More Joel on Software: Further Thoughts on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, ... or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity [Paperback]

Joel Spolsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1430209879 | ISBN-13: 978-1430209874 | Edition: 1

Joel, Apress, Blogs, and Blooks

 

 

...I was learning the hard way about how to be a publisher and probably spending way too much time looking at web sites and programming than I should have in response to that. Anyway, one day I came across this web site called , which was run by a guy with strong opinions and an unusual, clever writing style, along with a willingness to take on the conventional wisdom. In particular, he was writing this ongoing series about how bad most user interfaces were—mostly because programmers by and large knew, as Joel and I would say, using the same Yiddish–derived NYC vernacular that we both share, “bupkis” about what users really want. And I, like many, was hooked both by the series and the occasional random essay that Joel wrote. And then I had this epiphany: I'm a publisher, I like reading his stuff, why not turn it into a book?...

 Read the complete Foreword

            — Gary Cornell, Cofounder, Apress

Since the release of the bestselling title Joel on Software in 2004, requests for a sequel have been relentless. So, we went back to the famed JoelonSoftware.com archives and pulled out a new batch of favorites, many of which have been downloaded over one million times. With Joel’s newest book, More Joel on Software, you’ll get an even better (not to mention updated) feast of Joel’s opinions and impressions on software development, software design, running a software business, and so much more.

This is a new selection of essays from the author’s web site, http://www.joelonsoftware.com.

Joel Spolsky started his weblog in March 2000 in order to offer his insights, based on years of experience, on how to improve the world of programming. This weblog has become infamous among the programming world, and is linked to more than 600 other web sites and translated into 30+ languages!

Spolsky’s extraordinary writing skills, technical knowledge, and caustic wit have made him a programming guru. With the success of Joel on Software, there has been a strong demand for additional gems and advice, and this book is the answer to those requests.

Containing a collection of all–new articles from the original, More Joel on Software has even more of an edge than the original, and the tips for running a business or managing people have far broader application than the software industry. We feel it is safe to say that this is the most useful book you will buy this year.

What you’ll learn

• The best approaches to managing and hiring extraordinary people
• Advice for those interested in the software industry as a career and for managers who want to get them
• Joel’s unique impressions of how to create products and design—good and bad
• An “in the trenches” look at how to start and run an effective software business (or any business for that matter)
• A true sense of what it takes to create a differentiated, unique, motivated organization

Who this book is for

Anyone interested in the software business will truly enjoy this book, but in particular this should be required reading for managers of technical businesses.

Table of Contents

1. My First BillG Review
2. Finding Great Developers
3. A Field Guide to Developers
4. Three Management Methods (Introduction)
5. The Command and Control Management Method
6. The Econ 101 Management Method
7. The Identity Management Method
8. The Perils of JavaSchools
9. Talk at Yale
10. Advice for Computer Science College Students
11. Font Smoothing, Anti-Aliasing, and Subpixel Rendering
12. A Game of Inches
13. The Big Picture
14. Choices = Headaches
15. It’s Not Just Usability
16. Building Communities with Software
17. Martian Headsets
18. Why Are the Microsoft Office File Formats So Complicated?
19. Where There’s Muck, There’s Brass
20. Evidence-Based Scheduling
21. Strategy Letter VI
22. Can Your Programming Language Do This?
23. Making Wrong Code Look Wrong
24. Foreword to Eric Sink on the Business of Software
25. Foreword to Micro-ISV: From Vision to Reality
26. Hitting the High Notes
27. Bionic Office
28. Up the Tata Without a Tutu
29. Simplicity
30. Rub a Dub Dub
31. Top Twelve Tips for Running a Beta Test
32. Seven Steps to Remarkable Customer Service
33. Picking a Ship Date
34. Camels and Rubber Duckies
35. Five Whys
36. Set Your Priorities

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel Spolsky is a globally recognized expert on the software development process. His web site Joel on Software (JoelonSoftware.com) is popular with software developers around the world and has been translated into over 30 languages. As the founder of Fog Creek Software in New York City, he created FogBugz, a popular project management system for software teams. Joel has worked at Microsoft, where he designed Visual Basic for Applications as a member of the Excel team, and at Juno Online Services, developing an Internet client used by millions. He has written two books: User Interface Design for Programmers (Apress, 2001) and Joel on Software (Apress, 2004). Joel holds a bachelor's of science degree in computer science from Yale University. Before college, he served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a paratrooper, and he was one of the founders of Kibbutz Hanaton.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (June 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430209879
• ISBN-13: 978-1430209874
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars He'll definitely challenge a few of your industry practices and beliefs... July 6, 2008

By Thomas Duff HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

If you're a fan of the website Joel On Software, you will enjoy having so many of his postings in a single volume. More Joel on Software: Further Thoughts on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and ... Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity by Joel Spolsky takes a number of his blog postings over the last six years and presents in a context that was unavailable as they unfold over time. This aspect of book over blog allows him to consolidate thoughts or explain the evolution of concepts that he's experienced as one of the A-list bloggers in the tech community.

Contents:
Part 1 - Managing People: My first BillG Review; Finding Great Developers; A Field Guide to Developers; Three Management Methods (Introduction); The Command and Control Management Method; The Econ 101 Management Method; The Identity Management Method
Part 2 - Advice to Potential Programmers: The Perils of JavaSchools; Talk at Yale; Advice for Computer Science College Students
Part 3 - The Impact of Design: Font Smoothing, Anti-Aliasing, and Subpixel Rendering; A Game of Inches; The Big Picture; Choices = Headaches; It's Not Just Usability; Building Communities with Software
Part 4 - Managing Large Projects: Martian Headsets; Why Are the Microsoft Office File Formats So Complicated? (And Some Workarounds); Where There's Muck, There's Brass
Part 5 - Programming Advice: Evidence-Based Scheduling; Strategy Letter VI; Can Your Programming Language Do This?...; Making Wrong Code Look Wrong
Part 6 - Starting a Software Business: Forward to Eric Sink on the Business of Software; Forward to Micro-ISV: From Vision to Reality; Hitting the High Notes
Part 7 - Running a Software Business: Bionic Office; Up the Tata Without a Tutu; Simplicity; Rub a Dub Dub; Top Twelve Tips for Running a Beta Test; Seven Steps to Remarkable Customer Service
Part 8 - Releasing Software: Picking a Ship Date; Camels and Rubber Duckies
Part 9 - Revising Software: Five Whys; Set Your Priorities
Index

The thing that either resonates with or infuriates you about Spolsky is that he has very strong opinions that don't always mesh with the "common practice" of our industry. For instance, he has some extremely defined ideas about what all programmers should be able to do, and most of them are only possible as the result of a computer science degree. He only wants "great developers", and these developers are only going to come out of high-end college programs. While he might only hire those who fall into that classification, the reality is that the industry is far more populated with solid and competent developers who don't work on code for software products that are designed to be released as saleable products. He would consider a development job in a regular company a life of hell. On the other hand, some of us like it. :)

But not all the topics are controversial. Some articles shed light on common industry problems, like "Martian Headsets" (backward compatibility) and "Why Are The Microsoft Office File Formats So Complicated?". It's easy to bash Microsoft for bloated and buggy software, but you start to understand a bit more after reading that last one. With popularity comes legacy, and with legacy comes compatibility and general nastiness. "Martian Headsets" also explains the "no win" situation Microsoft is in when it comes to IE8 and "standards". They're raked for not supporting strict standards, yet most existing sites would fail to render under a browser that adhered to strict standards. So do you bow to reality and accommodate quirks, or do you stick to ideals and break sites? It's not an easy argument...

More Joel on Software is a book that will challenge you on a few things that you thought you probably already knew. You won't agree with him on everything, but it's always good to be forced to think... Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh no more Joel. October 5, 2008

By Bas Vodde

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"More Joel on Software" is exactly what it says. It's a follow-up on "Joel on Software", a collection of blog posts from Joel Spolskys well-known blog "Joel on Software". I thoroughly enjoyed the first collection of Joels posts and thus was looking forward to this. And... I was disappointed. It IS good, Joel is an excellent and funny author and his posts are interesting, but... it was not as good as the first collection of posts :) Is he running out of ideas? We'll see in "Even More Joel on Software" which ought to be ready in four years...

Slight disappointment, but still enjoyed Joels latest collection of posts. Let me point out a few of his posts to give an idea what he covers.

The first post "My First BillG review" was a great story in which Joel tells his experience with Bill Gates reviewing his spec for MS Excel (many years ago) and how Bill reacted to the spec and what impression it led to him. It's a nice post and gives an insight to the working of MS during that time.

"The Perils of JavaSchools" criticized the universities that uses Java as main languages for teaching computer science. Joel argues that developers do not learn "the hard parts" about programming when using a language like Java.

In "Why are the MS Office File Formats So Complicated" Joel takes a look at the insanely large file format spec for Office files and explains why they became the way they are. Then he gives some advise on what to do when you want to read Office files (not write it yourself)

In "Hitting the High Notes", Joel explores the productivity difference between developers from many different perspectives and argues that great developers are absolutely essential for great products. This was his main idea behind setting up his own business.... He looks at productivity and quality from different perspectives.

All in all, More Joel contains 300 pages with Joel blog posts. It's worth reading and I enjoyed it a lot. Joel has an "interesting perspective" on certain topics. Worth reading, but if you haven't read "Joel on Software" then I'd recommend to read that first. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Learned something new! February 15, 2010

By Dror Guzman

Format:Paperback

I loved the 2nd book in the serious: "Joel On Software" and wonder what can he possible say this time. Apparently, Spolsky did a good job. I read it cover to cover and couldn't stop laughing when reading 'Camels and Rubber Duckies'. Just for this I gave it 4 starts.

Having said that (or writing that); he did paraphrase from his previous book. But the bottom line is this: if you are a programmer/software-entrepreneur or a student in the computer-science world, take this book and read it. It has some great tips. I would surly use his interview questions the next time I need to hire someone...

Dror Guzman

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Rereading August 7, 2008

By William B. Swift

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Since I've been reading joelonsoftware for the past two years, a lot of this was already familiar to me, but it was well worth rereading. Some of the essays were old enough and I hadn't come by links to them so they were new to me, but not many. Most of the first part Managing People was already published in Joel's Smart and Gets Things Done.

Anyone even considering working on shrink-wrap software, especially in a small company, should read this book. (Anyone considering consultingware should especially read the last chapter; it will convince you not to, unless you are a masochist.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Joel is great. December 31, 2012

By David Lynch

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

He has a clean and simple writing style, and a very convincing perspective on application development. I think much of his insight seems obvious, but is not followed in any of the places I have worked.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for Software Engineers December 6, 2011

By SPP

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As soon as I joined my MS program in UAB, one of my senior student recommended this series of Joel to me. I read the first and the second one with passion. Lot of information and I like most of them. One of the highlights I remember from this book is Part 1 that explains Managing people. I am following his recommendations for getting the right resource to do the job. And it is hard to get the right people always.

Also he describes about the 3 management methods, which shed some light for me in managing my team.

The one main thing I want to talk about Joel is his ease of expression. While reading the books that he wrote, I never felt bored.

Looking for more works from you Joel.

Thank you