The clean coder
by Robert C. Martin · first published 2011
62% recommend27% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Career-focused guide to software professionalism: handling estimates, taking responsibility, and working respectfully with teams and clients. Suits early-career programmers who want advice beyond code, in a quick read.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In the <i>Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers</i>, legendary software expert Robert C Martin introduces the disciplines, techniques, tools, and practices of true software craftsmanship.
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…tend to see an estimate as a promise, or a target. From the developer's point of view it is hard to do anything other than guessing (at smaller and smaller granularities). Book recommendation: "The Clean Coder" by Robert C. Martin - esp. Chapter 10) I started building https://www.estigator.com to see if I could learn React, and come up with something to help me illustrate just exactly who's taking a risk when…
on “Ask HN: Developers, how do you estimate projects and write proposals?” ↗…decision/order/suggestion, but it helps understanding. - most user stories / user requests are raw diamonds waiting to be polished. ("What do they really want me to solve") Essential reading list: - Clean Coder and Clean Code https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Code-Handbook-Software-Craftsma... https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Coder-Conduct-Professional-Prog... - Test Driven Development by Kent Beck https://www.amazon.com/Test-Driven-Development-Kent-Beck/dp/...
on “Ask HN: Senior developers, what would you tell a younger you?” ↗The Clean Coder is a good read for starting programmers. It goes beyond code to what it takes to be a software professional. http://www.amazon.com/The-Clean-Coder-Professional-Programme...
on “What most young programmers need to learn” ↗If you liked Clean Code, read Clean Coder. A quick summary: Robert C. Martin introduces the disciplines, techniques, tools, and practices of true software craftsmanship. This book is packed with practical advice–about everything from estimating…
on “Ask HN: What language-agnostic programming books should I read?” ↗I can not stress enough how much lift I gained from reading Clean Code and Clean Coder by Robert C. Martin. If it was one set of books I wish I had fresh out of college these would be it.
on “Code Like a Chef: Work Clean” ↗…yourself to get that. If you're willing to work more than 8 hours, managers will take it from you. There's a good book about how to prevent managers from walking all over you: http://www.amazon.com/The-Clean-Coder-Professional-Programme... The opening chapters describe programmers in crunch time, and compare them with the lawyers at the same company who leave promptly on time. The rest of the book discusses how…
on “What is a “Good Job?”” ↗…way. "Quick and dirty" doesn't exist for you. "Quick and dirty" means that the project either fails outright or is one that you start procrastinating on until you get fired. Take a look at the book The Clean Coder (http://www.amazon.com/The-Clean-Coder-Professional-Programme...). It talks about procrastination and how to overcome it. For a practical introduction to TDD, I'm a fan of Test-Driven Web Development…
on “Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later” ↗…have space to explain every detail. BTW, if you feel members on your development team aren't capable of self-managing, this book is really good to help you develop those skills: http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Coder-Conduct-Professional-Progr... Self-management is something every programmer should have in their skill-set.
on “Agile is not a Fucking Noun” ↗…books about particular languages which work well as references. I usually recommend: * Code Complete (Steve McConnell) * The Pragmatic Programmer (Andrew Hunt and Dave Thomas) * Clean Code and The Clean Coder (Robert Martin) * The Mythical Man-Month (Fred Brooks) * Test-Driven Development By Example (Kent Beck) I also recommend blogs for more bite-sized knowledge. Jeff Atwood's blog at https://blog.codinghorror.com…
on “Ask HN: Which books are “must-read” for anyone trying to learn about your field?” ↗…ago. Usually, a very painful experience :D So try to write code for an audience. This has been the trigger for me. Also I encourage code reviews and TDD. The main learning resources for me have been, Clean Coder videos by Robert C Martin aka Uncle Bob. They are pure gold. They can feel awkward, but after a while they make sense. Also DDD domain driven design is a key topic to tackle. Books: - Clean code - DDD…
on “Ask HN: How to transition from academic programming to software engineering?” ↗Steven McConnell's "Code Complete" or perhaps Robert Martin's "The Clean Coder" would be my recommendation. Granted, they're not web development specific but cover important general aspects of software engineering.
on “Ask HN: Single book/video/article to give my developers?” ↗Getting Things Done (2001) by David Allen - great method to organize all your tasks and stay on top of things Clean Coder by Bob Martin - good ideas on being a professional programmer A Philosophy of Software Design by John Ousterhout - big picture ideas on design Test Driven Development by Kent Beck - good basis for thinking…
on “Book Recommendation for Interns” ↗…process in your company? While any of these topics can be tackled and improved independently, little would contribute so much as literature on: - Clean methodology from Robert C. Martin. In particular, "Clean Coder" (ISBN-13 : 978-0137081073). - Software craftsmanship. In particular "The software craftsman" (ISBN-13 : 978-0134052502). These should give you, in my humble opinion, some fresh motivation and abstract…
on “Ask HN: I am “trapped” in a senior engineering role, how can I escape?” ↗A couple of book suggestions: Fowler's "Passionate Programmer"[1] and Uncle Bob Martin's "Clean Coder"[2] are both excellent books on making a career out of writing software. Not specific to a particular tech, but both quick interesting reads that contain lots of nuggets of great advice. Good luck on…
on “Ask HN: Advice for a young, self-taught programmer” ↗Lots of good points. If you liked what you heard in this post, I recommend reading The Clean Coder. Uncle Bob has a lot of great little anecdotes when it comes to dealing with non-technical stake holders and deadlines.
on “On Programming Deadlines” ↗