Reading the O’Reilly book Beautiful Code: Leading Programmers Explain How They Think by Greg Wilson and Andy Oram, you’ll delve into the minds of some of the best code and design experts, learn how they approach complex problems, and find out how they designed solutions for high-profile projects. It’s full of case studies following some of the greatest minds in software development and architecture. Ever wonder if it’s okay to break rules? Where you can make tradeoffs? This is the book for you. When we were looking for just the right book to offer as a bonus alongside our Komodo IDE this month, we wanted to find a book that was well read, well respected, and well recommended in-house. Not only have many of our development staff read the book and recommend it, but here’s what some readers (from various sites) have had to say:
“I can count on one hand the number of programming or programming related books I would recommend every programmer reads, this gets added to that short, and changing, list.”–William Deegan (via O’Reilly.com)
“I hope that publishers take enough interest to publish some more of this kind. The endless journey of making software systems more elegant and robust with high performance continues.”–Amar (via O’Reilly.com)
“Excellent. Must read for software engineers.”–jdruin (via O’Reilly.com)
“Many books will teach you how to solve a problem, but rare are those to teach you how to think. Beautiful Code is one of those select few, and will keep you coming back from project to project to consult its veteran sages of computer science. A worthy edition to any serious programmer’s library, and hopefully a second volume is not far off.”–Max Luebbe (via O’Reilly.com)
“This book deserves a place on every serious programmers bookshelf since the lessons to be learned will not become obsolete as languages and technologies change. Highly recommended.”–Mitch Wheat (via Mitch-Wheat.Blogspot.com)
“For the serious programmer, this book should have a place on the must-read list. (Caveat: be prepared to spend some time, unless you’ve mastered several languages and are in the habit of understanding abstract and complicated ideas from brief textual descriptions. If you still think you can read through it quickly, you might spend some time studying the humility of some of the industry giants who have written here.) For a rating, this book is given the maximum value due to the wide range of topics surveyed and the quality of the content.”–Rick Wagner (via Javalobby.com)
If you’re looking for advice straight from the creme de la creme of programmers, then you’ve found the perfect book. You can order it via the O’Reilly site, or receive it as a free bonus e-book (PDF) when you order Komodo IDE between March 1-31, 2010: Have you read the book? Want to share your opinions on it? Please leave a comment!
Title photo courtesy of Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash.
