6 Books Every Programmer Should Own

I’ve seen many lists about the best programming books and I am sure there are a lot of books that are specific to a programming knowledge or technology – that I have not included in my list.

The books I have chosen are those that are meant to inspire, increase productivity and improve your programming design skills.

Note: This list has no particular order.

Code Complete 2

Steve McConnell

The main focus of this book to help you improve your programming design skills.

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

This book focuses on the best practices of programming (i.e. what you should and should not do).

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware

Andy Hunt

From the author of The Pragmatic Programmer, this book takes one-step back from programming and focuses on your everyday thinking and problem solving skills.

The Productive Programmer

Neal Ford and David Bock

This book will teach you different tools that you can use to make your programming life more productive.

Algorithms in a Nutshell

George T Heineman, Gary Pollice and Stanley Selkow

Unless you’ve memorized the implementation of every algorithm, this book is a handy desktop reference with pseudocode examples.

Alternate: Introduction to Algorithms

Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest, and Clifford Stein

This book has become a staple in many undergraduate computer science programs. Containing much more information and details on algorithms.

Head First Design Patterns

Lisabeth Freeman, Eric Freeman, Bert Bates, and Kathy Sierra

The people at Head First have a way of explaining things in a straight-forward, non-technical approach – a good tutorial and desktop reference.

Alternate: Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John M. Vlissides

Also a common computer science textbook by the Gang of Four (GOF), this book has much more information and more detail on design patterns.

If you are interested in exploring other programming books and reading reviews, check out ProgrammingBooks.org.

You are reading this because you want to discover the secret to being a successful programmer. If the secret is all you care about, go ahead and scroll down to the bottom of the page because that is where you will find it.

If you are still reading this, I will explain to you why there is a secret to being a successful programmer.

Being Good Isn’t Good Enough

When you learn any type of skill, such as a new programming language or even a physical sport – professionals or experts will often say to you, “If you want to get better, you have to practice, practice, practice.”

I believe this statement true in the sense that if you practice you will become a better programmer or athlete, but you will not necessarily become successful.

What is Success?

Everybody has their own definition of what success is – what does success mean to you?

• Success is accomplishing goals?
• Success is making a lot of money?
• Success is making the world a better place?

I don’t believe that Success is one thing, but rather a combination of all the above.

So how do you get there? How does one become successful?

If you look back at my example of learning a new skill. Which of the definitions of success will directly result by becoming an expert?

Unless your goal was to learn a new skill (or master a skill), you will have only become successful in accomplishing goals. Just because you are good at something doesn’t mean that you will make a lot of money or put you in a position to change the world.

So what’s missing?

The Secret

The secret to being a successful programmer (or anything else) is: creativity and original thinking.

A successful programmer is one who is knowledgable (knows language, concepts, architecture, etc.), but can also use this knowledge to create or conceptualize.

Success as making money

If you believe that success is making a lot of money, you need to look at the concept of doing business. In business you can compete on two different levels: price and value.

Price

You can make a decent salary if you are a good programmer (defined as having a detailed understanding of programming languages and concepts) – but what is going to make you stand-out against the next programmer?

If you were interviewing for a job and all the candidates had the same knowledge, same background, and same skills – the person who would be hired would be the one asking for the least amount of money.

The scenario above is probably unrealistic for established programmers (but probably more true for recent college graduates). Despite what you may think, you may already have a creative/original side.

Value

Value is not a comparison of price vs. features – but rather what makes you unique against alternatives. The perfect example of this is to look at the Apple iPhone.

Today you could make the argument that the Droid has more features than the iPhone. Does that mean that the Droid has more value because it cost less?

So how can Apple charge more for something that is equal (or fewer) in features?

This is where creativity and originality come into play.

When the iPhone came out it was one of the most original smart phones around. To this day, every smart phone manufacturer has been trying to “copy” everything about it: touch screen, App Store, Games etc.

The original creativity continues to live on in the product – and allows the iPhone to maintain its demand.

The same can be said about why Google tends to hire PhDs – through their dissertations they have proven their ability to think originally and offer a creative solution.

Next Steps

If you are already an expert programmer, you are already half way there. Creativity and original thinking can be learned, it just might not seem like that because they are “right-brained” skills, compared to the “left-brained” skills of programming.

To start thinking about success:

1. Define success as it applies to you.
2. Think about where you want to be.
3. Start thinking (creatively) about how you can use your skills to achieve your success.

We all want to be better at the things that we do. Why? Perhaps it will lead to less work, less stress, a sense of pride or more money.

Whatever your motivation for improving your skills – the point is that your skills are not static; however, there are different ways that you can approach improving them.

Below are 10 websites that I have found (both old and new) that offer suggestions on how programmers can improve their programming skills.

In no particular order:

1. 8 ways to be a better programmer in 6 minutes

SecretGeek takes you through modifying your development environment and utilizing tools to improve your coding. Most of these tasks can be done in 6 minutes if you are familiar with your IDE or coding environment.

2. How To Become a Better Programmer by Not Programming

Jeff Atwood reflects on interviews he read about with Bill Gates. Bill says that you cannot improve your programming skills only by programming, you must become familiar with your surroundings and work environment.

3. Being A Better Programmer

Written almost 10 years ago, Danny Burbol mentions 10 ways that you can improve – many of which can be applied to life: know your limits, fix it, don’t hack it, don’t get personal, etc.

There is also a nice summary of his points at the bottom of the page.

4. 5 sure-fire ways to become better at programming

This site focuses on programmer passion and interest; and attempts to look at the role of a programmer as similar to a mason.

This could be alternatively titled, “5 sure-fire ways to know if programming is right for you.”

5. 4 ways to become a better programmer

This site takes a simplistic approach to becoming a better programmer. I don’t want to give away the 4 ways, but these could easily be applied to becoming better in any profession.

6. Becoming a better programmer takes exercise

This site focuses on the why of programming. We might know how conceptually a sorting routine works, but you never truly understand it until you attempt to implement it.

I always say don’t wonder how things work, do some research to know how things work.

7. 12 Tips That Will Make You a Better Programmer

Spyros Panagiotopoulos points out 12 areas of which programmers should be familiar (e.g. Version Control, Commenting, etc.)

I feel more often than not programmers know they should do certain things, but just skip to coding for the sake of time.

8. 5 Good Habits That Will Make You a Better Coder

Matt Ward approaches becoming a better code from the perspective of a web developer. The obvious way to get better at something is to read about it and practice.

I find his approach to writing logic through comments intriguing. I agree that writing pseudocode beforehand definitely makes coding easy.

9. Better Programming By Programming Better

Phil Haack picks up where Jeff Atwood left off in How To Become a Better Programmer by Not Programming.

Comparing programming to a sport, becoming a better programmer doesn’t lie in the experience that one has but the effort he/she puts in to identify weaknesses in your current skills.

10. The Joel Test: 12 Steps to Better Code

In another post from over 10 years ago, Joel Spolsky notes that there are things that all programmers should practice if one is to produce quality code.

The 12 steps are actually questions that you can ask yourself to gauge the quality of your software development environment.

I think we can all become better programmers, but we need to start with wanting to become a better programmer – and that involves putting forth the effort to improve.

      No matter what your field of work, we all have areas where we want to succeed. I’ve tried to identify the top 5 things that are important to me in life.
These are areas of my life where I want to be successful.

5. Professional Development (Non-Technical)

      As a programmer, not everything is technical all the time. We will have to give presentations, have meetings or communicate with end-users. For these
reasons, I try to focus attention on improving my soft skills as well.

Toastmasters

      To improve my speaking and leadership skills, I’ve joined a local Toastmasters group. Toastmasters has helped me immensely by offering opportunities
to speak, lead meetings and network – skills which are rarely taught in academia or in the workplace. See Enhance Your Skills By Belonging to Professional Organizations
for more information about what takes place during a Toastmasters meeting.

Reading books

      Reading technical books all the time gets boring. I will try to mix in a non-technical book into my reading schedule every so often such as biographical or interview books
 to understand about how other people think and do things (e.g. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience) or fiction
 (e.g. The Lost Symbol).

4. Professional Development (Technical)

      Since technology changes so frequently, I placed my technical development on a higher level than social skills. Most of you reading this blog might categorize this similarly.

New Languages and Technology

      Keeping up with the latest and greatest technologies can be a difficult task for most programmers. Not only does it take time to learn a particular technology, but you really
don’t start to appreciate its usefulness until you start using it in a project.

      My primary resource for acquiring knowledge on technology is my subscription to the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). One of the many subscription benefits is
being able to access Safari Books and Books 24×7 – this allows me to read and reference over 1,000 books online.

Sharing of Knowledge

      I believe that the sharing of knowledge is just as important as the acquisition of knowledge. This blog’s purpose is just that – to share my insight and know-how with you.
If you don’t have a blog or the time to keep up with one, there are plenty of websites that you can visit where you can answer questions asked by your peers or read about the
latest advancements in technology see 17 Websites for Sharing Programming Knowledge.

3. Health

      One of the topics that seems to never go away and revived each year with New Year’s resolutions is health. I know many people take their health for granted (I’m guilty of it too).
One of the first and easier steps that you can take to living a healthier lifestyle is to become aware of what you eat and review your exercise habits.

Exercise

      I typically don’t like to exercise, especially when I don’t see instant results. However, when I do, I usually feel less tired and more motivated to do other things. Many people will
make excuses saying that “I don’t have the time”. You need to make it a habit – make it a part of your daily routine, just like showering and brushing your teeth.

Eat Healthy

      When people think of eating healthy, they probably think of eating salads and vegetables all the time – this is not the case.

“The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.” – Aristotle

      Just like this quote by Aristotle, you can eat healthier without giving up the foods that you love – just have them in moderation. I’m not an expert on nutrition, but I always make 
sure to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. By becoming aware of how many calories that you consume daily, you can start to make your own choices about what you should and shouldn’t
 eat.

2. Career

      Work is important, after-all if you don’t count time spent sleeping, you probably spend more time at work than at home. We were all hired for what we are able to contribute to the company, but what can your company contribute to you?

Staying Challenged

      Is your assigned work keeping you challenged? This has been a red-flag for me in the past when I considered finding a new job. If your day-to-day tasks aren’t challenging, is there something else you can do in your spare time to keep you challenged? Try ask your manager if there is a project that you can work on that uses a different technology or if you can
work to improve any existing processes.

Training

      I would recommend taking advantage of any type of training (both internal and external) that your employer offers. Most employers will continue you pay you your hourly wage while you are attending training, as long it benefits the company. If you want to advance your career with an advanced degree, look into a tuition reimbursement program if your employer
offers it.

1. Family and Friends

      I’ve saved the best for #1. Whether you are single, married, have children, etc. we all need someone in our lives that reminds us that there are other things that important in life.

Support

      Who do you rely on when you have personal problems? Similarly to what I was mentioning earlier about sharing technical knowledge, the same is true for personal knowledge –
try help out emotionally if your friends and family need advice or someone to talk to. n the future, hopefully your friends and family would return the favor to you, if you needed their assistance.

Appreciate Your Time

      There is a time to be serious and a time for just letting go and having fun. Have fun spending time with your family, since it is one of those things that can be hard to come by. Everything else I’ve mentioned: professional development, health, and career are controlled entirely by you and your goals.