter the evidence.
Quite to the contrary. When I first read the first edition many years ago I was impressed. Thus, I was quite astonished when rereading the book relatively recently. It simply did not coincide with my extensive experiences in the software industry.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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As I stated, he presents as absolute truth many things which are purely objective. Based on my own 18+ years experience in the software industry, I've found he often draws the wrong conclusions. I also recall feeling that some of his examples were overly contrived. The irony is that when I read the first edition when it was first published in 1993, I was impressed. In the intervening years, I worked for more companies and ran my own company. So when I recently revisited the book, I was left with a generally negative impression. I don't remember specific criticisms since I haven't dwelt on it. As I stated, there is good material in the book, but it is lost amongst the average and bad material. Were I the editor, the first thing I'd do is cut the book down by at least a third. (I just remembered another feeling I had; an impression that he hadn't worked as a working programmer on a team for a real commercial product in some time. That may be a wrong impression, but it is one I had.)
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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As I stated, he presents as absolute truth many things which are purely objective. Based on my own 18+ years experience in the software industry, I've found he often draws the wrong conclusions. I also recall feeling that some of his examples were overly contrived. The irony is that when I read the first edition when it was first published in 1993, I was impressed. In the intervening years, I worked for more companies and ran my own company. So when I recently revisited the book, I was left with a generally negative impression. I don't remember specific criticisms since I haven't dwelt on it. As I stated, there is good material in the book, but it is lost amongst the average and bad material. Were I the editor, the first thing I'd do is cut the book down by at least a third. (I just remembered another feeling I had; an impression that he hadn't worked as a working programmer on a team for a real commercial product in some time. That may be a wrong impression, but it is one I had.)
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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I'm thinking about buying the book Code Complete, Second Edition. How many of you have actually read it and how good was it. I know there are things like naming your booleans descriptively like isThisBookGood or buyThisBook instead of itbg_TF. Is there more to this book than that? I want to really learn something that will help me be a better architect of my software and a better coder also. What do you think? Is The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master good also?
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Good book for new developers. But if you've been working for awhile, you should find only a few good ideas in this book.