I finally have gotten around to reading The Pragmatic Programmer, a step towards improving myself as a developer I feel I would have been wise to have taken sooner.  I’m finding it to be a very easy and bountiful read. The book thus far seems to avoids long-winded explanations, (very opposite to Code Complete) and gives advice applicable to nearly any software development environment.

Discipline

“[…] exactitude in some small matters is the very soul of discipline.” -Joseph Conrad

The book seems to advocate being a pragmatic, wise and disciplined developer with broad knowledge domain. The tip in the book’s preface to “Think about what you are doing” caught my interest immediately, as my inaugural post on this blog was unintentionally the same advice. I also liked the quotes that preface every segment, as they came from wide array of  sources and give the impression that the authors are cultured humans with a wealth of experience.

Being disciplined gives you the right mindset to become great at what you do. You will admit to your mistakes and learn from them, as well as continually and systematically gain knowledge and improve skills. I would recommend this book to any aspiring software developer.