Rating: 
Summary: Code Complete
Review: I read this book and I thought it was very informative. The only problem that I had with it was the size of the book. I think some of the points they made could have been sumarized a lot quicker.
Rating: 
Summary: Distilled for those without good mentoring.
Review: A lot has been made of the Microsoft Press series on
software development, but the intimations that this information
is somehow mere common sense should be directly refuted.Yes, after reading Code Complete I thought, "I already do
this at work. Duh." Then it occurred to me that I was
surrounded by really smart, highly-evolved programmers and
that the things I did were a result of a solid peer group of
professionals, some with 20 years of IT experience. So the
distillation of what I know (and what I learned) is in this
book specifically, and the Microsoft Press books in general. None of that explains why Windows operating systems continue
to perform dopey things, but I know it isn't because the
programmers are ill-trained.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite programming book.
Review: This is the only book I have read that thoroughly discusses programming at the _statement_ level. Steve spends the obligatory time on methodology and testing, but the real value of this book is its discussion of cohesion, coupling, and code tuning. Examples are in C, Pascal, Ada, Basic, etc., but the lessons are language independant. I rarely give 5 stars, but this is my very favorite. If you are a programmer, you will find something (probably a lot) that will improve your code.
Rating:
Summary: Old, but not out of date
Review: Although I have been a programmer for six years, I have an MBA in finance and lack an educational background in computer or information science. This book has helped me in numerous areas where my knowledge or experience was insufficient. I strongly believe that it has made me a better programmer, designer, and architect. Usually I will give three stars to any book, which can introduce one good idea. I have learned and applied at least ten methods from this book, so far. The core focus of this book is on programming structure, testing, and implementation. It also covers design, architecture, and requirements gathering to a lesser extent. The book definitely lives up to its legend.
Rating:
Summary: Makes anyone a better programmer
Review: Intelligent, practical, clear, and usable. If you are a programmer and you haven't read this, consider yourself irresponsible until you do.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: A great book for beginner programmers (and hackers). Even if you have experience he still presents some valuable insights. Comprehensive, and a lot of fun to read. I read it cover to cover in a week.
Rating:
Summary: On the dry side.
Review: This book gets the basic picture right, which must be why so many people like it. Maybe they even like the rather dry style. Personally, I prefer Hunt and Thomas's _Pragmatic Programmer_ or Beck's _Extreme Programming Explained_, which cover more or less the same topics in a lighter, case-based style. And let's face it, we're not proving theorems here, just pointing out some commonsense and some hard learned rules of the road.
Rating:
Summary: Reputation alone should convince you
Review: When I first heard about it, I wondered how a book on software engineering published in 1993, prehistoric by information technology years, could have such good reviews. I mean the bulk of these examples were written in Pascal or Fortran and Visual Basic, my main development tool, wasn't even available yet. Why should a hardcore VB programmer get this book? I forced myself to get it because I think it's important to read the "classics" and because I was almost curious as to how it could get such great reviews. I haven't regretted it. There is such a diverse presentation of coding techniques and suggestions that it doesn't matter if it's in C, Basic, Pascal or Fortran. While I usually get a programming book that applies to one specific language, program or topic, this book is language independent. Perhaps that's why almost everyone unanimously agrees that this book is still extremely useful. I would agree that this book would be considered most useful for new programmers, but I guarantee that any programmer or software engineer can learn something new from this book. There are too many good suggestions and principles contained within not to. Pick it up and see what everyone's STILL raving about 8+ years later.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Should be required reading for all beginning programmers. I have 15 years experience and I still got something out of it. Very well written, very interesting. I read 800 pages in 2 days, it was that good. Hell, he made discussion of for loops interesting! He backs his points with industry studies, rather than just offering opinions. There was nothing in the book I disagreed with, and many points where I agreed. Some parts of the book are a little out dated and he doesn't cover OO programming, but its still very valuable even today.
Rating:
Summary: I wish my manager had read this
Review: This book is one of the most insightful books I've ever picked up. I thought I was writing good code before and know I'm writing better code now, with just a few little tidbits gleaned from this tome. Prior to leaving my previous job I was sorely tempyed to buy my manager a copy. I think everyone who writes, reads and/or evaluates code should read this book. It's worth it.
| 
