Bookpool: Joel on Software

"Spolsky is knowledgeable, funny and free of unnecessary religious fervor. Joel on Software is a must-read."

"...having (Joel on Software) in one place, edited, with an index, is probably the best twenty-five dollars you'll spend this year."

— Greg Wilson, Dr. Dobb’s Journal

" (Joel Spolsky's) genuine desire to make the software world a better place keeps us coming back for more."

— Bruce Hadley, softwareCEO.com

" This book will challenge, encourage, upset, and entertain you. Spolsky knows his stuff, and he's got the war wounds to prove it. This book is worth the price of admission..."

— Tom Duff, Duffbert's Random Musings

"An entertaining oportunity to get to know one of today's most influential developer/authors."

— IT Conversations’ producer Doug Kaye interviews Joel Spolsky

Joel Spolsky began his legendary web log, www.joelonsoftware.com, in March 2000, in order to offer insights for improving the world of programming. Spolsky based these observations on years of personal experience.

The result just a handful of years later? Spolsky's technical knowledge, caustic wit, and extraordinary writing skills have earned him status as a programming guru! His blog has become renowned throughout the programming world—now linked to more than six hundred websites and translated into over thirty languages.

Joel on Software covers every conceivable aspect of software programming—from the best way to write code, to the best way to design an office in which to write code! All programmers, all people who want to enhance their knowledge of programmers, and all who are trying to manage programmers will surely relate to Joel's musings.

Part 1 – Bits and Bytes: The Practice of Programming
Part 2 – Managing Developers
Part 3 – Being Joel: Random Thoughts on Not-So-Random Topics
Part 4 – A Little Bit Too Much Commentary on .NET
Part 5 – Appendix

Joel Spolsky, a software industry veteran, maintains his blog, Joel on Software, which has become one of the most popular independent websites for programmers. His site has been described as the "anti-Dilbert manifesto." Spolsky has designed and developed software used by millions of people, and has worked on a variety of products, from Microsoft Excel to the Juno user interface. He is the founder of Fog Creek Software in New York City.

Aug 12, 2005 Carlos J. Fuentealba (cfuentealba@velox.cl) from Santiago, CHILE
This books is a must have!
First of all, being a compilation of technical essays, is surprising the way that Joel makes it a pleasant and funny reading. The value of this book is not about genius advice, instead is about provoking thinking. It is surprising how many times while reading the book I found myself saying It is exactly the way it happened to me!. For instance, I discovered that when we made that successful demo with the great mock-up of the interface using Paint + PowerPoint, and the user was so pleased about the great achievements in such a short time, we were making a big project management mistake... You don't know why?... Read the chapter twenty-five "The Iceberg Secret, revealed".

For anyone who has spent a professional life into the software development field, it is clear that Joel knows what he's talking about, and we're lucky that he is open to share his experience and ideas. It is kind of an "Open Source in Software Project Management", because you can find all the essays in his website, but anyway I think that this books is a must have... make room for it between the "Mythical Man Month" and "The C Programming Language"

Jul 24, 2005 G. Wade Johnson from Houston, TX
Entertaining essays on the business of writing software
Joel Spolsky has quite a bit of experience in the software development industry, ranging from a few years spent working at Microsoft to running his own software company. This kind of experience gives a different view into developing software than most of us will ever have. Joel also has a talent for entertaining writing.

I have read the joelonsoftware.com website off-and-on for a while. This book collects many of his essays together and organizes them in a coherent fashion.

I have always found Joel's essays to be insightful and thought-provoking. Sometimes I have felt that he was just plain wrong, other times he seems to be right on the money. Even when I disagree with him, I always feel that I gain new insight into an issue from his opinions.

This book covers some of the process of writing software, managing programmers, and other general thoughts on the industry. Some of his essays cover things that most of us can agree on. Other essays seem designed to stomp on someone's toes for the sheer delight in seeing the trouble he can stir up. Each of these essays is actually designed to give you something to think about. You may not agree with everything the Joel has to say (I sure don't), but reading Joel's opinions will definitely give you a chance to think about why you disagree.

If you have been in the software development business for a while, you will probably enjoy this book for the entertaining stories and down-to-earth advice. This is not a book of high-level methodology, it covers the opinions of someone who has been slinging code for quite a while. This is not a book of catchy management slogans, it is advice from someone who has successfully managed developers.

This book is definitely worth a read for anyone who has been developing software for a while or who needs to manage people developing code. If you read this book, expect to have your views and opinions challenged. Above all expect to be entertained.

Nov 22, 2004 James Edward Gray II from Edmond, OK USA
Thought Provoking
Joel on Software is a collection of 45 articles from Joel Spolsky's Web Column. Yes, that means you could read these articles online for free, but if you're like me you'll appreciate having the best of the collection gathered and arranged in one easy-to-read-anywhere source.

So what are all these articles about? Opinions. Joel is one of those guys that has an opinion on everything and sometimes he's even right. (Sorry Joel, couldn't resist.) Just how right and how wrong will vary for each reader I'm sure, but in truth it doesn't matter. Joel's observations, rants, strategies, and opinions are always intelligently presented. That means he'll make you think, especially when you disagree.

Joel's articles are organized into three major sections and two minor ones. The first big section "Bits and Bytes: The Practice of Programming" is a collection of Joel's thoughts on the art and science of programming. This section largely branches out from one of the early articles, "The Joel Test: 12 Steps to Better Code". As it sounds, this is Joel's 12 Step Program refined from years of programming in the trenches. I agreed with him on many points, and only strongly disagreed on one point. He convinced me to at least try a few practices that I hadn't given enough consideration to in the past and that's never an easy sell with me.

The next section, "Managing Developers", centers largely around, well, managing developers. Joel has plenty of experience here. He held manager positions on the Microsoft Excel team as version 5.0 was developed, he was in charge of developers at Juno for years, and he now runs Fog Creek Software. I'm not a manager and never have been, so I honestly didn't expect to get much out of this section. In truth, it was probably my favorite. I learned scary facts about interviewing and the interviewing process, the effectiveness of multitasking (for humans, not processors), and just how the people calling the shots think. He makes a sensational case in here about why you should NEVER rewrite a code base from scratch. I just knew he was wrong about that before I read this book. I'm still struggling to find the faults in his logic, but he certainly put a few cracks in my armor here...

The last major section, "Being Joel: Random Thoughts on Not-So-Random Topics" is really an insightful section on business strategy, as it applies to software operations. There is a classic contrasting of Ben & Jerry's verses Amazon style growth, a definition of what exactly bloatware is, a great look at the economics of open source software, and detailed look at some changes Microsoft is going through.

Finally, there is a small section on .NET, which surprised me by being interesting to my non-Microsoft self, and a short Q and A with Joel appendix.

In all this, Joel basically develops his version of Sun Tzu's The Art of War for programmers. There are great tactics and strategies to be learned here for any level of programmer. You might have to suffer through a little praise for Microsoft and listen to some painful truths about Unix, but Joel is a fair-minded author who will also tell you what Unix does right and where Microsoft makes mistakes. Ride the waves when he stirs things up and learn what you can. Just don't tell Slashdotters what you're reading.

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