The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))

The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))
by Neal Ford

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Book Summary Information

Author: Neal Ford
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Illustrated
Published: 2008-07-10
ISBN: 0596519788
Number of pages: 222
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Book Reviews of The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))

Book Review: Advice, tips and tricks from a veteran developer
Summary: 4 Stars

Normally I'd skip a book with a title as pretentious a this one. But since I really enjoyed the NFJS and JavaOne presentations of Neal I decided to give it a go.

The book reads like a blog. Nothing new (if you know Ruby and Groovy) but lot's of short pieces of advice, tips and tricks which are clearly based on years of hands-on experience and thus really valuable.

On some parts I found the book a bit shallow, but overall I really enjoyed it: most of the time a tip or reference is enough to get you going. I've already automated a couple of 'chores' and told my team to do the same; using examples from the book as possible starting points!

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Summary of The Productive Programmer (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))

Anyone who develops software for a living needs a proven way to produce it better, faster, and cheaper. The Productive Programmer offers critical timesaving and productivity tools that you can adopt right away, no matter what platform you use. Master developer Neal Ford not only offers advice on the mechanics of productivity-how to work smarter, spurn interruptions, get the most out your computer, and avoid repetition-he also details valuable practices that will help you elude common traps, improve your code, and become more valuable to your team. You'll learn to: Write the test before you write the code Manage the lifecycle of your objects fastidiously Build only what you need now, not what you might need later Apply ancient philosophies to software development Question authority, rather than blindly adhere to standards Make hard things easier and impossible things possible through meta-programming Be sure all code within a method is at the same level of abstraction Pick the right editor and assemble the best tools for the job

This isn't theory, but the fruits of Ford's real-world experience as an Application Architect at the global IT consultancy ThoughtWorks. Whether you're a beginner or a pro with years of experience, you'll improve your work and your career with the simple and straightforward principles in The Productive Programmer.

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