Ka Wai Cheung

If you're looking for an easy read on the essence of being a programmer, this is a good candidate. The book is not about official title or getting a paycheck, but about the patterns of thought and behavior that are common among programmers who love their craft. Like patterns in general, these are not strict proscriptions about what you must do or think to be a "real" programmer but ideas and illustrations.

The book is organized into themes, each of which contains a number of short essays. Most of them were good but, for someone who isn't new to programming professionally, none of them were particularly enlightening. I expect this would be a great read for a new developer. For more senior folks, don't bother seeking it out, but give it a skim if it happens to come your way.… (more)

This book makes super light reading for experienced software engineers. You can finish it in a few hours and it feels like you went through some lightweight blog entries by the author. It suggests a few useful nuggets for a total beginner or an ignorant graduate but what you already don't know you will not learn from this book and what you read will be only a part of what you already know (if you've been in the industry for about 5-10 years).

In other words, if you want some scattered biographical facts from a web developer along with some worn-out advice and don't mind spending 2-3 hours, you can have a try at it. Unfortunately, I cannot sincerely recommend this short book to anyone.… (more)