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Aiming to sharpen your coding abilities? Congratulations! Our friends at Visma have curated an epic list of 5 must-read books for coders that will help you sharpen both your technical know-how and essential soft skills! Whether you’re looking to sharpen your technical abilities or master the softer side of software engineering, there’s something here for everyone.
Martin Fowler “Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code” (2nd Edition)
In “Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code”, M. Fowler talks about the importance of code readability. But most importantly, he gives us a whole guidebook on how to identify problem areas in our code and improve them. In this book there are two catalogues – a list of “code smells”, which indicate that there is a problem with our code, and a list of refactorings, which are linked to the code smells they help to fix.
If you find it hard to structure the code you write and you often find asking yourself such questions as “is this method too long?”, “how should I split my code into classes so that it would make sense?”, “is it alright to write a comment here?”, then this book will immensely help you improve your code-writing skills.
Addy Osmani “Software Engineering – The Soft Parts”
The book covers essential soft skills of software engineering position, emphasizing that a technical role heavily involves communication, effective teamwork, and overall social skills.
It highlights the importance for engineers not only focus on technical expertise and work efficiency but also on the power of interpersonal skills, empathy, mentoring, trust, and people bonding.
The Pragmatic Programmer by David Thomas, Andrew Hunt
This book suits beginners who want clear direction on becoming a professional software engineer. You can find relevant topics in this book to be good at software development, from how not to lose your code if your computer is broken to how helpful version control can be by tracking the history of your changes or collaborating with others.
Ideas about coding principles and practices such as DRY (don’t repeat yourself), KISS (keep it Simple, Stupid), and YAGNI (You Aren’t Gonna Need It) can give you a solid mindset about how to produce code with the right quality according to a business needs.
12 Simple Rules for Learning to Code by Dr. Angela Yu
“12 Rules to Learn to Code”, (pdf can be found on the web), is designed to provide beginners with a clear and structured path to mastering programming. This book shows that regular and consistent coding can quickly build your skills.
Coding with a purpose helps maintain motivation and makes learning more engaging. Tips and ideas about no perfect programming language, patience with failure, and understanding what you write are the most critical factors in the learning process that can maintain a good pace on a learning track.
Clean Code by Robert Cecil Martin
This book unlocked the beauty of programming for me, demonstrating how creating readable, maintainable and testable code can be both essential and enjoyable. It draws from the author’s personal experiences and extensive background, highlighting the subjects not only as crucial but also universally applicable to various languages and programming paradigms.
The book reads like a fine piece of literature – quickly and effortlessly – captivating enough to carry you through the night, leaving you surprised by the dawn breaking outside.
