Literature suggestions for best practices / good coding techniques

Question

I am a mid level developer. Currently I work in C# ASP.NET but I have worked in PHP, classic ASP, and a tiny bit in Java (would like to get more into this in the future). I am looking for a few suggestions on good books to help me continue growing in my coding techniques.

Basically a book with lots of best practices, coding tricks, rarely used but very useful features and operators (e.g. the ?? operator), stuff like that. I am NOT looking for a book to teach me a specific language. I don't particularly care about what language the code samples are in but C or Java would probably be best. The suggestions don't need to be limited to pure code objects either. Books with information about database connection management ect. would be good.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Practically a duplicate: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1711/what-is-the-single-most-influential-book-every-programmer-should-read — jcollum, Dec 01 '10 at 21:24

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:05

6

Required reading: Code Complete.

answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:05

cHao

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Thanks for your answers everyone. I'll choose this one as the accepted because it's the first on the list and I'm reading it now :) – William Dec 13 '10 at 18:24

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:07

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The first book that comes to mind for me is Code Complete. It's fantastic. Absolutely required reading for a serious developer.

If by rarely used stuff, you think Bitwise operations, Hacker's Delight is supposed to be really well regarded.

answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:07

Ronnie Howell

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:21

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Don't Make Me Think is a solid read. No real coding tricks, but it delivers good usability related best practices.

answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:21

Ben L.

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:25

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The Pragmatic Programmer is an excellent language-agnostic guide to becoming a better programmer.

answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:25

jcollum

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score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:33

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answered Dec 01 '10 at 21:33

huntar

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score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 01 '10 at 22:39

For your java Skills:

Effective Java (2. Edition)

and in general

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

I strongly recommend to read Effective Java before reading Clean Code. -- Because it will make you more sensitive for a few (I personal belive not so optimal) code changes suggested in clean code.

Literature suggestions for best practices / good coding techniques

6 Answers6