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Code Complete 1st Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

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Here is a thorough expert look at the intricate process of commercial software development. The text is rich in example code, contains powerful insights on managing technical yet creative people, and examines each milestone in software development in considerable detail. Ideal for professional, self-taught, and student programmers.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Believed by many of our customers to be the best practical guide to writing commercial software, and Highly Recommended.

From the Publisher

From the Author's Preface: My primary concern in writing this book has been to narrow the gap between the knowledge of industry gurus and professors on one hand and common commercial practice on the other. Although leading-edge software-development practice has advanced rapidly in recent years, common practice hasn't. Many programs are still buggy, late, and over budget, and many fail to satisfy the needs of users. The research and programming experience collected in this book will help you to create high-quality software and do your work more quickly and with fewer problems.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Microsoft Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 857 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1556154844
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1556154843
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.38 x 1.79 x 9.17 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

About the author

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Steve McConnell
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Steve McConnell is an award-winning, best selling CEO and author. His newest book is "More Effective Agile: A Roadmap for Software Leaders." His first book, "Code Complete", has been recognized as the best-selling, best-reviewed software development book of all time. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than one million copies worldwide.

Steve is passionate about increasing software organizational performance by improving the skills of individuals and teams. Steve is founder and CEO at Construx Software, which provides training, consulting, coaching and free resources focused on more effective software development practices. Check it out at construx.com.

Steve's newest book, More Effective Agile, was published in August 2019. Check out resources related to Steve's new book at moreeffectiveagile.com.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
134 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book to be one of the best on coding practice. They say it goes in depth in writing actual code and performance tuning. Readers also describe the book as an excellent read and the best coding book they have ever read.

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4 customers mention "Code knowledge"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's code knowledge good. They say it teaches them how to code like pros, qualifies them for higher-level programming jobs, and is one of the best books on coding practice. Readers also mention the book goes in depth in writing actual code and performance tuning.

"...It will teach you how to code like a pro, qualifying you for higher-level programming jobs even with less years of experience...." Read more

"Easy to understand. Good book." Read more

"Still one of the best books on coding practice" Read more

"The things described in this book are very valuable. Goes in depth in writing actual code (using some code guidelines) to performance tuning,..." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book excellent and good. They say it's the best coding book they have ever read.

"The best coding book I ever read, I've even bought copies for friends & family...." Read more

"Easy to understand. Good book." Read more

"...However this is an excellent read and should be on everyone's "...on a slow rainy day I would do this..." list." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2014
The best coding book I ever read, I've even bought copies for friends & family. It will teach you how to code like a pro, qualifying you for higher-level programming jobs even with less years of experience. Hopefully the latest edition has some web programming examples too, but that's a detail.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2004
If you've had to struggle through maintaining code written

by others who haven't a clue about how to name functions

or variables, this book is a great way to point them in

the right direction. I'm a Computer Science major who

has programmed professionally for 20 years, and this book

really polished my skills. If Steve's guidelines are followed,

readable code is the result that requires very few comments

to be understandable. This book was strongly recommended

reading at my previous job and rightly so.
5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2017
Dated material and most of it should be obvious without saying.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2016
Easy to understand. Good book.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2002
I don't particularly enjoy reading thick books unless they are of reference type. This is a pretty thick book for the subject but overall it is worth it because it can be used as a reference tool.
The examples are very light on object oriented content and heavy on procedural language examples such a 'C'. There is no Java (didn't exist) and the tools noted are definatly of an older generation.
However this is an excellent read and should be on everyone's "...on a slow rainy day I would do this..." list.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2015
Still one of the best books on coding practice
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024
The primary text for my course, Biomedical Software Engineering, in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2002
As an experienced but informally educated programmer, I'm always on the look-out for basic information I may have missed over the years. I purchased "Code Complete" based on the Amazon reviews, which almost unanimously suggested this was a vital addition to any serious programmer's library.
That might have been true back in 1993, when the book was published. In 2002, "Complete" reads like a repair manual for Connestoga wagons -- an historical curiosity, with little practical use for the modern professional. (At least half the code examples are in Pascal; how many companies code in Pascal these days?) Most telling is the book's brief nod to Object-Oriented Programming as an up-and-coming technique for good programming practices; a slightly more modern treatment would have *focused* on OOP, to far better effect.
Perhaps I'm just annoyed at wasting my money on a primer, when what I wanted was an information-dense manual. However, if you're in 4th grade and learning BASIC, "Code Complete" might actually help to improve your marks a level or two.
14 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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al
5.0 out of 5 stars un livre qui devrait etre obligatoire pour tout bon programmeur
Reviewed in France on November 3, 2017
Un livre très complet sur la façon de programmer, qui fourmille d'exemple et de justification par des études (un chapitre entier sur l'utilisation de goto ou de fonctions recursives).
Bien évidemment le livre est axé sur la lisibilité du code et la façon de le rendre encore plus lisible. Un des nombreux conseils de de réécrire le code tant qu'il ne parait pas suffisamment clair.
Bien qu'il date de quelques années, tous ces conseils de bon sens et très argumentés sont toujours valables. Les exemples sont surtout données en pascal, c, basic, mais l'ensemble des reflexions reste applicable dans tous les langages de programmation.
Tous les aspects d'un projet informatique sont passés en revues de la conception au déploiement en passant par les tests, l'intégration et l'optimisation, tout en restant concentré sur la programmation elle-même.
Une très bonne lecture pour tout programmeur qui souhaite progresser.
Dr K
5.0 out of 5 stars ... first book on software craftmenship and it was a brilliant introduction to it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2017
This was my first book on software craftmenship and it was a brilliant introduction to it.

I also purchased the second edition digitally, but after 5 years of purchasing this I still have the physical copy and occasionally read through it.

I would recommend also reading Test Driven Development by Example and Clean Code.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A very helpful book
Reviewed in Canada on October 11, 2015
I'm not done reading it yet but so far it's great!
Andrei
5.0 out of 5 stars Super
Reviewed in Germany on May 5, 2012
Das Buch ist im guten Zustand und die Lieferung war auch prima. Sehr preiswert kann das Buch auch nur empfehlen wenn man gescheit mit programmieren will. Natürlich ist die neueste Edition aktueller. Doch nach nachforschen und durchgucken des Buchs kommt man auf den Schluss dass viele der hier besprochenen Sachen auch in der ersten Edition noch immer aktuell.
Ich glaube ich holle mir auch die neue Edition, einfach mal um eine Historische Entwicklung zu sehen. Wahrscheinlich sind die gemeinsamen Punkte der Editionen auch noch für die nächsten 10-15 Jahre gültig.
設計屋
5.0 out of 5 stars 理論と実践を交えた豊富な事例の手引書!
Reviewed in Japan on May 14, 2003
先年、IEEE Software のEditor-of-Cheif を担当していた著者の考えが明確に示された、ソフトウェア技術者への手引書として、相応しい内容である。
理論を実践する際の留意点を、開発現場の立場で、解説している。
初心者にとても適切な指導を与える書籍である。