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Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction [Unabridged] (Paperback)

by Steve McConnell (Author) "Developing computer software can be a complicated process, and in the last 25 years, researchers have identified numerous distinct activities that go into software development..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 960 pages
  • Publisher: MICROSOFT PRESS; 2nd Revised edition edition (1 Jul 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0735619670
  • ISBN-13: 978-0735619678
  • Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 18.5 x 4.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 6,688 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #1 in  Books > Computing & Internet > Computer Science > Software Design, Testing & Engineering
    #1 in  Books > Computing & Internet > Software & Graphics > Software Design & Development
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Product Description

Product Description

Widely considered one of the best practical guides to programming, Steve McConnell’s original CODE COMPLETE has been helping developers write better software for more than a decade. Now this classic book has been fully updated and revised with leading-edge practices—and hundreds of new code samples—illustrating the art and science of software construction. Capturing the body of knowledge available from research, academia, and everyday commercial practice, McConnell synthesizes the most effective techniques and must-know principles into clear, pragmatic guidance. No matter what your experience level, development environment, or project size, this book will inform and stimulate your thinking—and help you build the highest quality code. Discover the timeless techniques and strategies that help you: •Design for minimum complexity and maximum creativity •Reap the benefits of collaborative development •Apply defensive programming techniques to reduce and flush out errors •Exploit opportunities to refactor—or evolve—code, and do it safely •Use construction practices that are right-weight for your project •Debug problems quickly and effectively •Resolve critical construction issues early and correctly •Build quality into the beginning, middle, and end of your project 
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Developing computer software can be a complicated process, and in the last 25 years, researchers have identified numerous distinct activities that go into software development. Read the first page
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Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Mandatory, 5 Dec 2005
By Dominic Batstone (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Code Complete 2 is another brilliant book from Steve mcConnell. I should have read this years ago when I graduated. It is easy to read despite being fairly chunky. Everything is here you'll need. Designing classes, loops, naming conventions, debugging, testing, refactoring, human factors and loads loads more.

I agree in part with the more negative review on here. Any book is the authors point of view, but Steve mcConnell backs everything he says with data from previous experiments, journals and "famous" successfull/failed projects. There are many compelling arguments in here to change the processes you use to develop and design software. I'm getting my boss to get everyone in the department a copy before our next major project. It's that good!

This needs to be mandatory reading, no excuses.

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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading for Professional Software Developers, 2 Jan 2005
Every professional developer should read this book at least once in their career. It covers almost every aspect of modern software development (from a professional programmers point of view). In particular it adds some perspective to the many competing development methodologies around today. It's also relevant to both lone developers and those working in larger teams.

There's a few odd ommissions e.g. no coverage UML or patterns. However this is "nit picking" as the book as it stands (all 800+ pages) is a worldwind tour 'd force of best proctices within the software development industry.

Oh, and it's also a great read.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Working smarter - not harder!, 11 Jul 2007
By Dominicz (Swindon, Wilts United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
One thing that is never taught through courses, book or programming courses is the "grammar" to use a language. By that I mean, you can use English quite liberally, but to get an impact, to persuade and entice the reader, you need to use the language correctly.

In order to get the best out of your code - from design, structure, documentation, testing, debugging and deployment you'll need to be shown the ropes. Putting it altogether in one place is what this book does and it does it amazingly well!

Full of references to respected software architects and engineers, all of his points are put across in clear, concise language. Points are factually referenced which goes to show the variety of reading material the author went through to get where he is today. The book uses C++, C#, C, VB and Java with benchmarks to show how doing what he says does help.

I bought this book when I was confident with C# and just needed some help with when to refactor, how to comment, how I should use exceptions, optimising loops and other general "grammar" issues.

Very highly recommended for anyone looking to "work smarter - not harder!"

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read-Unexpectedly so from this beginner :)
I've done little programming. Some Turbo Pascal ten years ago. Just enough to know what an object, method and property is but not much more. Certainly nothing modern. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Richard Griffiths

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for beginners but not necessarily for veterans!
A very well-written, seminal book on software construction. It very effectively covers almost all of the important topics in software construction. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jahanzeb Farooq

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for every (professional) developer
This book was recommended to me by a co-worker, because he said it was a different "programming book". Read more
Published 4 months ago by L. Grave

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Only a Classic, But an Essential
This ought to be on the working bookshelf of every programmer - it is the closest thing to having the accumulated and distilled wisdom of a team of veteran programmers on tap. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Stuart Ellis

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant !!
I'm not a professional programmer, but a hobbyist, yet this book was not only fascinating but has enabled me to write better programs and above all think more about what I'm... Read more
Published 18 months ago by C. A. Rumbold

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought I coded nicely... I was wrong.
Quite an odd book. I can understand why it's so highly rated BUT
reading it cover-to-cover is tedious. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2007 by TG

2.0 out of 5 stars Collection mish/mash of s/w engineering issues
This book is basically pulls together a number of issues relating to software engineering. However bear in mind that the concepts and ideas quoted are not the authors. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2005

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