A reading list for Software Developers

Updated 25 Feb 2012

There are lots of books out there about the current dominant programming languages (or the currently hip and fashionable smaller languages). You can find these by searching Amazon or Stackoverflow. But software development is, for me, much more about thinking skills, design tradeoffs, and communication. Let me suggest some other aspects of the job that you might consider to become a better developer.

Develop a framework for problem solving

• How To Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method, by George Polya
  This is a great set of patterns for approaching problems in a structured way. Although intended for mathematical problems, I find that asking the same questions can really focus my thinking on anything. What are the knowns? What are the unknowns? Can you find an analogous problem and solve that? (Wikipedia)

• Six Thinking Hats, by Edward de Bono
  People working in a group typically play several roles (eg, devil’s advocate, positive thinker, moderator), but they usually do it unconsciously. If we are aware of what kind of thinking is needed at a certain moment, we can work together in the same mode, instead of battling each other just because we have different assumptions about what we’re trying to accomplish.

Learn how to communicate visually

• The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics, by Dona M. Wong
  If you need to share quantitative data from tests, benchmarks, etc., it’s a good idea to understand the basics of visually presenting your data. It also helps to recognize presentations from others that are confusing or misleading.

• The Elements of UML 2.0 Style, by Scott W. Ambler
  A quick and pragmatic guide to UML diagram types. Which kind of diamond to use on this line? When in doubt, leave it out.

• 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School, by Matthew Frederick
  You should learn how to use figure and ground in your drawings. And how to draw a perfect rectangle.

Manage your time effectively

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
  Get your TODOs out of your head and into a system where you can be certain they will not be forgotten. Divide your time consciously between planning and doing. Also be careful to define tasks that really are “do-able” (it’s common to write todos that are subtly vague in a way that makes them tough to complete).

• Pomodoro Technique Illustrated, by Staffan Noteberg
  This is kind of like iterative development for your tasks. Work in small batches at a sustainable pace, focus on one thing, and reflect in order to improve.

Think a bit about the problems that your manager faces. Empathize, or maybe try to help.

• Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager, by Michael Lopp
  Most individual developers have no idea what their manager really does, and there’s a cultural blind-spot of considering anything other than coding as “not real work”. In my experience, people who “get their boss’s job” are usually surprised at how much was going on that they were being shielded from. For a dev manager, this book hits the nail right on the head, with humour. Learn a bit about the business outside of code, and you’ll be a huge benefit to your boss.

Learn a vocabulary of patterns, at different levels of abstraction

• Emergent Design: The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development, by Scott Bain
  An excellent book, explaining the ways that pressures on your software (over time) can guide your design to grow along with the needs. Use of patterns emerge from the need, rather than being a design goal from the start.

• Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, by Martin Fowler
  Higher-level patterns at the application level. This is an area where there seems to be a bit of a gap in software literature, and this, along with the others in the Martin Fowler series (eg, Enterprise Integration Patterns), is a much-needed catalog for application developers.

• Refactoring to Patterns, by Joshua Kerievsky
  Framing patterns as solutions to a “code smell” is much more effective than learning them abstractly and then looking for places to apply your new knowledge.

• Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns, by Kent Beck
  This is the best resource I’ve found for patterns at the class and method level (eg, ExplainingMethod, DefaultValue). This was also published with Java code under the title “Implementation Patterns”, but somehow the Smalltalk version is much better.

Consider the history and future of your profession

• The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master, by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
  Not only very practical advice, but at the same time the philosophy and wisdom of years of experience behind that advice. Study this and study your craft.

• Software Craftsmanship: The New Imperative, by Pete McBreen
  Software really isn’t a science, so is there anything we can learn from the craft traditions? Studying the work of masters, working with more experienced developers as mentors, mixing theoretical learning with practical application.

• The Mythical Man-Month, by Frederick P. Brooks
  A classic, and still applicable nearly 40 years later because it’s still people developing software.

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