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+++ title = "97 Things Every Programmer Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts - Kevlin Henney" date = 2020-03-22

[taxonomies] tags = ["books", "reviews", "it", "3 stars", "2020 challenge"] +++

GoodReads Summary: Tap into the wisdom of experts to learn what every programmer should know, no matter what language you use. With the 97 short and extremely useful tips for programmers in this book, you'll expand your skills by adopting new approaches to old problems, learning appropriate best practices, and honing your craft through sound advice.

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It's kinda weird to read a book that your experience agrees with what it is said: I have a collection of things I learnt in 30 years doing software development, and a lot of things said in the book agree with it.

Now, because there are several authors, the writing style changes a lot: Some are really dense and difficult to follow, some others are simple and fun to read, and some feel really repetitive.

One of the downsides of the book is that they should get a more diverse group. Sure, Uncle Bob is highly influential and has a lot of good tips, but giving him 3 articles, when there are only 6 women and 2 black men in the list of authors seems kinda a waste1.

Sure, for people starting in the development world, it's a good book, giving some pointers on where to start, but for people who are in the area for some time (and may already read some books/posts about the topics), it may feel a bit like a waste of time.



  1. No, I'm not saying that Uncle Bob isn't worth getting 3 spots, so maybe the list should have more than 97 points to let others also have a spot.