Code Complete

by McConnell, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780735619678
• ISBN10: 0735619670
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-09
• Publisher: Microsoft Press

Summary

Widely considered one of the best practical guides to programming, Steve McConnell's original CODE COMPLETE has been helping developers write better software for more than a decade. Now this classic book has been fully updated and revised with leading-edge practicesand hundreds of new code samplesillustrating 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 thinkingand 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 refactoror evolvecode, 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

Author Biography

Steve McConnell is recognized as one of the premier authors and voices in the development community. He is Chief Software Engineer of Construx Software and was the lead developer of Construx Estimate and of SPC Estimate Professional, winner of Software Development magazine's Productivity Award. He is the author of several books, including Code Complete and Rapid Development, both honored with Software Development magazine's Jolt Award.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xix
Acknowledgments	p. xxvii
List of Checklists	p. xxix
List of Tables	p. xxxi
List of Figures	p. xxxiii
Laying the Foundation
Welcome to Software Construction	p. 3
What Is Software Construction?	p. 3
Why Is Software Construction Important?	p. 6
How to Read This Book	p. 8
Metaphors for a Richer Understanding of Software Development	p. 9
The Importance of Metaphors	p. 9
How to Use Software Metaphors	p. 11
Common Software Metaphors	p. 13
Measure Twice, Cut Once: Upstream Prerequisites	p. 23
Importance of Prerequisites	p. 24
Determine the Kind of Software You're Working On	p. 31
Problem-Definition Prerequisite	p. 36
Requirements Prerequisite	p. 38
Architecture Prerequisite	p. 43
Amount of Time to Spend on Upstream Prerequisites	p. 55
Key Construction Decisions	p. 61
Choice of Programming Language	p. 61
Programming Conventions	p. 66
Your Location on the Technology Wave	p. 66
Selection of Major Construction Practices	p. 69
Creating High-Quality Code
Design in Construction	p. 73
Design Challenges	p. 74
Key Design Concepts	p. 77
Design Building Blocks: Heuristics	p. 87
Design Practices	p. 110
Comments on Popular Methodologies	p. 118
Working Classes	p. 125
Class Foundations: Abstract Data Types (ADTs)	p. 126
Good Class Interfaces	p. 133
Design and Implementation Issues	p. 143
Reasons to Create a Class	p. 152
Language-Specific Issues	p. 156
Beyond Classes: Packages	p. 156
High-Quality Routines	p. 161
Valid Reasons to Create a Routine	p. 164
Design at the Routine Level	p. 168
Good Routine Names	p. 171
How Long Can a Routine Be?	p. 173
How to Use Routine Parameters	p. 174
Special Considerations in the Use of Functions	p. 181
Macro Routines and Inline Routines	p. 182
Defensive Programming	p. 187
Protecting Your Program from Invalid Inputs	p. 188
Assertions	p. 189
Error-Handling Techniques	p. 194
Exceptions	p. 198
Barricade Your Program to Contain the Damage Caused by Errors	p. 203
Debugging Aids	p. 205
Determining How Much Defensive Programming to Leave in Production Code	p. 209
Being Defensive About Defensive Programming	p. 210
The Pseudocode Programming Process	p. 215
Summary of Steps in Building Classes and Routines	p. 216
Pseudocode for Pros	p. 218
Constructing Routines by Using the PPP	p. 220
Alternatives to the PPP	p. 232
Variables
General Issues in Using Variables	p. 237
Data Literacy	p. 238
Making Variable Declarations Easy	p. 239
Guidelines for Initializing Variables	p. 240
Scope	p. 244
Persistence	p. 251
Binding Time	p. 252
Relationship Between Data Types and Control Structures	p. 254
Using Each Variable for Exactly One Purpose	p. 255
The Power of Variable Names	p. 259
Considerations in Choosing Good Names	p. 259
Naming Specific Types of Data	p. 264
The Power of Naming Conventions	p. 270
Informal Naming Conventions	p. 272
Standardized Prefixes	p. 279
Creating Short Names That Are Readable	p. 282
Kinds of Names to Avoid	p. 285
Fundamental Data Types	p. 291
Numbers in General	p. 292
Integers	p. 293
Floating-Point Numbers	p. 295
Characters and Strings	p. 297
Boolean Variables	p. 301
Enumerated Types	p. 303
Named Constants	p. 307
Arrays	p. 310
Creating Your Own Types (Type Aliasing)	p. 311
Unusual Data Types	p. 319
Structures	p. 319
Pointers	p. 323
Global Data	p. 335
Statements
Organizing Straight-Line Code	p. 347
Statements That Must Be in a Specific Order	p. 347
Statements Whose Order Doesn't Matter	p. 351
Using Conditionals	p. 355
if Statements	p. 355
Case Statements	p. 361
Controlling Loops	p. 367
Selecting the Kind of Loop	p. 367
Controlling the Loop	p. 373
Creating Loops Easily--From the Inside Out	p. 385
Correspondence Between Loops and Arrays	p. 387
Unusual Control Structures	p. 391
Multiple Returns from a Routine	p. 391
Recursion	p. 393
goto	p. 398
Perspective on Unusual Control Structures	p. 408
Table-Driven Methods	p. 411
General Considerations in Using Table-Driven Methods	p. 411
Direct Access Tables	p. 413
Indexed Access Tables	p. 425
Stair-Step Access Tables	p. 426
Other Examples of Table Lookups	p. 429
General Control Issues	p. 431
Boolean Expressions	p. 431
Compound Statements (Blocks)	p. 443
Null Statements	p. 444
Taming Dangerously Deep Nesting	p. 445
A Programming Foundation: Structured Programming	p. 454
Control Structures and Complexity	p. 456
Code Improvements
The Software-Quality Landscape	p. 463
Characteristics of Software Quality	p. 463
Techniques for Improving Software Quality	p. 466
Relative Effectiveness of Quality Techniques	p. 469
When to Do Quality Assurance	p. 473
The General Principle of Software Quality	p. 474
Collaborative Construction	p. 479
Overview of Collaborative Development Practices	p. 480
Pair Programming	p. 483
Formal Inspections	p. 485
Other Kinds of Collaborative Development Practices	p. 492
Developer Testing	p. 499
Role of Developer Testing in Software Quality	p. 500
Recommended Approach to Developer Testing	p. 503
Bag of Testing Tricks	p. 505
Typical Errors	p. 517
Test-Support Tools	p. 523
Improving Your Testing	p. 528
Keeping Test Records	p. 529
Debugging	p. 535
Overview of Debugging Issues	p. 535
Finding a Defect	p. 540
Fixing a Defect	p. 550
Psychological Considerations in Debugging	p. 554
Debugging Tools--Obvious and Not-So-Obvious	p. 556
Refactoring	p. 563
Kinds of Software Evolution	p. 564
Introduction to Refactoring	p. 565
Specific Refactorings	p. 571
Refactoring Safely	p. 579
Refactoring Strategies	p. 582
Code-Tuning Strategies	p. 587
Performance Overview	p. 588
Introduction to Code Tuning	p. 591
Kinds of Fat and Molasses	p. 597
Measurement	p. 603
Iteration	p. 605
Summary of the Approach to Code Tuning	p. 606
Code-Tuning Techniques	p. 609
Logic	p. 610
Loops	p. 616
Data Transformations	p. 624
Expressions	p. 630
Routines	p. 639
Recoding in a Low-Level Language	p. 640
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same	p. 643
System Considerations
How Program Size Affects Construction	p. 649
Communication and Size	p. 650
Range of Project Sizes	p. 651
Effect of Project Size on Errors	p. 651
Effect of Project Size on Productivity	p. 653
Effect of Project Size on Development Activities	p. 654
Managing Construction	p. 661
Encouraging Good Coding	p. 662
Configuration Management	p. 664
Estimating a Construction Schedule	p. 671
Measurement	p. 677
Treating Programmers as People	p. 680
Managing Your Manager	p. 686
Integration	p. 689
Importance of the Integration Approach	p. 689
Integration Frequency--Phased or Incremental?	p. 691
Incremental Integration Strategies	p. 694
Daily Build and Smoke Test	p. 702
Programming Tools	p. 709
Design Tools	p. 710
Source-Code Tools	p. 710
Executable-Code Tools	p. 716
Tool-Oriented Environments	p. 720
Building Your Own Programming Tools	p. 721
Tool Fantasyland	p. 722
Software Craftsmanship
Layout and Style	p. 729
Layout Fundamentals	p. 730
Layout Techniques	p. 736
Layout Styles	p. 738
Laying Out Control Structures	p. 745
Laying Out Individual Statements	p. 753
Laying Out Comments	p. 763
Laying Out Routines	p. 766
Laying Out Classes	p. 768
Self-Documenting Code	p. 777
External Documentation	p. 777
Programming Style as Documentation	p. 778
To Comment or Not to Comment	p. 781
Keys to Effective Comments	p. 785
Commenting Techniques	p. 792
IEEE Standards	p. 813
Personal Character	p. 819
Isn't Personal Character Off the Topic?	p. 820
Intelligence and Humility	p. 821
Curiosity	p. 822
Intellectual Honesty	p. 826
Communication and Cooperation	p. 828
Creativity and Discipline	p. 829
Laziness	p. 830
Characteristics That Don't Matter As Much As You Might Think	p. 830
Habits	p. 833
Themes in Software Craftsmanship	p. 837
Conquer Complexity	p. 837
Pick Your Process	p. 839
Write Programs for People First, Computers Second	p. 841
Program into Your Language, Not in It	p. 843
Focus Your Attention with the Help of Conventions	p. 844
Program in Terms of the Problem Domain	p. 845
Watch for Falling Rocks	p. 848
Iterate, Repeatedly, Again and Again	p. 850
Thou Shalt Rend Software and Religion Asunder	p. 851
Where to Find More Information	p. 855
Information About Software Construction	p. 856
Topics Beyond Construction	p. 857
Periodicals	p. 859
A Software Developer's Reading Plan	p. 860
Joining a Professional Organization	p. 862
Bibliography	p. 863
Index	p. 885
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