,Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 2
Pragmatic Programmer, The: From Journeyman to Master
Andrew Hunt
David Thomas
Publisher: Addison Wesley
First Edition October 13, 1999
ISBN: 0-201-61622-X, 352 pages
Buy Print Version
Front Matter
Table of Contents Straight from the programming trenches, The Pragmatic Programmer cuts through the
About the Author increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine
the core process--taking a requirement and producing working, maintainable code that
delights its users. It covers topics ranging from personal responsibility and career
development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt
and reuse. Read this book, and you’ll learn how to:
Fight software rot;
Avoid the trap of duplicating knowledge;
Write flexible, dynamic, and adaptable code;
Avoid programming by coincidence;
Bullet-proof your code with contracts, assertions, and exceptions;
Capture real requirements;
Test ruthlessly and effectively;
Delight your users;
Build teams of pragmatic programmers; and
Make your developments more precise with automation.
Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with entertaining anecdotes,
thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates
the best practices and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development.
Whether you’re a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for
software projects, use these lessons daily, and you’ll quickly see improvements in
personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You’ll learn skills and develop
habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career. You’ll
become a Pragmatic Programmer.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 2
,Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 3
Foreword
As a reviewer I got an early opportunity to read the book you are holding. It was great, even in draft
form. Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt have something to say, and they know how to say it. I saw
what they were doing and I knew it would work. I asked to write this foreword so that I could
explain why.
Simply put, this book tells you how to program in a way that you can follow. You wouldn't think
that that would be a hard thing to do, but it is. Why? For one thing, not all programming books are
written by programmers. Many are compiled by language designers, or the journalists who work
with them to promote their creations. Those books tell you how to talk in a programming
language—which is certainly important, but that is only a small part of what a programmer does.
What does a programmer do besides talk in programming language? Well, that is a deeper issue.
Most programmers would have trouble explaining what they do. Programming is a job filled with
details, and keeping track of those details requires focus. Hours drift by and the code appears. You
look up and there are all of those statements. If you don't think carefully, you might think that
programming is just typing statements in a programming language. You would be wrong, of course,
but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking around the programming section of the bookstore.
In The Pragmatic Programmer Dave and Andy tell us how to program in a way that we can follow.
How did they get so smart? Aren't they just as focused on details as other programmers? The answer
is that they paid attention to what they were doing while they were doing it—and then they tried to
do it better.
Imagine that you are sitting in a meeting. Maybe you are thinking that the meeting could go on
forever and that you would rather be programming. Dave and Andy would be thinking about why
they were having the meeting, and wondering if there is something else they could do that would
take the place of the meeting, and deciding if that something could be automated so that the work of
the meeting just happens in the future. Then they would do it.
That is just the way Dave and Andy think. That meeting wasn't something keeping them from
programming. It was programming. And it was programming that could be improved. I know they
think this way because it is tip number two: Think About Your Work.
So imagine that these guys are thinking this way for a few years. Pretty soon they would have a
collection of solutions. Now imagine them using their solutions in their work for a few more years,
and discarding the ones that are too hard or don't always produce results. Well, that approach just
about defines pragmatic. Now imagine them taking a year or two more to write their solutions
down. You might think, That information would be a gold mine. And you would be right.
The authors tell us how they program. And they tell us in a way that we can follow. But there is
more to this second statement than you might think. Let me explain.
The authors have been careful to avoid proposing a theory of software development. This is
fortunate, because if they had they would be obliged to warp each chapter to defend their theory.
Such warping is the tradition in, say, the physical sciences, where theories eventually become laws
or are quietly discarded. Programming on the other hand has few (if any) laws. So programming
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 3
, Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 4
advice shaped around wanna-be laws may sound good in writing, but it fails to satisfy in practice.
This is what goes wrong with so many methodology books.
I've studied this problem for a dozen years and found the most promise in a device called a pattern
language. In short, a pattern is a solution, and a pattern language is a system of solutions that
reinforce each other. A whole community has formed around the search for these systems.
This book is more than a collection of tips. It is a pattern language in sheep's clothing. I say that
because each tip is drawn from experience, told as concrete advice, and related to others to form a
system. These are the characteristics that allow us to learn and follow a pattern language. They
work the same way here.
You can follow the advice in this book because it is concrete. You won't find vague abstractions.
Dave and Andy write directly for you, as if each tip was a vital strategy for energizing your
programming career. They make it simple, they tell a story, they use a light touch, and then they
follow that up with answers to questions that will come up when you try.
And there is more. After you read ten or fifteen tips you will begin to see an extra dimension to the
work. We sometimes call it QWAN, short for the quality without a name. The book has a philosophy
that will ooze into your consciousness and mix with your own. It doesn't preach. It just tells what
works. But in the telling more comes through. That's the beauty of the book: It embodies its
philosophy, and it does so unpretentiously.
So here it is: an easy to read—and use—book about the whole practice of programming. I've gone
on and on about why it works. You probably only care that it does work. It does. You will see.
—Ward Cunningham
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 4
Pragmatic Programmer, The: From Journeyman to Master
Andrew Hunt
David Thomas
Publisher: Addison Wesley
First Edition October 13, 1999
ISBN: 0-201-61622-X, 352 pages
Buy Print Version
Front Matter
Table of Contents Straight from the programming trenches, The Pragmatic Programmer cuts through the
About the Author increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine
the core process--taking a requirement and producing working, maintainable code that
delights its users. It covers topics ranging from personal responsibility and career
development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt
and reuse. Read this book, and you’ll learn how to:
Fight software rot;
Avoid the trap of duplicating knowledge;
Write flexible, dynamic, and adaptable code;
Avoid programming by coincidence;
Bullet-proof your code with contracts, assertions, and exceptions;
Capture real requirements;
Test ruthlessly and effectively;
Delight your users;
Build teams of pragmatic programmers; and
Make your developments more precise with automation.
Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with entertaining anecdotes,
thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates
the best practices and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development.
Whether you’re a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for
software projects, use these lessons daily, and you’ll quickly see improvements in
personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You’ll learn skills and develop
habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career. You’ll
become a Pragmatic Programmer.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 2
,Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 3
Foreword
As a reviewer I got an early opportunity to read the book you are holding. It was great, even in draft
form. Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt have something to say, and they know how to say it. I saw
what they were doing and I knew it would work. I asked to write this foreword so that I could
explain why.
Simply put, this book tells you how to program in a way that you can follow. You wouldn't think
that that would be a hard thing to do, but it is. Why? For one thing, not all programming books are
written by programmers. Many are compiled by language designers, or the journalists who work
with them to promote their creations. Those books tell you how to talk in a programming
language—which is certainly important, but that is only a small part of what a programmer does.
What does a programmer do besides talk in programming language? Well, that is a deeper issue.
Most programmers would have trouble explaining what they do. Programming is a job filled with
details, and keeping track of those details requires focus. Hours drift by and the code appears. You
look up and there are all of those statements. If you don't think carefully, you might think that
programming is just typing statements in a programming language. You would be wrong, of course,
but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking around the programming section of the bookstore.
In The Pragmatic Programmer Dave and Andy tell us how to program in a way that we can follow.
How did they get so smart? Aren't they just as focused on details as other programmers? The answer
is that they paid attention to what they were doing while they were doing it—and then they tried to
do it better.
Imagine that you are sitting in a meeting. Maybe you are thinking that the meeting could go on
forever and that you would rather be programming. Dave and Andy would be thinking about why
they were having the meeting, and wondering if there is something else they could do that would
take the place of the meeting, and deciding if that something could be automated so that the work of
the meeting just happens in the future. Then they would do it.
That is just the way Dave and Andy think. That meeting wasn't something keeping them from
programming. It was programming. And it was programming that could be improved. I know they
think this way because it is tip number two: Think About Your Work.
So imagine that these guys are thinking this way for a few years. Pretty soon they would have a
collection of solutions. Now imagine them using their solutions in their work for a few more years,
and discarding the ones that are too hard or don't always produce results. Well, that approach just
about defines pragmatic. Now imagine them taking a year or two more to write their solutions
down. You might think, That information would be a gold mine. And you would be right.
The authors tell us how they program. And they tell us in a way that we can follow. But there is
more to this second statement than you might think. Let me explain.
The authors have been careful to avoid proposing a theory of software development. This is
fortunate, because if they had they would be obliged to warp each chapter to defend their theory.
Such warping is the tradition in, say, the physical sciences, where theories eventually become laws
or are quietly discarded. Programming on the other hand has few (if any) laws. So programming
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 3
, Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 4
advice shaped around wanna-be laws may sound good in writing, but it fails to satisfy in practice.
This is what goes wrong with so many methodology books.
I've studied this problem for a dozen years and found the most promise in a device called a pattern
language. In short, a pattern is a solution, and a pattern language is a system of solutions that
reinforce each other. A whole community has formed around the search for these systems.
This book is more than a collection of tips. It is a pattern language in sheep's clothing. I say that
because each tip is drawn from experience, told as concrete advice, and related to others to form a
system. These are the characteristics that allow us to learn and follow a pattern language. They
work the same way here.
You can follow the advice in this book because it is concrete. You won't find vague abstractions.
Dave and Andy write directly for you, as if each tip was a vital strategy for energizing your
programming career. They make it simple, they tell a story, they use a light touch, and then they
follow that up with answers to questions that will come up when you try.
And there is more. After you read ten or fifteen tips you will begin to see an extra dimension to the
work. We sometimes call it QWAN, short for the quality without a name. The book has a philosophy
that will ooze into your consciousness and mix with your own. It doesn't preach. It just tells what
works. But in the telling more comes through. That's the beauty of the book: It embodies its
philosophy, and it does so unpretentiously.
So here it is: an easy to read—and use—book about the whole practice of programming. I've gone
on and on about why it works. You probably only care that it does work. It does. You will see.
—Ward Cunningham
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunt, Thomas The Pragmatic Programmer 4
