Xojo offers the Introduction to Programming with Xojo textbook along with other resources like webinars, the Xojo Forum and the Dev Center. But sometimes you need a broader view, after all, coding isn’t all about the language. A good developer knows the importance of context, broad concepts and history.
These are some of my favorite technology, software and programming books:
The Pragmatic Programmer (Andrew Hunt, David Thomas)
One of my favorite programming books of all-time. The topics in it are obvious, perhaps even simple, but the advice is value and, well, practical. The book is short, fun-to-read and always worth revisiting and is the inspiration for a video I did: The Pragmatic Programmer.
Eric Sink on the Business of Software (Eric Sink)
Eric is the founder of SourceGear, the makers of Vault version control software. This an excellent collection of Eric’s writings from his blog and MSDN, which is mostly business-focused.
Code Complete (Steve McConnell)
A good book on coding standards, techniques and other things. I’ve had a few things to say about coding standards from time to time.
Programmer’s at Work (Susan Lammers)
This book is an oldie from the 1980’s and has some interesting tales from early pioneers in the software industry.
Joel on Software (Joel Spolsky)
A collection of great articles from Joel Spolsky’s Joel on Software web site. These articles are getting a bit dated, but Joel is a great writer so they are always fun to read.
Getting Real, Rework and Remote: Office Not Required (Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson)
These three books are great short reads and offer useful advice on how to work in the modern software development world. Getting Real is also available for free online.
What are your favorite software-related books?