The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0137081073 ISBN 13: 9780137081073

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2011

Programmers who endure and succeed amidst swirling uncertainty and nonstop pressure share a common attribute: They care deeply about the practice of creating software. They treat it as a craft. They are professionals.

 

In The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers, legendary software expert Robert C. Martin introduces the disciplines, techniques, tools, and practices of true software craftsmanship. This book is packed with practical advice–about everything from estimating and coding to refactoring and testing. It covers much more than technique: It is about attitude. Martin shows how to approach software development with honor, self-respect, and pride; work well and work clean; communicate and estimate faithfully; face difficult decisions with clarity and honesty; and understand that deep knowledge comes with a responsibility to act.

 

Readers will learn

• What it means to behave as a true software craftsman
• How to deal with conflict, tight schedules, and unreasonable managers
• How to get into the flow of coding, and get past writer’s block
• How to handle unrelenting pressure and avoid burnout
• How to combine enduring attitudes with new development paradigms
• How to manage your time, and avoid blind alleys, marshes, bogs, and swamps
• How to foster environments where programmers and teams can thrive
• When to say “No”–and how to say it
• When to say “Yes”–and what yes really means

 

Great software is something to marvel at: powerful, elegant, functional, a pleasure to work with as both a developer and as a user. Great software isn’t written by machines. It is written by professionals with an unshakable commitment to craftsmanship. The Clean Coder will help you become one of them–and earn the pride and fulfillment that they alone possess.

From the Back Cover:

Even bad code can function. But if code isn't clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written code. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with "Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship." Martin has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning code "on the fly" into a book that will instill within you the values of a software craftsman and make you a better programmer-but only if you work at it.
What kind of work will you be doing? You'll be reading code-lots of code. And you will be challenged to think about what's right about that code, and what's wrong with it. More importantly, you will be challenged to reassess your professional values and your commitment to your craft.
"Clean Code" is divided into three parts. The first describes the principles, patterns, and practices of writing clean code. The second part consists of several case studies of increasing complexity. Each case study is an exercise in cleaning up code-of transforming a code base that has some problems into one that is sound and efficient. The third part is the payoff: a single chapter containing a list of heuristics and "smells" gathered while creating the case studies. The result is a knowledge base that describes the way we think when we write, read, and clean code.
Readers will come away from this book understanding
How to tell the difference between good and bad codeHow to write good code and how to transform bad code into good codeHow to create good names, good functions, good objects, and good classesHow to format code for maximum readabilityHow to implement complete error handling without obscuring code logicHow to unit test and practice test-driven developmentThis book is a must for any developer, software engineer, project manager, team lead, or systems analyst with an interest in producing better code.

About the Author:

Robert C. Martin (“Uncle Bob”) has been a programmer since 1970. He is founder and president of Object Mentor, Inc., an international firm of highly experienced software developers and managers who specialize in helping companies get their projects done. Object Mentor offers process improvement consulting, object-oriented software design consulting, training, and skill development services to major corporations worldwide. Martin has published dozens of articles in various trade journals and is a regular speaker at international conferences and trade shows.

 

He has authored and edited many books, including:

 

• Designing Object Oriented C++ Applications Using the Booch Method
• Patterns Languages of Program Design 3
• More C++ Gems
• Extreme Programming in Practice
• Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices
• UML for Java Programmers
• Clean Code

A leader in the industry of software development, Martin served for three years as editor-in-chief of the C++ Report, and he served as the first chairman of the Agile Alliance.

 

Robert is also the founder of Uncle Bob Consulting, LLC, and cofounder with his son Micah Martin of The Clean Coders LLC.