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Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Reading on the iPad

Monday, June 14th, 2010

I have now read one whole book (Malcom Gladwell’s What The Dog Saw) on my iPad. I’ve never liked reading books on the computer and was not sure if I would like reading on any electronic device. But I really enjoyed reading on the iPad.

One thing I like that I don’t recall anyone mentioning about reading on the iPad is that ambient lighting is not an issue. With the beautiful bright screen on the iPad, I don’t have the same issue that I occasionally do reading a paper book. Together with the ability to control font size, it takes away two sources of eye strain (or should it be iStrain) for me.

Posted in Apple, Books, iPhone, iPad | No Comments »

Complex Problems

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

“Complex problems have simple, easy to understand, wrong answers.”
– Henry Louis Mencken

(Seen in Subject to Change)

Posted in Books, Quotes | No Comments »

Dreaming In Code

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

I just finished reading “Dreaming In Code” by Scott Rosenberg. Here are a couple quotes from the book:

“Here is one of the paradoxes of the reusable software dream that programmers keep rediscovering: There is almost always something you can pull off the shelf that will satisfy many of your needs. But usually the parts of what you need done that your off-the-shelf code won’t handle are the very parts that make your new project different, unique, innovative–and they’re why you’re building it in the first place.”

And here’s Rosenberg’s Law:

“Software is easy to make, except when you want it to do something new. And then, of course, there is a corolllary: The only software that’s worth making is software that does something new.”

Posted in Books, Quotes | 1 Comment »

Reusable Software

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

From Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg:

“Here is one of the paradoxes of the reusable software dream that programmers keep rediscovering: There is almost always something you can pull off the shelf that will satisfy many of your needs. But usually the parts of what you need done that your off-the-shelf code won’t handle are the very parts that make your new project different, unique, innovative–and they’re why you’re building it in the first place.”

Posted in Books, Quotes, Software Development | No Comments »

Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

I am currently reading Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering by Robert Glass for the second time. I really like this book. It’s easy to read, pithy and useful. I highly recommend the book.

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By The Year 2000

Monday, September 10th, 2007

In his 1982 book, Controlling Software Projects, Tom DeMarco predicts that “By the year 2000, empirical projection will be de rigeur for software.” In 2007, I think it would be safe to say that most software development is NOT projected empirically. If anything, I think we have learned that to make accurate projections is much more expensive than most software shops can afford. I predict that humans will never learn that it is dangerous to make predictions.

Posted in Books, Quotes, Software Development | 1 Comment »

Designing the Human Interaction Component

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

I have been reading Object-Oriented Design by Peter Coad and Edward Yourdon. I was surprised to find a chapter about “Designing the Human Interaction Component”—surprised because user interface design and OO design aren’t usually covered in the same contexts. Anyway, some good criteria are given for good UI design:

Consistency. Use consistent terms, consistent steps, and consistent actions.

Few steps. … Minimize the time needed to get meaningful results…

No “dead air”. … meaningful, timely feedback is a must.

Closure. Use small steps, leading to a well-defined action.

Undo. Humans make mistakes. And humans are used to undoing—at least some of them…

No memory In “human RAM”. … Program the computer, not the person. …

Time and effort to learn. Keep it short. …

Pleasure and appeal (look and feel). Humans use software that is fun to use. Humans will tolerate other software, but only if and while they must.

- From page 63 of Object-Oriented Design by Coad and Yourdon.

Posted in Books, Software Design, User Interface | No Comments »

Are you chaotically sensitive?

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

“I think it quite likely that team-based creative activities such as software development are chaotically sensitive, meaning that a tiny perturbation can cause an arbitrarily large effect.”

- Alistair Cockburn in Agile Software Development, page 293

Posted in Books, Developers, Quotes, Software Development | No Comments »

Teamwork

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

“Teamwork is often an overused word and an underutilized idea. Many people talk teamwork and working together, but when words turn into actions, the thrust is for individual tasks to ensure accountability.”

- Lientz and Rea; Project Management for the 21st Century (page 126)

Posted in Books, Quotes, Working | No Comments »

Process and Discipline

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

“Discipline involves a person choosing to work in a way that requires consistency. Process involves a person following instructions. Of the two, discipline is the more powerful. A person who is choosing to act with consistency and care will have a far better effect on the project than a person who is just following instructions. The common mistake is in thinking that somehow a process will impart discipline.”

- Alistair Cockburn, Agile Software Development, page 188

Hey, but it’s much easier to try to impose a process! It’s hard to find good, disciplined people, isn’t it? This also speaks to the issue of developers not just being interchangeable parts. A disciplined developer who does consistently good work is worth much more than a developer who will only do good work if they are required to by a process.

Posted in Books, Developers, Quotes | No Comments »

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