Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction (Paperback)

by Steve McConnell (Author) "Developing computer software can be a complicated process, and in the last 25 years, researchers have identified numerous distinct activities that go into software development..." (more)
Key Phrases: collaborative construction, commenting techniques, unusual data types, Visual Basic, Additional Resources, Key Points (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For more than a decade, Steve McConnell, one of the premier authors and voices in the software community, has helped change the way developers write code--and produce better software. Now his classic book, CODE COMPLETE, has been fully updated and revised with best practices in the art and science of constructing software. Whether you're a new developer seeking a sound introduction to the practice of software development or a veteran exploring strategic new approaches to problem solving, you'll find a wealth of practical suggestions and methods for strengthening your skills. Topics include design, applying good techniques to construction, eliminating errors, planning, managing construction activities, and relating personal character to superior software. This new edition features fully updated information on programming techniques, including the emergence of Web-style programming, and integrated coverage of object-oriented design. You'll also find new code examples--both good and bad--in C++, Microsoft(r) Visual Basic(r), C#, and Java, though the focus is squarely on techniques and practices.

About the Author
Steve McConnell is Chief Software Engineer at Construx Software where he oversees Construx's software engineering practices. Steve is the lead for the Construction Knowledge Area of the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) project. Steve has worked on software projects at Microsoft, Boeing, and other Seattle-area companies. Steve is the author of Rapid Development (1996), Software Project Survival Guide (1998), and Professional Software Development (2004). His books have twice won Software Development magazine's Jolt Excellence award for outstanding software development book of the year. In 1998, readers of Software Development magazine named Steve one of the three most influential people in the software industry along with Bill Gates and Linus Torvalds. Steve was also the lead developer of SPC Estimate Professional, winner of a Software Development Productivity award. Steve has worked in the desktop software industry since 1984 and has expertise in rapid development methodologies, project estimation, software construction practices, performance tuning, system integration, and third-party contract management.

Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 2nd edition (July 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735619670
• ISBN-13: 978-0735619678
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,824 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

191 of 200 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great S/W Dev't Guide Got Even Better, July 23, 2004

By	Steve Bailey "Steve" (U.S.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It was a pleasure to find out that this book had been updated when I reads news of it. CC2 is a great one-stop 'place' to go to when you want a great excuse to apply Stephen Covey's 'Sharpen The Saw' principle. This updated version has some solid, fantastic, expert instruction on designing from scratch, whether it's OO, writing better routines, psuedocode, nested loops, or at the higher level: agile methods, etc..
McConnell's approach of talking to you, the programmer, is ideal: not too much humor, and an easy to read, but professional approach in the way he donates the contents of his brain: i.e. McConnell's lengthy experience in the field.

I read just a couple of paragraphs in a chapter before work one morning, and the advice I picked up saved so much time that same day. And it wasn't even specific to coding instruction. It was a piece of advice on a philosophy on how he personally determines how much upfront design he should settle on before coding.

Reading Software Construction material of this caliber, as compared to some, yet another, new book on a specific language that might look impressive to know, is what makes for a solid programmer.

Refreshing your overall S/W construction knowledge gives you so much more of your life back, because you will have way less bugs and a lot more fun maintaining the high-quality code you are now writing because of CC2.
I mentioned already that he covers OO, but I wanted to emphasize the excellent material he offers in this area. I am now seeing the benefit of measuring the quality of your classes by this guideline: are they true Abstract Data Types. ( rather than just trying to use the syntax that the language provides to its potential).
Great job on a rather thorough re-write of a S/W development staple.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive book on software construction., August 4, 2006

By	Steven (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

I don't know how much more I can say about this book that hasn't been said already but I will do my best to describe my experience with this book.

Have you ever looked at a class, or a method that seems to work fine but it just doesn't "feel" right? For some reason it seems as if that method or class may be hard to debug in the future or that the code is hard to understand. Or have you gone back to a class file you wrote months ago and you spend an aweful lot of time trying to figure out what the heck is going on with that class file? Maybe the methods in the class are spaghetti like in nature, or maybe the names of your methods don't have a very good description so it's hard to figure out how everything ties together. I have had this problem. This book will teach you how to get out of those habbits. You will learn what a solid class or method looks like. You will learn how properly naming your classes and methods can greatly reduce complexity in the long run. Everything is backed by hard evidence. I should also mention that this is just one chapter in this wonderful book.

This book really drills down proper programming practices. A lot of times you may read a passage and think to yourself "well, of coarse!"... but then you realize you don't practice what's contained in the passage you just read. This book is great for both new programmers and experienced programmers alike. New programmers benefit greatly because they will learn how to construct software properly without having to go through all of the hoops. Experienced programmers will also learn a great deal, as well as be reminded that some of their habbits that they've developed over the years can hinder production and cause software development to become more complex then it really is.

Steve writes in a very clean style. It's very easy to read. You don't need to memorize anything in a book like this, instead you just need to gain an understanding of the concepts he brings forth. After reading this book I definitely follow a lot of his advice. When I build a new class, method or what-have-you I get a certain feeling of when it seems right and when something seems wrong. I am now much better at analyzing my code and figuring out what doesn't seem correct and I take his advice I learned in this book to help me to figure out - and correct the problem. After reading this book I feel like a lot of my rough edges as a developer have been rounded out. I feel as if I gained a years worth of experience just by reading this book.

This book is friendly for any software developer. The concepts he presents apply to all languages. This is a book that teaches you how to think about programming better and how to construct good solid code. This is one of the best books i've ever read. If you're even thinking about buying this book, then buy it.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CC2 is a 'Must Have', July 23, 2004

By	Daryl Sant "darylinuk" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

Code Complete, first edition, has long been regarded as ?The Bible? for software development. Dare I say, CC2 is even better than the original. It has been thoroughly updated to include OO, internet and web development, as well as new best practices such as test-first development, pair programming, and refactoring.

Steve McConnell provides a balanced, thoughtful discussion of competing approaches to software development. He also provides a wealth of references to additional materials covering specific topics in more detail. In a field that is often defined by religious arguments, CC2 stays objective on most topics. At the same time, McConnell does not shy away from stating his conclusions on topics that he believes have a clear-cut ?best choice?.

Overall, this book is as much of a ?must have? as the first edition and destined to become just as famous.