Code Complete


Steve McConnell - 1993
    Now this classic book has been fully updated and revised with leading-edge practices--and hundreds of new code samples--illustrating the art and science of software construction. Capturing the body of knowledge available from research, academia, and everyday commercial practice, McConnell synthesizes the most effective techniques and must-know principles into clear, pragmatic guidance. No matter what your experience level, development environment, or project size, this book will inform and stimulate your thinking--and help you build the highest quality code. Discover the timeless techniques and strategies that help you: Design for minimum complexity and maximum creativity Reap the benefits of collaborative development Apply defensive programming techniques to reduce and flush out errors Exploit opportunities to refactor--or evolve--code, and do it safely Use construction practices that are right-weight for your project Debug problems quickly and effectively Resolve critical construction issues early and correctly Build quality into the beginning, middle, and end of your project

The Passionate Programmer


Chad Fowler - 2009
    In this book, you'll learn how to become an entrepreneur, driving your career in the direction of your choosing. You'll learn how to build your software development career step by step, following the same path that you would follow if you were building, marketing, and selling a product. After all, your skills themselves are a product. The choices you make about which technologies to focus on and which business domains to master have at least as much impact on your success as your technical knowledge itself--don't let those choices be accidental. We'll walk through all aspects of the decision-making process, so you can ensure that you're investing your time and energy in the right areas. You'll develop a structured plan for keeping your mind engaged and your skills fresh. You'll learn how to assess your skills in terms of where they fit on the value chain, driving you away from commodity skills and toward those that are in high demand. Through a mix of high-level, thought-provoking essays and tactical "Act on It" sections, you will come away with concrete plans you can put into action immediately. You'll also get a chance to read the perspectives of several highly successful members of our industry from a variety of career paths. As with any product or service, if nobody knows what you're selling, nobody will buy. We'll walk through the often-neglected world of marketing, and you'll create a plan to market yourself both inside your company and to the industry in general. Above all, you'll see how you can set the direction of your career, leading to a more fulfilling and remarkable professional life.

The Little Elixir & OTP Guidebook


Benjamin Tan Wei Hao - 2015
    It combines the productivity and expressivity of Ruby with the concurrency and fault-tolerance of Erlang. Elixir makes full use of Erlang's powerful OTP library, which many developers consider the source of Erlang's greatness, so you can have mature, professional-quality functionality right out of the gate. Elixir's support for functional programming makes it a great choice for highly distributed event-driven applications like IoT systems.The Little Elixir & OTP Guidebook gets you started programming applications with Elixir and OTP. You begin with a quick overview of the Elixir language syntax, along with just enough functional programming to use it effectively. Then, you'll dive straight into OTP and learn how it helps you build scalable, fault-tolerant and distributed applications through several fun examples. Come rediscover the joy of programming with Elixir and remember how it feels like to be a beginner again.

Testable JavaScript


Mark Ethan Trostler - 2012
    This book shows you what writing and maintaining testable JavaScript for the client- or server-side actually entails, whether you’re creating a new application or rewriting legacy code.From methods to reduce code complexity to unit testing, code coverage, debugging, and automation, you’ll learn a holistic approach for writing JavaScript code that you and your colleagues can easily fix and maintain going forward. Testing JavaScript code is complicated. This book helps you simply the process considerably.Get an overview of Agile, test-driven development, and behavior-driven developmentUse patterns from static languages and standards-based JavaScript to reduce code complexityLearn the advantages of event-based architectures, including modularity, loose coupling, and reusabilityExplore tools for writing and running unit tests at the functional and application levelGenerate code coverage to measure the scope and effectiveness of your testsConduct integration, performance, and load testing, using Selenium or CasperJSUse tools for in-browser, Node.js, mobile, and production debuggingUnderstand what, when, and how to automate your development processes

Head First Design Patterns


Eric Freeman - 2004
     At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone struggles with the same software design problems you have. You know you don't want to reinvent the wheel (or worse, a flat tire), so you look to Design Patterns--the lessons learned by those who've faced the same problems. With Design Patterns, you get to take advantage of the best practices and experience of others, so that you can spend your time on...something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun. You want to learn about the patterns that matter--why to use them, when to use them, how to use them (and when NOT to use them). But you don't just want to see how patterns look in a book, you want to know how they look "in the wild". In their native environment. In other words, in real world applications. You also want to learn how patterns are used in the Java API, and how to exploit Java's built-in pattern support in your own code. You want to learn the real OO design principles and why everything your boss told you about inheritance might be wrong (and what to do instead). You want to learn how those principles will help the next time you're up a creek without a design pattern. Most importantly, you want to learn the "secret language" of Design Patterns so that you can hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions his stunningly clever use of Command, Facade, Proxy, and Factory in between sips of a martini. You'll easily counter with your deep understanding of why Singleton isn't as simple as it sounds, how the Factory is so often misunderstood, or on the real relationship between Decorator, Facade and Adapter. With Head First Design Patterns, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking Decorator is something from the "Trading Spaces" show. Best of all, in a way that won't put you to sleep! We think your time is too important (and too short) to spend it struggling with academic texts. If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, Head First Design Patterns will load patterns into your brain in a way that sticks. In a way that lets you put them to work immediately. In a way that makes you better at solving software design problems, and better at speaking the language of patterns with others on your team.

Introduction to the Theory of Computation


Michael Sipser - 1996
    Sipser's candid, crystal-clear style allows students at every level to understand and enjoy this field. His innovative "proof idea" sections explain profound concepts in plain English. The new edition incorporates many improvements students and professors have suggested over the years, and offers updated, classroom-tested problem sets at the end of each chapter.

Excel VBA Programming For Dummies


John Walkenbach - 2004
    With Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming, you can take advantage of numerous Excel options such as: creating new worksheet functions; automating tasks and operations; creating new appearances, toolbars, and menus; designing custom dialog boxes and add-ins; and much more. This guide is not for rank Excel amateurs. It-s for intermediate to advanced Excel users who want to learn VBA programming (or whose bosses want them to learn VBA programming). You need to know your way around Excel before you start creating customized short cuts or systems for speeding through Excel functions. If you-re an intermediate or advanced Excel user, Excel VBA For Dummies helps you take your skills (and your spreadsheets) to the next level. It includes: An introduction to the VBA language A hands-on, guided, step-by-step walk through developing a useful VBA macro, including recording, testing, and changing it, and testing it The essential foundation, including the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) and its components, modules, Excel object model, subroutines and functions, and the Excel macro recorder The essential VBA language elements, including comments, variables and constants, and labels Working with Range objects and discovering useful Range objective properties and methods Using VBA and worksheet functions, including a list and examples Programming constructions, including the GoTo statement, the If-Then structure, Select Case, For-Next loop, Do-While loop, and Do-Until loop Automatic procedures and Workbook events, including a table and event-handler procedures Error-handling and bug extermination techniques, and using the Excel debugging tools Creating custom dialog boxes, also known as UserForms, with a table of the toolbox controls and their capabilities, how-to for the dialog box controls, and UserForm techniques and tricks Customizing the Excel toolbars Using VBA code to modify the Excel menu system Creating worksheet functions and working with various types of arguments Creating Excel add-ins such as new worksheet functions you can use in formulas or new commands or utilities Author John Walkenbach is a leading authority on spreadsheet software and the author of more than 40 spreadsheet books including Excel 2003 Bible and Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA. While this guide includes tons of examples and screenshots, Walkenbach knows there-s no substitute for hands-on learning. The book is complete with: A dedicated companion Web site that includes bonus chapters plus all sample programs to save you a lot of typing and let you play around and experiment with various changes Information to help you make the most of Excel-s built-in Help system so you can find out other stuff you may need to know What are you waiting for? Sure, learning to do VBA programming takes a little effort, but it-s a Very Big Accomplishment.

Why Software Sucks...and What You Can Do about It


David S. Platt - 2006
    . . . Put this one on your must-have list if you have software, love software, hate programmers, or even ARE a programmer, because Mr. Platt (who teaches programming) has set out to puncture the bloated egos of all those who think that just because they can write a program, they can make it easy to use. . . . This book is funny, but it is also an important wake-up call for software companies that want to reduce the size of their customer support bills. If you were ever stuck for an answer to the question, 'Why do good programmers make such awful software?' this book holds the answer."--John McCormick, Locksmith columnist, TechRepublic.com "I must say first, I don't get many computing manuscripts that make me laugh out loud. Between the laughs, Dave Platt delivers some very interesting insight and perspective, all in a lucid and engaging style. I don't get much of that either!"--Henry Leitner, assistant dean for information technology andsenior lecturer on computer science, Harvard University "A riotous book for all of us downtrodden computer users, written in language that we understand."--Stacy Baratelli, author's barber "David's unique take on the problems that bedevil software creation made me think about the process in new ways. If you care about the quality of the software you create or use, read this book."--Dave Chappell, principal, Chappell & Associates "I began to read it in my office but stopped before I reached the bottom of the first page. I couldn't keep a grin off my face! I'll enjoy it after I go back home and find a safe place to read."--Tsukasa Makino, IT manager "David explains, in terms that my mother-in-law can understand, why the software we use today can be so frustrating, even dangerous at times, and gives us some real ideas on what we can do about it."--Jim Brosseau, Clarrus Consulting Group, Inc. A Book for Anyone Who Uses a Computer Today...and Just Wants to Scream! Today's software sucks. There's no other good way to say it. It's unsafe, allowing criminal programs to creep through the Internet wires into our very bedrooms. It's unreliable, crashing when we need it most, wiping out hours or days of work with no way to get it back. And it's hard to use, requiring large amounts of head-banging to figure out the simplest operations.It's no secret that software sucks. You know that from personal experience, whether you use computers for work or personal tasks. In this book, programming insider David Platt explains why that's the case and, more importantly, why it doesn't have to be that way. And he explains it in plain, jargon-free English that's a joy to read, using real-world examples with which you're already familiar. In the end, he suggests what you, as a typical user, without a technical background, can do about this sad state of our software--how you, as an informed consumer, don't have to take the abuse that bad software dishes out.As you might expect from the book's title, Dave's expose is laced with humor--sometimes outrageous, but always dead on. You'll laugh out loud as you recall incidents with your own software that made you cry. You'll slap your thigh with the same hand that so often pounded your computer desk and wished it was a bad programmer's face. But Dave hasn't written this book just for laughs. He's written it to give long-overdue voice to your own discovery--that software does, indeed, suck, but it shouldn't.

Practices of an Agile Developer: Working in the Real World


Venkat Subramaniam - 2006
    You'll learn pragmatic ways of approaching the development process and your personal coding techniques. You'll learn about your own attitudes, issues with working on a team, and how to best manage your learning, all in an iterative, incremental, agile style. You'll see how to apply each practice, and what benefits you can expect. Bottom line: This book will make you a better developer.

21st Century C: C Tips from the New School


Ben Klemens - 2012
    With 21st Century C, you’ll discover up-to-date techniques that are absent from every other C text available. C isn’t just the foundation of modern programming languages, it is a modern language, ideal for writing efficient, state-of-the-art applications. Learn to dump old habits that made sense on mainframes, and pick up the tools you need to use this evolved and aggressively simple language. No matter what programming language you currently champion, you’ll agree that C rocks.Set up a C programming environment with shell facilities, makefiles, text editors, debuggers, and memory checkersUse Autotools, C’s de facto cross-platform package managerLearn which older C concepts should be downplayed or deprecatedExplore problematic C concepts that are too useful to throw outSolve C’s string-building problems with C-standard and POSIX-standard functionsUse modern syntactic features for functions that take structured inputsBuild high-level object-based libraries and programsApply existing C libraries for doing advanced math, talking to Internet servers, and running databases

The Quick Python Book


Naomi R. Ceder - 2000
    This updated edition includes all the changes in Python 3, itself a significant shift from earlier versions of Python.The book begins with basic but useful programs that teach the core features of syntax, control flow, and data structures. It then moves to larger applications involving code management, object-oriented programming, web development, and converting code from earlier versions of Python.True to his audience of experienced developers, the author covers common programming language features concisely, while giving more detail to those features unique to Python.Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach


James F. Kurose - 2000
    Building on the successful top-down approach of previous editions, this fourth edition continues with an early emphasis on application-layer paradigms and application programming interfaces, encouraging a hands-on experience with protocols and networking concepts.

Programming Perl


Tom Christiansen - 1991
    The first edition of this book, Programming Perl, hit the shelves in 1990, and was quickly adopted as the undisputed bible of the language. Since then, Perl has grown with the times, and so has this book.Programming Perl is not just a book about Perl. It is also a unique introduction to the language and its culture, as one might expect only from its authors. Larry Wall is the inventor of Perl, and provides a unique perspective on the evolution of Perl and its future direction. Tom Christiansen was one of the first champions of the language, and lives and breathes the complexities of Perl internals as few other mortals do. Jon Orwant is the editor of The Perl Journal, which has brought together the Perl community as a common forum for new developments in Perl.Any Perl book can show the syntax of Perl's functions, but only this one is a comprehensive guide to all the nooks and crannies of the language. Any Perl book can explain typeglobs, pseudohashes, and closures, but only this one shows how they really work. Any Perl book can say that my is faster than local, but only this one explains why. Any Perl book can have a title, but only this book is affectionately known by all Perl programmers as "The Camel."This third edition of Programming Perl has been expanded to cover version 5.6 of this maturing language. New topics include threading, the compiler, Unicode, and other new features that have been added since the previous edition.

Sams Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days


Jesse Liberty - 1994
    It assumes no prior knowledge of programming and offers both solid instruction and the authors insights into best programming and learning practices. The book also provides a foundation for understanding object-oriented programming.

Redis in Action


Josiah L. Carlson - 2013
    You'll begin by getting Redis set up properly and then exploring the key-value model. Then, you'll dive into real use cases including simple caching, distributed ad targeting, and more. You'll learn how to scale Redis from small jobs to massive datasets. Experienced developers will appreciate chapters on clustering and internal scripting to make Redis easier to use.About the TechnologyWhen you need near-real-time access to a fast-moving data stream, key-value stores like Redis are the way to go. Redis expands on the key-value pattern by accepting a wide variety of data types, including hashes, strings, lists, and other structures. It provides lightning-fast operations on in-memory datasets, and also makes it easy to persist to disk on the fly. Plus, it's free and open source.About this bookRedis in Action introduces Redis and the key-value model. You'll quickly dive into real use cases including simple caching, distributed ad targeting, and more. You'll learn how to scale Redis from small jobs to massive datasets and discover how to integrate with traditional RDBMS or other NoSQL stores. Experienced developers will appreciate the in-depth chapters on clustering and internal scripting.Written for developers familiar with database concepts. No prior exposure to NoSQL database concepts nor to Redis itself is required. Appropriate for systems administrators comfortable with programming.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.What's InsideRedis from the ground upPreprocessing real-time dataManaging in-memory datasetsPub/sub and configurationPersisting to diskAbout the AuthorDr. Josiah L. Carlson is a seasoned database professional and an active contributor to the Redis community.Table of ContentsPART 1 GETTING STARTEDGetting to know RedisAnatomy of a Redis web applicationPART 2 CORE CONCEPTSCommands in RedisKeeping data safe and ensuring performanceUsing Redis for application supportApplication components in RedisSearch-based applicationsBuilding a simple social networkPART 3 NEXT STEPSReducing memory useScaling RedisScripting Redis with Lua