07 November, 2006

Book Review: Code Complete 2nd Edition

Yesterday, I finished Steve McConnell's book "Code Complete, Second Edition." As a self taught developer, I am always looking for books, magazine articles and web posts that can help me improve my craft. This book has become an important part of my library.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the checklists at the end of sections. I have used the "Using Conditionals" Checklist multiple times in my work. The checklist has prompted me to refactor my code and to think about the code I write differently. The code looks cleaner, is more readily understood by myself and other developers.

Another benefit I have gotten out of the book was better ways to communicate with non-programmers about technical topics. I have used several of the items in the book with end users. The results have been positive. I was able to more clearly present technical issues to the end users. I have been able to develop a better working relationship with the end user. These same points have also caused me to think about my end users in a different light.

This book has already become a favorite of mine and I have a feeling I will referencing this book frequently in the future.

If you are a programmer, a developer, a coder, an architect or a manager of technical people this book should be in your library.

Book specs:
Paperback: 960 pages
Publisher: Microsoft Press; 2nd edition (June 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 0735619670

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