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The Missing README: A Guide for the New Software Engineer
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For new software engineers, knowing how to program is only half the battle. You’ll quickly find that many of the skills and processes key to your success are not taught in any school or bootcamp. The Missing README fills in that gap—a distillation of workplace lessons, best practices, and engineering fundamentals that the authors have taught rookie developers at top companies for more than a decade.
Early chapters explain what to expect when you begin your career at a company. The book’s middle section expands your technical education, teaching you how to work with existing codebases, address and prevent technical debt, write production-grade software, manage dependencies, test effectively, do code reviews, safely deploy software, design evolvable architectures, and handle incidents when you’re on-call. Additional chapters cover planning and interpersonal skills such as Agile planning, working effectively with your manager, and growing to senior levels and beyond.
You’ll learn:
- How to use the legacy code change algorithm, and leave code cleaner than you found it
- How to write operable code with logging, metrics, configuration, and defensive programming
- How to write deterministic tests, submit code reviews, and give feedback on other people’s code
- The technical design process, including experiments, problem definition, documentation, and collaboration
- What to do when you are on-call, and how to navigate production incidents
- Architectural techniques that make code change easier
- Agile development practices like sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives
This is the book your tech lead wishes every new engineer would read before they start. By the end, you’ll know what it takes to transition into the workplace–from CS classes or bootcamps to professional software engineering.
- ISBN-101718501838
- ISBN-13978-1718501836
- PublisherNo Starch Press
- Publication date
2021
August 4
- Language
EN
English
- Dimensions
6.0 x 0.9 x 9.0
inches
- Length
288
Pages
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From the Publisher
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'Thorough overview'"This is an impressively thorough overview of the many skills a new software engineer will need to learn, beyond coding, to be successful in the job." —Camille Fournier, former VP of Technology at Goldman Sachs |
'Excellent reference'"An accessible, handy guide to practical aspects of being a Software Engineer . . . The clear, Readme-style writing makes this book an excellent reference for any level Software Engineer from Intern to CTO." —Tim Burns, Data Architect |
'Fun to read'"Fun to read, full of sage advice and priceless stories. It is like having coffee with a senior mentor, except you don't even need to come up with the right questions." —Gwen Shapira, Engineering Leader at Confluent |
About the Authors
Chris Riccomini is a software engineer, startup investor, and advisor with more than a decade of experience at major tech companies such as PayPal, LinkedIn, and WePay. He has been involved in open source throughout his career and is the author of Apache Samza.
Dmitriy Ryaboy is a software engineer and engineering manager. He’s worked at a variety of companies and organizations, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cloudera, and Twitter. He helped create and grow multiple open-source projects, including Apache Parquet. Dmitriy is currently the Vice President of software engineering at Zymergen.
About the Publisher
No Starch Press has published the finest in geek entertainment since 1994, creating both timely and timeless titles like Python Crash Course, Python for Kids, How Linux Works, and Hacking: The Art of Exploitation. An independent, San Francisco-based publishing company, No Starch Press focuses on a curated list of well-crafted books that make a difference. They publish on many topics, including computer programming, cybersecurity, operating systems, and LEGO. The titles have personality, the authors are passionate experts, and all the content goes through extensive editorial and technical reviews. Long known for its fun, fearless approach to technology, No Starch Press has earned wide support from STEM enthusiasts worldwide.
Editorial Reviews
Review
—Camille Fournier, former Vice President of Technology at Goldman Sachs and author of The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
"The Missing README is exactly the book I wish I had when I started my career. Fun to read, full of sage advice and priceless stories. It is like having coffee with a senior mentor, except you don't even need to come up with the right questions. Very useful for engineers early in their career, and senior engineers who wonder what they missed."
—Gwen Shapira, Engineering Leader at Confluent
"The Missing README is an excellent practical introduction to the day-to-day realities of software engineering in the 21st century. It covers the wide range of essential skills, techniques and heuristics that you'll need to be an effective part of any team that builds, deploys and operates production systems."
—Adewale Oshineye, Developer Advocate at Google and co-author of Apprenticeship Patterns
"This book puts together all the things you don’t learn on your own starting out. The information is well organized and a pleasure to read. I will be giving a copy to all my interns and new college grads."
—Thomas Hanley, Senior Engineering Manager
"An accessible, handy guide to practical aspects of being a Software Engineer . . . The clear, Readme-style writing makes this book an excellent reference for any level Software Engineer from Intern to CTO."
—Tim Burns, Data Architect
"The Missing README provides practical and actionable insights for both new and seasoned developers. The authors cover, in detail, how to expertly navigate widespread obstacles software developers will encounter at any organization they join. This book is the README we all need."
—George D., Advanced Reviewer
“The Missing README is like having a mentor on hand to give how-to tips and general encouragement. The book acknowledges that it will not describe every workplace or every situation, but the lessons offered should prove useful to both junior engineers and those already on their career path. For undergraduate students it could serve as a textbook for the things you don’t learn in Software Engineering Class . . . I plan to incorporate the chapter on 'Learning to Learn' as part of my lesson plans because I am always happy for my students to hear advice from another source."
—Mary Moore, Professor of Computer Information Systems at West Virginia University, Advanced Reviewer
About the Author
Dmitriy Ryaboy is a software engineer and engineering manager. He’s worked at a variety of companies and organizations, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cloudera, and Twitter. He helped create and grow multiple open-source projects, including Apache Parquet. Dmitriy is currently the Vice President of software engineering at Zymergen.
Product details
- Publisher : No Starch Press (August 4, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1718501838
- ISBN-13 : 978-1718501836
- Item Weight : 15 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.01 x 0.85 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #180,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #95 in Microsoft Programming (Books)
- #149 in Software Development (Books)
- #318 in Programming Languages (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors

Chris Riccomini is a software engineer, startup investor, and advisor with more than a decade of experience at major tech companies such as PayPal, LinkedIn, and WePay. He has been involved in open source throughout his career and is the author of Apache Samza.

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The Missing Readme covers all the practical aspects of day-to-day engineering that are not covered in most CS studies or technical books. Many years ago I was a Software Engineering professor at the undergrad level, and we tried to cover some of the topics in the book (like testing and release management). I wish I had had this book back then for the students! The book not only covers the most important topics in software engineering and includes a lot of practical tips and anecdotes, but also has a lot of references after each chapter in their "Level Up" section. And, it is so accessible that even non-engineers (or managers) can read through it without having to skip too many sections for being "too technical".
Again, totally recommended whether you are a new engineer fresh out of an undergrad or bootcamp, a seasoned one in charge of mentoring new folks, a manager, or someone working in tech wanting to understand "engineering culture".
I highly recommend this to anyone in and around the world of software engineering!








