| Kindle Price: | $9.99 |
| Sold by: | Amazon.com Services LLC |
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the Authors
OK
The Psychology of Computer Programming: Silver Anniversary eBook Edition Kindle Edition
| Price | New from | Used from |
- Kindle
$9.99 Read with Our Free App - Hardcover
$34.9924 Used from $5.00 - Paperback
$29.591 New from $29.59
Long regarded as one of the first books to pioneer a people-oriented approach to computing, The Psychology of Computer Programming endures as a penetrating analysis of the intelligence, skill, teamwork, and problem-solving power of the computer programmer.
Finding the chapters strikingly relevant to today's issues in programming, Gerald M. Weinberg adds new insights and highlights the similarities and differences between now and then. Using a conversational style that invites the reader to join him, Weinberg reunites with some of his most insightful writings on the human side of software engineering.
Topics include egoless programming, intelligence, psychological measurement, personality factors, motivation, training, social problems on large projects, problem-solving ability, programming language design, team formation, the programming environment, and much more.
The author says, "On an inspired eight-week vacation in Italy, I wrote the first draft of The Psychology of Computer Programming. . . . the book quickly became a best-seller among technical titles, running through more than twenty printings and staying in print for twenty-five years. . . .
"For this Silver Anniversary Edition, I decided to take my own advice and not try to hide my errors, for they would be the source of the most learning for my readers. I decided to leave the original text as it was—antiques and all—for your illumination, and simply to add some 'wisdom of hindsight' remarks whenever the spirit moved me. I hope you find the perspective brought by this time-capsule contrast as useful to you as it has been to me."
Sue Petersen of Visual Developer said: "In this new edition, Jerry looks at where we were 30 years ago, where we are now and where we might be in the future. Instead of changing the original text, he's added new comments to each chapter. This allows the reader to compare and contrast his thinking over the decades, showcasing the errors and omissions as well as the threads that bore fruit.
". . . one issue -- communication -- has been at the core of Jerry's work for decades. Unknown to him at the time, Psychology was to form the outline of his life's work. . . . Psychology is valuable as history in a field that is all too ready to repeat the errors of its past. Read Psychology as a picture of where we've been, where we are now, and where we need to go next. Read it as an index to the thinking of one of the most influential figures in our field."
Alexander Wolfe said, "Weinberg's book isn't loaded up with one-liners, but rather provides an almost Freudian dive into the personalities of the people you work alongside. When I read it in the late 1970s (it came out in 1971) I was blown away by its dead-on-ness."
one reviewer commented,
"One comes away with the feeling of having spent a pleasant but somewhat 'wasted' afternoon of reading, and as the old joke goes, 'it ain't till you try to turn your head that you realize how sharp the razor was.'"
An Amazon reviewer wrote: I bought this for my son, who is following in my footsteps as a computer programmer, sort of: Instead of machine languages, assembly languages, Fortran, Cobol, and report generators, he uses newer languages such as Pearl, Ruby, and Java. But he still found this book very interesting and well worth reading, as I did years before I first met his mother.
J. Hirschfelder of Computing Reviews wrote: "The Psychology of Computer Programming . . . was the first major book to address programming as an individual and team effort, and became a classic in the field. . . . Despite, or perhaps even because of, the perspective of 1971, this book remains a must-read for all software development managers."
- Publication dateMarch 8, 2011
- LanguageEnglish
- File size1123 KB
Customers who read this book also read
Editorial Reviews
Review
The Psychology of Computer Programming . . . was the first major book to address programming as an individual and team effort, and became a classic in the field. . . . Despite, or perhaps even because of, the perspective of 1971, this book remains a must-read for all software development managers. --J.J. Hirschfelder, Computing Reviews
Whether you're part of the generation of the 1960's and 1970's, or part of the current generation . . . you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this wonderful book. Once you've digested it, you should then track down all [twenty] of the other Weinberg textbooks published by Dorset House. . . . Every one of them is a jewel. --Ed Yourdon, Cutter IT E-Mail Advisor --This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Gerald M. Weinberg has written on topics ranging from computer systems and programming to education and problem solving -- and most recently, on writing, itself, and fiction! He is author, coauthor, or editor of more than twenty Dorset House books. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B004R9QACC
- Publisher : Weinberg & Weinberg (March 8, 2011)
- Publication date : March 8, 2011
- Language : English
- File size : 1123 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Not Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 288 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #773,055 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #570 in Software Development (Kindle Store)
- #1,268 in Microsoft Programming (Books)
- #1,330 in Software Development (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

I've always been interested in helping smart people be happy and productive. To that end, I've published books on human behavior, including Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method, The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software and Other Fallacies, and an Introduction to General Systems Thinking. I've also written books on leadership including Becoming a Technical Leader, The Secrets of Consulting (Foreword by Virginia Satir), More Secrets of Consulting, and the nine-volume Quality Software series.
I try to incorporate my knowledge of science, engineering, and human behavior into all of my writing and consulting work (with writers, hi-tech researchers, software engineers, and people whose life-situation could require the use of a service dog). I write novels about such people, including The Aremac Project, Aremac Power, Jigglers, First Stringers, Second Stringers, The Hands of God, Freshman Murders, Earth's Endless Effort, Mistress of Molecules, Where There’s a Will There’s a Murder, The Death Lottery—all about how my brilliant protagonists produce quality work and learn to be happy. My books may be found linked from my website: geraldmweinberg.com.
I’ve won many awards for my writing but the "award" I'm most proud of is the book, The Gift of Time (Fiona Charles, ed.) written by my student and readers for my 75th birthday. Their stories make me feel that I've been at least partially successful at helping smart people be happy.
- Gerald M. (Jerry) Weinberg
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
If it weren't for the references to the really old systems in use, you'd be hard-pressed to know that this book isn't contemporary. The only exceptions are the last two chapters about languages and tools. Even the discussion about the meta-environment in which batch jobs/systems (still prevalent at that time, apparently) still have relevance in a time-shifted way in programmers' social patterns and mindsets today.
Pretty much all of the human factors and behaviors that he presents are nearly spot-on. If it weren't so funny it'd be nauseating how similar the field is still today. It's hard to recommend this book enough if you have any interest in the psychological or social aspects of software development. I'll almost certainly follow-up by reading other work from the author.
You can learn how the software industry changed and for the better or worse. This will help you to understand more how what might seem like a great idea in the current ecosystem can result in a catastrophe in the future.
A book that is just as timely is “The Mythical Man-Month,” where the author talks about a hard-learned experience on a software project where the situation was so dire that the company added hardware engineers to the project roster.
Gerry pretty-much summed it up himself in his Epilogue when he quotes a reviewer who spent a delightful afternoon reading it, but finding little of value in the book. I, also, enjoyed the parts that reflected the times.
My biggest disappointment was with the new material. The approach taken was to add retrospectives at the ends of sections, but the thoughts-after are, well, after thoughts. And, I was bitter that the author or the publisher didn't take the occasion of the new edition to clean up the errors and typos left in the 25-year-old book. Too tired, I guess.
I did get continuing chuckles at prospects of 60s commune-style programming groups self-organizing, self-planning, and self-directing. Occasionally, a big laugh.
But the main message is very relevant and very priceless: programming is a human activity that is still not well understood. Even as technology changes the human issues seem to remain fairly constant and require attention.
You would read this book for the same reason you would read 'The Prince' by Machiavelli.
Top reviews from other countries
George Santayana; 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'. Unfortunately this book (like so many other excellent books) has not teach most of computer professionals and that's why the whole industry is in endless repeat loop.
But psychology is simply not there.






