Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity
by Joel Spolsky
book data
142 ratings,
4.13
average rating, 15 reviews
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published
August 2nd 2004
by Apress
binding
Paperback, 362 pages
isbn
1590593898
(isbn13: 9781590593899)
description
This is a selection of essays from the author's Web site, http://www.joelonsoftware.com. Joel Spolsky started the web log in March 2000 in order to of
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 271)
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avg 4.13
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
If Jerry Seinfeld had decided to become a software professional, he might have written something like this. He observes the things that software developers and their colleagues do, skewers those practices with humor, and then says how it really ought to be done. Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes I didn't, but I like his writing well enough that it seemed worth buying a copy of the book. Most of the articles in the book are also available online on Spolsky's blog, but as I seem to recall f...more
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Read in May, 2009
What a great book! Every programmer and manager should read Joel - even if you don't agree with him, he brings up tons of points you just cannot ignore. For instance, one of my pet peeves is lack of up front planning. And when I say lack, I mean none. The amount of pain this has caused me in the past is impossible to measure (and there is a reason I'm reasonable good with time estimations - I plan what I can up front). Reading him talk about the lack of planning in software dev really warmed my ...more
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12/26/08
fbuser1115131296
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Read in December, 2008
This is mostly a best of from the blog. I recommend this to people who like the blog. Joel is an experienced software guy with a talent for writing, so he manages to keep his opionated ramblings interesting. I've experiened many of the same issues he brings up and altough his descriptions of the problems are interesting, he is doing it all wrong! I disagree with most of his conclusions.
Also he is very biased toward ms, against linux firefox open source xp/agile methods etc. He admit...more
Also he is very biased toward ms, against linux firefox open source xp/agile methods etc. He admit...more
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Read in January, 2009
recommends it for:
EVERYONE who makes software. yes even game designers.
I wish Joel was my boss. If his company started making videogames, I'd apply there tomorrow.
Spolsky's an insightful and relentlessly reasonable guy. Either that or he has a way of describing ideas that make them seem like the most natural thing in the world.
There are small sections that will seem too technical for non-programmers, but the details of the specific technology or programming languages aren't really the important thing. Those sections can be interpreted thro...more
Spolsky's an insightful and relentlessly reasonable guy. Either that or he has a way of describing ideas that make them seem like the most natural thing in the world.
There are small sections that will seem too technical for non-programmers, but the details of the specific technology or programming languages aren't really the important thing. Those sections can be interpreted thro...more
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This is my bible of software management. I re-read it maybe twice a year because it's just that good. I can't say I agree with everything Joel writes but if nothing else, such disagreements allow me to exercise and explore my own opinions. Some stuff is dated, like the savage criticism of the Mozilla team for rewriting their browser from scratch and thus losing all hope of ever being a competitive internet browser again (sorry Joel, you were way off on that). Likewise, sometimes Joel's Micro...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
software developers and managers
Joel's writing style is a pleasure to read and his insight is enlightening. Do I agree with 100% of the things he writes? No. Do I agree with 98.4% of it? Yes. :) Whether or not I agree with him, he's got some interesting things to say about the business of software--both technical and otherwise.
It's especially interesting to read now that several of the things he commented on are a little more "historical" in nature than they were when he originally wrote the book.
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It's especially interesting to read now that several of the things he commented on are a little more "historical" in nature than they were when he originally wrote the book.
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Read in September, 2008
Most people interested in this book have probably already read all of this content. This book is a collection of articles/blogs from his website, and he does not add too much commentary on his posts. Easy writing style, and interesting points that he brings up. This writing gets more specific than things like "The Art of Project Management" and "Peopleware" at times, but covers similiar content.
The content is from 2000-2004.
The content is from 2000-2004.
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Read in July, 2008
Really 2.5 stars.
I like most of what Joel says about the management/developer schism... however, there are times when he says some truly cringe-worthy things. There are some pseudo-technical paragraphs at the end of the book that seem to be jammed in as some half-hearted attempt to appeal to developers.
-m
I like most of what Joel says about the management/developer schism... however, there are times when he says some truly cringe-worthy things. There are some pseudo-technical paragraphs at the end of the book that seem to be jammed in as some half-hearted attempt to appeal to developers.
-m
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2 comments
Read in June, 2006
recommended to Sigmund by:
Eric Willis
If you are into software development / project management this is a must read. Joel has some great insights.
At VanDamme we used the Joel test to gauge ourselves and went from a 2/12 to an 11/12.
Joel has a great blog: www.joelonsoftware.com that is well worth reading
At VanDamme we used the Joel test to gauge ourselves and went from a 2/12 to an 11/12.
Joel has a great blog: www.joelonsoftware.com that is well worth reading
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05/29/07
jonathan
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Read in September, 2007
Joel is well-respected and all, and seems like a pretty smart guy. But the book is outdated and too Microsoft-centric. Aside from some timeless points about bootstrapping and backwards compatibility, this is a document of only historical intrest.
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recommends it for:
programmers
Joel's a windows coder - but a smart one. Its actually interesting to hear about that side of things, as usually I'm just turning my nose up at it :) A good read for any programmer.
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great book. one of the best i've ever read on software development.
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Read in January, 2008
It's just tales about software. How can i learn something from this book?
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