97 Things Every Programmer Should Know is Done

The book 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts is finally available, and the title is on the mark.

Kevlin Henney, who I first met at the 1998 PLoP conference, asked me to participate in this project  in September of 2008.  I am honored to be a part of the list of contributors, which includes Kevlin,  Bob Martin, Michael Feathers, Giovanni Asproni, and many others who have important things to say about how to build great software. Kevlin did an amazing job coordinating and editing, and the the book represents an excellent cross-section of the many contributions that formed the basis for the final version.

Reading this book gives you a chance to learn from the experiences of people who’ve worked hard not just at writing good code, but at creating good software systems. Some of the advice may be things you already know. Some items may be surprising. Read this book to learn, be challenged, and to understand why programming isn’t just about languages and syntax.

For more info, you can look at the associated wiki site. And feel free to share with me any thoughts you have about my contributions: Deploy Early and Often and Own (and Refactor) the Build.