By Joshua Matos

Code Quality, Coding Best Practices, Developer Mindset, Programming Books, Software Development

Have you ever felt that nudge pushing you to improve your programming skills but need help figuring out where to start? What can you do to get better? I've felt the same way.


That's why I'll share five phenomenal books that have proven invaluable throughout my career and will be for you. Whether you want to get into software engineering or improve how you code – these books will help guarantee your success. By watching this video, you'll learn a simple and effective way to apply what you learn while reading these books.


1 ) Clean Code - Write Readable, Maintainable Code
Clean Code teaches you to write maintainable Code that friends and your future self can easily work with. These techniques include using descriptive variable names, putting your Code into single-purpose functions, and minimizing nesting.


Key takeaways from Clean Code:

  • Opt for names that reveal intent, like 'userAge' instead of 'a1'.
  • Decompose complex code into discrete, purpose-driven functions.
  • Minimize nested conditional
  • Refactor as you write new code
  • Keep classes and functions compact and manageable.

2 ) Code Complete - Write Bug-Free, High-Quality Code
It covers everything from design techniques like handling complexity and errors to how to write variables and loops and organizing your Code using layouts. I learned so many pro tips for writing good Code.


Key takeaways from Code Complete:

  • Code should prioritize human readability and maintainability, not just technical accuracy.
  • Use defensive coding to manage unexpected inputs and errors.
  • Establish high-quality coding standards
  • Use thorough testing to find and fix bugs early.

3 ) The Pragmatic Programmer - Become a Master Problem-Solver

You learn problem-solving techniques like breaking complex issues down into traceable steps and considering alternate solutions.

The book encourages deep thinking and using problem-solving techniques, like the "Rubber Duck" method. This involves explaining your problem out loud, as if there is a rubber duck on your desk, to uncover flaws in logic. It's effective when you're having trouble with code — articulating what your code is meant to do can reveal where things are going wrong.

Key takeaways from The Pragmatic Programmer:

  • Take responsibility for your Code and career. Don't make excuses - take ownership.
  • Prototype. Explore different approaches before diving into Code.
  • Don't sacrifice the quality of your Code for speed. Quick and dirty Code causes problems down the road.
  • Automate repetitive tasks. Use tools to automate builds, tests, and deployments.
  • Learn new languages, frameworks, and techniques continuously. Great developers always continue learning.

4 ) Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs - Master Abstractions and Functional Programming

It trains you to break down problems into mathematical functions, which can improve development by making Code more concise and flexible. It provides a lot of expressions that help mathematically generalize ideas and practical examples of how to think about programming.

Key takeaways from Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs:

  • Data structures and algorithms go hand in hand
  • Abstractions hide details and complexity, which is a good thing
  • Functional programming emphasizes immutability and avoiding side effects.
  • Understand that programming languages are a medium to express computational ideas.

5 ) How to Win Friends and Influence People - Improve Your Relationships

Software development, in most cases - is a team sport. This book teaches you how to collaborate better by showing appreciation, avoiding arguments, and seeing things from other's perspectives.

Key takeaways from How to Win Friends and Influence People:

  • Talk about other people's interests – try to appeal to what matters to them.
  • Build relationships through appreciation
  • Ask questions when trying to convince someone – help the person arrive at the solution
  • Try to appeal to people's imaginations

These were just 5 of my favorite books for taking coding skills to the next level. Each one provides immense value in improving your software development abilities.

Want more great book recommendations? If you want software engineering tips and advice, sign up for my newsletter below. You'll start getting emails as soon as it is ready.

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