The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers Robert C. Martin: Amazon.co.uk: Robert C. Martin: Books

Review

“‘Uncle Bob’ Martin definitely raises the bar with his latest book. He explains his expectation for a professional programmer on management interactions, time management, pressure, on collaboration, and on the choice of tools to use. Beyond TDD and ATDD, Martin explains what every programmer who considers him- or herself a professional not only needs to know, but also needs to follow in order to make the young profession of software development grow.”

–Markus Gärtner

Senior Software Developer

it-agile GmbH

www.it-agile.de

www.shino.de

“Some technical books inspire and teach; some delight and amuse. Rarely does a technical book do all four of these things. Robert Martin’s always have for me and The Clean Coder is no exception. Read, learn, and live the lessons in this book and you can accurately call yourself a software professional.”

–George Bullock

Senior Program Manager

Microsoft Corp.

“If a computer science degree had ‘required reading for after you graduate,’ this would be it. In the real world, your bad code doesn’t vanish when the semester’s over, you don’t get an A for marathon coding the night before an assignment’s due, and, worst of all, you have to deal with people. So, coding gurus are not necessarily professionals. The Clean Coder describes the journey to professionalism . . . and it does a remarkably entertaining job of it.”

–Jeff Overbey

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“The Clean Coder is much more than a set of rules or guidelines. It contains hard-earned wisdom and knowledge that is normally obtained through many years of trial and error or by working as an apprentice to a master craftsman. If you call yourself a software professional, you need this book.”

–R. L. Bogetti

Lead System Designer

Baxter Healthcare

www.RLBogetti.com

Product Description

Programmers who endure and succeed amidst swirling uncertainty and nonstop pressure share a common attribute: They care deeply about the practice of creating software. They treat it as a craft. They are professionals.

In The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers, legendary software expert Robert C. Martin introduces the disciplines, techniques, tools, and practices of true software craftsmanship. This book is packed with practical advice–about everything from estimating and coding to refactoring and testing. It covers much more than technique: It is about attitude. Martin shows how to approach software development with honor, self-respect, and pride; work well and work clean; communicate and estimate faithfully; face difficult decisions with clarity and honesty; and understand that deep knowledge comes with a responsibility to act.

Readers will learn

What it means to behave as a true software craftsman
How to deal with conflict, tight schedules, and unreasonable managers
How to get into the flow of coding, and get past writer’s block
How to handle unrelenting pressure and avoid burnout
How to combine enduring attitudes with new development paradigms
How to manage your time, and avoid blind alleys, marshes, bogs, and swamps
How to foster environments where programmers and teams can thrive
When to say “No”–and how to say it
When to say “Yes”–and what yes really means

Great software is something to marvel at: powerful, elegant, functional, a pleasure to work with as both a developer and as a user. Great software isn’t written by machines. It is written by professionals with an unshakable commitment to craftsmanship. The Clean Coder will help you become one of them–and earn the pride and fulfillment that they alone possess.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Do more, do better, do it now 21 Oct 2011

By NinkyNonk

Format:Paperback

I feel a bit intimated by this book. 20 hours a week self-study, regular stern programming exercises, rigorous test driven development. Do more, do better, do it now.

No-one can doubt that esteemed author Uncle Bob Martin does all this and more. But what about programming mortals? Should we aspire to join the programming Gods and follow the advice of this book or should we just run away and hide underneath a faded Metallica T-shirt?

The book is well written, engaging and food for thought. It's its hectoring quality I object to. Besides, if you want to know how to write better software read Rapid Development by Steve McConnell. Genuinely helpfully advice not just relentless polemic.

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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Not the best book ever 18 July 2011

By Henrik

There are some gems in this book, but stories from the authors life takes up too much space. And some of the really important things like testing is covered in very few pages. Also the "programming" chapter the author spends time ranting over things that does not work for him, but at the same time acknowledges that it is likely to be a highly personal thing. It seems like there is a lot of stuff thats just in the book to make a given page count..

All in all its an interesting read, but I don't think its a 5 star book.

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Expected more 28 May 2012

By Cj

I've actually expected more from this book. It's mainly a collection of life stories rather than a software engineering text. It highlights errors in behaviour, communications and ethics. And of course, at the end of each chapter there's a wise advice and comment. These are probable the only good things of the whole book.