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As the title implies, this book is targeted towards the programmer (the construction phase of software engineering). The authors outline common sense principals and practices that every developer SHOULD be aware of (but in reality most of these practices are overlooked).
These principals are often obvious, but keep in mind that "the obvious [...] is never seen until someone expresses it simply." (Kahlil Gibran) The authors express good program principals, outline the collection of tools every practitioner should have, and offer priceless advice in a simple manner.

This book left me with many unanswered questions, the authors offered a lot of "How-Tos" and "What-Tos" with out answering the "Whys". Code Complete [Steve McConnell] answers most (if not all) of these questions and in doing so, is three times the size. The Pragmatic Programmer makes an excellent prerequisite to Code Complete. Both books should be read.

It's interesting to note that both authors (Andrew Hunt, David Thomas) are authors of the Agile Manifesto, and have a series of Pragmatic Programming books (Pragmatic AJAX, Agile Web Development With Rails, Programming Ruby, etc...).
Their other texts are equally humorous and easy to read.

The Pragmatic Programmer must simply be read and then re-read, I can attest "this book will help you become a better programmer" (Preface).


Absolutely life changing.   May 3, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

For the last year in two different companies I have been evangelizing many of the concepts in "Pragmatic Programmer", but had a hard time validating my thoughts to the more skeptical people in our group.

That's over now. "Pragmatic Programmer" has given me not only the ammunition I need to wage war against some of the more Philistine ideas that I must deal with, it has added to my thoughts and made me a better leader, better communicator and a much, much better developer. Any book that tells you to step away from the keyboard before you begin is good, but this book is a masterpiece because it tells you WHY you should take a step back.

Every chapter is a gem and stands alone, but taken together with the references and extremely well-written explanations, it almosts reads like a novel. I felt guilty putting it down!

If you are serious about software, serious about becoming a real craftsman and a leader in your field, then this book needs to be on your shelf, dog-eared and used.


Extraordinary contents but too bulky   April 28, 2004
 0 out of 2 found this review helpful

I can only repeat what most other reviewers said: it's an extraordinary book, a real treasure. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, this book would deserve 6 -- but I must draw one star for the bulky design ;)

Information density is high and actually the book could be a small pocket book ideal to take along everywhere. But unfortunately the publishers preferred to use big typefaces, thick paper and include a lot of empty space. They probably blowed up the book to make it heavier and look "more important" in order to sell it for a higher price. For me, they didn't hit the target because I didn't buy the thing. I swear I would spend $40 rightaway if it would be as handy as it could but for now I stick to the electronic version.