I recently enjoyed reading Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg, (full title: Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software) in which author embeds himself in a software development team for three years, and reports on his discoveries.Anyone involved in making software or websites should read this. If you are a programmer, you will identify with almost every aspect of this study. You will recognise the pressures and the decisions and the desires to make software that works better. Managers will recognise the concept of ‘software time‘ and how it challenges all planned process and scheduling. If you are a relative or friend of a programmer, this may help you understand what they have to go through every day…
Part history, part story, part exploration of the essence of programming and software development, Dreaming in Code was primarily a good read. From my techie perspective, i realised that the problems I face as a developer are inherent in the tools and technology I have to deal with, and with the type of mental challenges and associated geekish personality traits that go into doing this work. I recognised myself and the types of decisions I’ve made on the projects I’ve worked on over the last six or seven years.
“Making software is hard”. We work in a difficult field, and it’s not getting any easier… but somehow, despite the seeming hopelessness of all it describes, this book made me feel calmer about my work. So it’s hard, but it’s got an essence, a history and I love it.
Check the book website for an excerpt and links to purchase.