Programming books.
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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Captain See Sharp wrote:
Ten a year? One a month?
Not much of a spectrum we have here :) rarely, I must admit. it amounts to about two a year, plus some random reading in the existing ones. Most of my letter stealing I do on the net.
Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Velopers, Develprs, Developers!
We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
Linkify!|Fold With Us! -
Captain See Sharp wrote:
Ten a year? One a month?
Not much of a spectrum we have here :) rarely, I must admit. it amounts to about two a year, plus some random reading in the existing ones. Most of my letter stealing I do on the net.
Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Velopers, Develprs, Developers!
We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
Linkify!|Fold With Us! -
How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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The way I see it, everyone has gaps in their understanding and knowledge, and reading more books closes those gaps. I feel bad if I've gone a while without reading a good book. I'm usually a couple books behind in my reading, as I always have a couple books at home that I've been 'working towards' starting. Other times, I find on that I have to put away for a while, (Abrahams & Gurtovoy) until I have the right background to get through it. For me, it's not about having the edge, it's about wanting to understand and fill in the gaps. Of course, I do realize it does take away from productivity, but I have to remember that it increases productivity in the long run.
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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I use books to kick start new endevors. If I pick up a new tool like SQL Server 2005 I pick up a couple of books to get me started. No point in reinventing the wheel. Right now I like Windows Forms 2.0, Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0, Hitchhikers Guide to Visual Studio amd SQL Server, and Pro VS 2005 Reporting Using SQL Server and Crystal Reports.
Len
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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It varies because my work profile varies. Just got "Code Complete", highly reccomended!
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It varies because my work profile varies. Just got "Code Complete", highly reccomended!
I use most tech books as reference, i.e. flip to the chapter about the xyz technology that I'm working on today, put the book on the shelf. And then there's Code Complete. Read it in the early 90s, and my coding style is still influenced by what I read. McConnell rocks. :-D
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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Captain See Sharp wrote:
How many programming books do you read?
As many as necessary to expand my knowledge to complete a current project with code that is low in complexity, and high on maintainability.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How do you read them?
Usually, from front to back, and then I maintain them as a reference.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them
I find that I only truely comprehend stuff if I am actually using it. In fact, I only buy books that "teach" by steping through a concept as it evoles showing me the pitfalls as I would normally discover them in development. Show me a solution (that I might have thought of) and then show me its shortfalls and how to fix them with the next bit of knowledge. Then I can retain it, and have a deeper understanding of why you do something. I never code something unless I understand deeply why I am doing it from a design and language point of view.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts?
I would recommend you actually work through examples as above, and make sure you can always state in your own words why you are doing something.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
Well, this would depend on the language. If you are learning C++, then I would recommend: Code Complete 2nd Ed. C++ Primer Plus Head First Design Patterns Design Patterns (by Gang of Four) Algorithms in C++ (All of them) STL Tutorial and Reference Guide Effective STL and while the Head First Design Patterns book gives examples in Java, I would highly recommend that you translate and compile each into your own C++ version to maximize the learning you get out of it.
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Probably about one a month I read them mostly in bed, or in airports, if I'm travelling. I expect to learn enough to know broadly what's possible with a technology, and enough to know where to look if I need more specifics.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts?
Some sort of performance enhancing drug, I suppose. Realistically, you learn more from programming, books give you a leg up when you're stuck, and a reference for stuff you forget. I never thought I'd know as much about MFC as I eventually did, but I learned it a bit at a time, and I learned the bits I used, not the bits I read about.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
Code Complete, 2nd Edition.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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I use most tech books as reference, i.e. flip to the chapter about the xyz technology that I'm working on today, put the book on the shelf. And then there's Code Complete. Read it in the early 90s, and my coding style is still influenced by what I read. McConnell rocks. :-D
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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Captain See Sharp wrote:
How many programming books do you read?
As many as necessary to expand my knowledge to complete a current project with code that is low in complexity, and high on maintainability.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How do you read them?
Usually, from front to back, and then I maintain them as a reference.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them
I find that I only truely comprehend stuff if I am actually using it. In fact, I only buy books that "teach" by steping through a concept as it evoles showing me the pitfalls as I would normally discover them in development. Show me a solution (that I might have thought of) and then show me its shortfalls and how to fix them with the next bit of knowledge. Then I can retain it, and have a deeper understanding of why you do something. I never code something unless I understand deeply why I am doing it from a design and language point of view.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts?
I would recommend you actually work through examples as above, and make sure you can always state in your own words why you are doing something.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
Well, this would depend on the language. If you are learning C++, then I would recommend: Code Complete 2nd Ed. C++ Primer Plus Head First Design Patterns Design Patterns (by Gang of Four) Algorithms in C++ (All of them) STL Tutorial and Reference Guide Effective STL and while the Head First Design Patterns book gives examples in Java, I would highly recommend that you translate and compile each into your own C++ version to maximize the learning you get out of it.
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Yes, that book is/was great. I was a little disappointed at CC2. It was basically a rewrite on the original.
Haven't read the second edition, but as an author myself I can certainly appreciate the difficulty in any second edition. Publishers want new editions so that they can re-release it, but when we write books, we often say everything that we really had to say in the 1st ed. I recently did the 2nd ed for Career Programmer and decided to leave the original chapters as is, since they said what I wanted to say. Instead, I took the approach of appending half a dozen new chapters on career related issues that had arisen since after the 1st ed (dot com crash, global outsourcing, US economic difficulties and how they affect our profession, etc.). If there hadn't been enough for me to say to justify a new section of the book, I would have simply declined the 2nd edition. So, as an author, it's a tough gig. I'd much rather just write a new book. It's also worth noting that the author doesn't always have the complete say in how the new edition is approached. It may well be that the publisher dictated a rehash of the previous ed. I've just been lucky to work with the Apress folks, as they're very supportive of my rather unconentional approach. In any event, I don't know if it's worth having both editions of Code Complete on your desk or not, but I'm sure new readers will still find him an excellent read!
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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Haven't read the second edition, but as an author myself I can certainly appreciate the difficulty in any second edition. Publishers want new editions so that they can re-release it, but when we write books, we often say everything that we really had to say in the 1st ed. I recently did the 2nd ed for Career Programmer and decided to leave the original chapters as is, since they said what I wanted to say. Instead, I took the approach of appending half a dozen new chapters on career related issues that had arisen since after the 1st ed (dot com crash, global outsourcing, US economic difficulties and how they affect our profession, etc.). If there hadn't been enough for me to say to justify a new section of the book, I would have simply declined the 2nd edition. So, as an author, it's a tough gig. I'd much rather just write a new book. It's also worth noting that the author doesn't always have the complete say in how the new edition is approached. It may well be that the publisher dictated a rehash of the previous ed. I've just been lucky to work with the Apress folks, as they're very supportive of my rather unconentional approach. In any event, I don't know if it's worth having both editions of Code Complete on your desk or not, but I'm sure new readers will still find him an excellent read!
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
Don't get me wrong, it's a great book. 1st edition and 2nd edition should be a prerequisite for any programmer. I can't recommend version 2 for anyone that has read the first edition. But, I recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone who hasn't read the 1st version. Maybe those who read the 1st one and didn't put it into practice should read the 2nd edition also.
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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I read in two months "Beginning Visual C# 2005 Express Edition - From Novice To Professional" by Peter Wright. I found it very interesting. I am now in the process of trying some examples. This is a book for beginners like me, and that some things I encounter in my own project aren't mentioned specifically in this book. I feel a bit embarrassed to put my programming problem online at CodeProject because all people here are on a totally different level as me. Still I peeked in some sources listed on CodeProject and I learned from them. Where can you turn for programming problems which must be trivial? Ranger49 Newbe in Visual C# 2005 Express Edition
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well, i never buy a tech book nowadays usually, i download an ebook , get a print out and read them offline. in the last couple of months, i have downloaded and printed over 6 books.
I am a great fan of ebooks also, as I tend to move around and the book that I need to reference will always be at some other location (office, home, girlfriends house, boat, hanger, etc!) Any new project generally involves jumping on amazon or a trip to barnes and nobel depending on the urgency of the project. I just signed up for Safari from Oreily.com which is supposed to give you access to their entire book catalog for a monthly subscription fee.
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Captain See Sharp wrote:
How many programming books do you read?
As many as necessary to expand my knowledge to complete a current project with code that is low in complexity, and high on maintainability.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How do you read them?
Usually, from front to back, and then I maintain them as a reference.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them
I find that I only truely comprehend stuff if I am actually using it. In fact, I only buy books that "teach" by steping through a concept as it evoles showing me the pitfalls as I would normally discover them in development. Show me a solution (that I might have thought of) and then show me its shortfalls and how to fix them with the next bit of knowledge. Then I can retain it, and have a deeper understanding of why you do something. I never code something unless I understand deeply why I am doing it from a design and language point of view.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts?
I would recommend you actually work through examples as above, and make sure you can always state in your own words why you are doing something.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
Well, this would depend on the language. If you are learning C++, then I would recommend: Code Complete 2nd Ed. C++ Primer Plus Head First Design Patterns Design Patterns (by Gang of Four) Algorithms in C++ (All of them) STL Tutorial and Reference Guide Effective STL and while the Head First Design Patterns book gives examples in Java, I would highly recommend that you translate and compile each into your own C++ version to maximize the learning you get out of it.
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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Captain See Sharp wrote:
How many programming books do you read? ... How do you read them?
I am a high school student and I have at the moment 22 books. 20 of the books are reference books and the other two are cover to cover reading. Reference books I only use for specific problems that I am having at a particular time.
Captain See Sharp wrote:
How much do you remember when you read them?
Depends on how useful/fun/interesting the topic is
Captain See Sharp wrote:
Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
VB.NET Hacks and Pranks Hackish C++ Sams Teach Yourself Visual Studio .NET 2003 Code Complete 2nd Edition
Regards, Thomas Stockwell Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. Visit my homepage Oracle Studios[^]
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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Similar to everyone else I read about one or two a month. I think another similar question to ask would be how many journals/magazines (free or paid) and how many blogs and web sites people read. I find that I used to read more books, but now, every morning I read a gazillion RSS feed blogs, three or four primary sites and numerous magazines. They all aim toward the same goal, learning, keeping up to data and adding to my skillsets. The RSS feeds have been the biggest time saver as I am able to browse for what is interesting and monitor too many feeds to usually read. My five cents.
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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I try to read 3-5 books a year, over lunch or quiet times. Our company bought the "Wrox Box" for a bargin price, and i've also recently purchased "Pragmatic Unit Testing" (In C# with NUnit) "Head First Design Patterns" "Essential Windows Workflow Foundation" -- modified at 0:23 Thursday 11th January, 2007 Opps...how could I forget...my bedtime book is currently "Mathematics : From the birth of numbers"
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How many programming books do you read? Ten a year? One a month? How do you read them? How well do you comprehend what you read in them? How much do you remember when you read them? What is your style of reading them? What do you recommend to someone who wants to remember and understand most of the material in the texts? Take notes? Also what is your favorite of all programming books and what book would you highly recommend to someone who already knows the language he/she programs in?
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Generally.... there is no exact rate. I tend to read in bed, or on a long trip when I'm not driving. Generally, I just skim through the book, checking out what I find interesting. They are more like reference guides for me, I simply look at them when I need them.