Coder to Developer: Tools and Strategies for Delivering Your Software

By: 
Mike Gunderloy
Published: 
2005
Pages: 
297
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Book Description

No one can disparage the ability to write good code. At its highest levels, it is an art. But no one can confuse writing good code with developing good software. The difference--in terms of challenges, skills, and compensation--is immense. Coder to Developer helps you excel at the many non-coding tasks entailed, from start to finish, in just about any successful development project. What''s more, it equips you with the mindset and self-assurance required to pull it all together, so that you see every piece of your work as part of a coherent process. Inside, you'll find plenty of technical guidance on such topics as:

  • Choosing and using a source code control system
  • Code generation tools--when and why
    * Preventing bugs with unit testing
  • Tracking, fixing, and learning from bugs
  • Application activity logging
  • Streamlining and systematizing the build process
  • Traditional installations and alternative approaches

To pull all of this together, the author has provided the source code for Download Tracker, a tool for organizing your collection of downloaded code, that's used for examples throughout this book. The code is provided in various states of completion, reflecting every stage of development, so that you can dig deep into the actual process of building software. But you'll also develop "softer" skills, in areas such as team management, open source collaboration, user and developer documentation, and intellectual property protection. If you want to become someone who can deliver not just good code but also a good product, this book is the place to start. If you must build successful software projects, it's essential reading.

Member Reviews: 

Review By: Daniel Luciano
06/16/2006"Coder to Developer" by Mike Gunderloy is an excellent book that delivers on the subject of its title. It is a book for the coder looking to become a software developer, especially the recent college graduate entering the job market. It is written in a clear style and is a very quick read. There are many references to other books and Web sites, through which the reader may gain more in-depth knowledge of each topic. It also contains links to Web sites for all the tools described in each chapter.

The book begins with a discussion on project planning and organization. It then discusses the topic of source control, something that isn’t covered in many college curriculums. The section on coding defensively contains good information on using asserts. Unit testing is another topic that experienced software developers are aware of, but which may prove new to the novice coder. There is also a chapter on tools that can be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE. Other chapters discuss the topics of working in teams, creating documentation, how to protect your intellectual property, and delivering the application.

I found the information on the IDE to apply primarily to Visual Studio 2003. I hope the author is planning to update the book to discuss Visual Studio 2005, since Microsoft is now supplying additional tools for some of the topics discussed.

“Coder to Developer” is for anyone who will be developing with the Microsoft .Net Framework--all of the examples are for this environment--but the concepts may be applied in other development environments. I have been a software developer for over twenty-five years, and I wish this book had been available when I started my career. Overall, I give the books high marks for it variety of topics.

This is an excellent book for the novice coder who is entering the field of software development. It covers many topics about which the novice developer may not have any specific knowledge and provides a good overview of its subject matter.

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