by Steve McConnell
Copyright (c) 2004
Code Complete is a 850-page tome which might serve as Computer Science guru-author Steve McConnell’s magnum opus. His presentation addresses an audience that spans programmers at the beginning level, intermediate level, and advanced level. With its wide-ranging scope, it fills in any computer scientist’s holes of knowledge.
Units are filled with a handful of chapters each and consist of foundations, producing high-quality code, variables, statements, improvements, systemic issues, and craftsmanship. McConnell aims and succeeds at addressing core issues of how software is actually constructed.
I appreciate how much he addresses the team aspect of computer science. For me, this has been lacking in my education. I’ve worked hard at developing computer programming as a mathematical exercise. McConnell seems to conceptualize the practice more as a sports team, with individuals at varying degrees of core competencies and varying types of skills. As such, he puts forth ideas as computer code as communication in a forceful (again, 850 pages, 35 chapters) approach that I have not read or seen before.
The book is well-researched with frequent citations of studies, books, and papers. It attempts to bring its recommendations with hard facts, not simply sage advice. Further, it provides bibliographies at the end of every chapter with recommendations for further reading. I find that computer scientists are traditionally weak when it comes to reading the literature, and this type of book-list is hard to find. As one who learns best by close, quiet reading, I appreciate the well-commented references.