Review:This book is great! Nothing less, nothing more. I would recommend this book to all CS students and to all kind of programmers (novice, advanced, pro). Ok, you will need very strong math background, or you will have to learn math - but it is worth it!
Just don't take this book, read it from cover to cover and expect to become master of programming. You will learn how to write great algorithms, how they work and how to use it (in real life situations), but still you will need practice!
Worth... Read more

Review:Solid exercise book full of different problems to solve based on the topic at hand. The reuse of this book compared to other computer science books is going to be higher since all of the proposed questions are not bounded specifically to a language. The solutions for this book as well as example coding is based around java, however all questions can be answered in multiple languages, and are worded in a way that they can be applied to other questions, as ive used the same code for other prep que... Read more

Review:While the web is full of content that teaches you how to write code and solve specific problems, there aren't many resources that demonstrate how to pragmatically "connect the dots" of building a successful career - and this book does just that. Whether you're new to the development arena or you've written your fair share of if/then/else statements, John's book meets you at any stage of your career and gives you not only the inspiration to reach farther and harder, but outlines the specific step... Read more

Review:In popular culture, computer programmers, sometimes confused with sysadmins, are often described as teenage punks, sitting in a dark, lit only by the glow of their monitor, empty cartons of pizza and Mountain Dew bottles scattered strategically around, frantically hacking away on their keyboard.

What does it mean to be a professional programmer? Is it wearing a suit and tie to work? Is it having certifications or diplomas decorating the walls of your office? Is it working hard, sometimes ... Read more

Review:Several months ago, I had a renewed interest in computer programming and started researching . John's blog was one of the first places where I found some wonderful advice. Around this time, he was promoting this wonderful book. I signed up for the Manning Early Release Program like some others, and was really impressed when I read the first two chapters - I couldn't wait to read the rest of it.

"Soft Skills" has great advice for those who are interested in becoming software developers.... Read more

Review:The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a top rating was the author's solemn observation that no executive was likely to work with a terminal in his own office. After all, the executive had far too much paperwork to manage. Right. Well, it was the 1970's. Apart from that and the mysterious absence of female programmers, the book has timeless advice for the management of software projects and team members. Read more

Review:As mentioned in other reviews, the book itself is low quality. The cover image is blurry, there is no print on the binding, and there are pointlessly large margins surrounding all of the text. On top of that, the printed font is grainy and difficult to read.

I would rather track down a proper printing of this product, than try to trudge through reading this. As a comparison, Code Complete is three times longer than this book. However, I was able to easily hold and read that book. This ve... Read more

Review:While the web is full of content that teaches you how to write code and solve specific problems, there aren't many resources that demonstrate how to pragmatically "connect the dots" of building a successful career - and this book does just that. Whether you're new to the development arena or you've written your fair share of if/then/else statements, John's book meets you at any stage of your career and gives you not only the inspiration to reach farther and harder, but outlines the specific step... Read more

Review:Some books really don't need ratings, this is one such book. Any experienced software developer should own a copy of this book and should have studied this book. Beginners are recommended to maybe also buy Alan Shalloway's book titled Design Patterns Explained as companion read or as a primer. Read more

Review:Refactoring definitely embodies the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". Unfortunately I did this and missed out on a great book for too long. Franky, this thing looks like a text book... not something that would be an easy, enjoyable ready. However, this is exactly what it is.
Fowler's conversational style keeps the book moving and very enjoyable. He opens with a refactoring walkthrough that introduces you to the general concepts. After this the book catalogs all of the refactoring... Read more