Re: Timeless Classics of Software Engineering

On 28 Jul 2004 08:04:43 -0700, stevejohnson1972_at_yahoo.com (Steve Johnson) wrote:
>I'd like to hear thoughts on what books, in your opinion, are true
>classics in the field of software engineering. I read a lot on the
>topic - at least a book a month for many years. There are many good
>authors, however, the only book on making software that is truly
>timeless, in my opinion, is "Mythical Man Month" by Brooks. It never
>ceases to amaze me that something written over 20 years ago would be
>so relevant.

Copyright 1972 by Brooks, 1975 by Addison-Wesley, to be exact.

>Note that I'm specifically looking for books on making software, on
>Software Engineering as a craft as opposed for classic books on
>computer science (e.g. Knuth) which is a completely different category
>in my mind.
>
>Are there any other books like MMM that you can think of where every
>page is packed with insight where it seems not a single word is in
>vain?
>I'd be grateful for your suggestions. There must be at least a couple
>out there.

The only book that *concise* I can think of is Kernigan and Ritchie, "The C Programming Language", but maybe it's too techie for your category.

Kernigan and Plauger, "Elements of Programming Style", never quite did it for me, but others might name it.

Booch's old "Object Oriented Design" had some status for a while.

I like Gerald Weinberg's stuff, esp the "Quality Software Management" series, but it's not as tight as Brooks.

No, I was having this same thought just the other day, that Brooks' little book is pretty much in a class by itself, sort of the Tao te Ching of software.

I've never actually read "Code Complete", but some of the kids seem to like it.

And I guess GoF's "Design Patterns" is too techie for you?

J. Received on Wed Jul 28 2004 - 19:05:34 CEST