Some of the most popular coding books allege that programmers don’t read books as often as they should. Well, isn’t this true? And it is not just software books, any kind of books.
So, the answer is yes and no, both.
There are programmers who don’t read books. But there are programmers who do and they gain a lot from it.
People might argue that it is better to write codes than to read about them. I too believed the same until I started reading and using what I read in my programming.
I pursued full stack web development and soon felt the need to learn full-stack properly. So, I joined one of the best software development courses for beginners but books took my understanding to another level.
Now, you might say that software engineers can learn a lot from tutorials but the fact is nothing can replace a good book. A good book is written after years of experience to guide you on different angles of the subject. This helps a lot in developing you as a software developer.
I am pretty sure most of you write code with the second window of the web browser open on your system. I have been there too. After all, the internet is faster and more efficient in finding what we are looking for. But a book brings a structure to your learning from the experience of others. While you don’t become a software developer by just reading these books, you surely become a better programmer (full stack web developer) than others. You understand certain concepts and principles better from books as most books contain anecdotes from successful and failed encounters of the writer.
I fell in love with books after having experienced them. The kind of insights books provide is difficult to find with videos or tutorials. However, I don’t mean that tutorials are of bad taste for programmers. I believe that a mix of both is the best way to go about it.
I believe that you already have access to good tutorials for learning programming. If not, you can check Geekster for full stack web development and other programming courses. These are the best software development courses for beginners that I know of. For books, I have made a list of the best books for software developers to read in 2022.
These books are a must-read for any software developer. They are practical and have stayed with me no matter what project I am working on. In fact, I have read some of them repeatedly and they have rewarded me well, offering deeper insights into software engineering.
1) Code Complete by Steve McConnell
Code Complete: a Practical Handbook of Software Construction, 2nd Edition, is one book you just cannot miss. It talks about topics like coding, design, testing and debugging. This is specially recommended for beginners while it is also useful even in the advanced stages of your career.
2) The Pragmatic Programmer by David Thomas & Andrew Hunt
This book is filled with technical, professional and practical advice for software engineers. Even though this book was published in 1999, its teaching is still relevant as it focuses on the development process.
3) Clean Code by Robert C. Martin
This is an evergreen book for software developers who want to learn the principles of writing clean codes. This book explains how you can refactor a code and make it more readable and maintainable with examples. It also talks about the common mistakes programmers make. While this book explains in Java, it is best for any object-oriented programming language.
4) Design Pattern by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson & John Vlissides
This book talks about 23 software design patterns that help in creating clean, flexible, elegant and reusable designs. This book is amazing for developers working on building complex systems.
5) Refactoring by Martin Fowler
This book decodes refactoring for you by answering questions like why you should refactor your code and how to successful refactor your code.
Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest & Clifford Stein
This book is a detailed guide for all readers who want to learn about algorithms. Every chapter is self-contained, in-depth, and thorough. This is a must-have in the list of best books for software developers to read even in 2022.
These are timeless books when it comes to programming. There is no way web or any tutorial can replace them. So, if you want to become a good programmer, start reading books. You can learn the concepts from Advanced web development courses but these books help to accentuate those learnings, use them practically in the real world and stop you from committing mistakes that you can avoid easily.
Have a happy reading!
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