Timeless Classics of Software Engineering
From: Steve Johnson <stevejohnson1972_at_yahoo.com>
Date: 28 Jul 2004 08:04:43 -0700
Message-ID: <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.
Date: 28 Jul 2004 08:04:43 -0700
Message-ID: <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:
- building models of reality.
- 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.
Thanks!
- Steve