The Developer's Code: What Real Programmers Do

by Cheung, Ka Wai; Hogan, Brian P.

• ISBN13: 9781934356791
• ISBN10: 1934356794
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-14
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

Dive into the software development profession from nearly every angle. You'll learn about the power of code generation as well as the benefits anddangers of design patterns. Go far beyond just writing code and tackle the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of software development as well. In dozens of nuggets of wisdom, you'll discover: What will really keep you motivated to code in the long run How you ensure your software project launches on time Why applications get complex when people crave simple software How you can survive a difficult client project * How we can collectively promote our industry to the masses This book is packed with lessons Ka Wai Cheung has learned from more than a decade of experience in the industry. After reading, you'll come away confident in all aspects of your career in web development.

Author Biography

Ka Wai Cheung is a developer, designer, and founding partner at We are Mammoth, and co-author of Flash Application Design Solutions: The Flash Usability Handbook.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Who is the 21st-century Programmer?	p. 2
Discovering the Lessons Firsthand	p. 3
This Book is About Us	p. 4
Metaphor	p. 5
Follow Metaphors with Care	p. 6
Plan Enough, Then Build	p. 7
Launch is Just the First Release	p. 9
The "Ivory Tower" Architect is a Myth	p. 10
Throw Away Your Old Code	p. 13
Diversification Over Specialization	p. 15
Metaphors Hide Better Ways of Working	p. 17
Motivation	p. 19
The Perks are in the Work	p. 20
Begin Where you Love to Begin	p. 22
Be Imperfect	p. 24
Stop Programming	p. 25
Test Your Work First Thing in the Morning	p. 26
Work Outside the Bedroom	p. 27
First Impressions are Just That	p. 29
The Emotional Value of Launch	p. 32
Find an Argument	p. 33
Productivity	p. 35
Just Say "No" to the Pet Project	p. 36
Constrain All of Your Parameters	p. 40
Cut the Detail Out of the Timeline	p. 42
Improve Your Product in Two Ways Daily	p. 43
Invest in a Good Work Environment	p. 45
Keep a Personal To-Do List	p. 48
Create "Off-Time" with Your Team	p. 54
Work in Small, Autonomous Teams	p. 57
Eliminate the "We" in Productivity	p. 59
Complexity	p. 63
Sniff Out Bad Complexity	p. 64
The Simplicity Paradox	p. 65
Complexity as a Game of Pickup Sticks	p. 68
Keep Complexity Under the Surface	p. 69
"Hard to Code" Might Mean "Hard to Use"	p. 71
Know When to Refactor	p. 75
Develop a Programming Cadence	p. 81
Teaching	p. 83
Teaching is Unlike Coding	p. 84
Beware the "Curse of Knowledge"	p. 86
Teach with Obvious Examples	p. 88
Lie to Simplify	p. 90
Encourage Autonomous Thought	p. 91
Clients	p. 95
The Tough Client is Ubiquitous	p. 96
Demystify the Black Magic of Software	p. 97
Define the Goals of Your Application	p. 101
Be Enthusiastic and Opinionated	p. 102
Be Forgiving and Personable	p. 103
Value is Much More Than Time	p. 104
Respect Your Project Manager	p. 108
Code	p. 111
Write Code As a Last Resort	p. 112
A Plug-in Happy Culture	p. 113
Code is the Ultimate Junior Developer	p. 116
Separate Robot Work from Human Work	p. 120
Generating Code at Its Core	p. 125
The Case for Rolling Your Own	p. 131
Pride	p. 135
We Have a Marketing Problem	p. 136
Lessons from the Cooking Industry	p. 137
Bibliography	p. 143
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