Re: Timeless Classics of Software Engineering

"Steve Johnson" <stevejohnson1972_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message news:949ec44a.0407280704.12141129_at_posting.google.com...
> 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.
>
> It seems like Brooks achieved this by focusing on what is the essence
> of software engineering, which is comprised of:
>
> A) building models of reality.
> B) the people who tend to like building models of reality, what they
> are like, and what makes them work together effectively.
>
> Many books focus excessively on a particular language, a specific
> domain, on project management, Gantt charts etc and miss the forest
> for the trees.
>
> 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.

I would suggest Programming Pearls by Jon Bentley. It is one of those books that is actually fun to read as it is so packed with insights that you frequently find yourself having that Aha! experience.

-- 
 - Stephen Fuld
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