software

Debugging

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Book

One of the other architects at work was running a reading group for our North American comrades, and I felt left out so I figured I may as well just pick up the book to see what the deal was. This book is a bit old, and was written at the time to try and be funny, but to be honest I don't think the humour has aged well and it makes the book jarring to read. Overall I'd describe the book as having been written in the style of a long form chatty blog post, which is a bit unusual. 90% of the readers of this book will be looking for advice on how to debug software systems, but the book frequently uses hardwaare systems as examples. That speaks to the author's background, but its not super helpful for modern audiences living in a software defined world. The book is also a bit dated in terms of terminology and expectations of the work environment -- for example, the discussion of repeatable testing doesn't mention automated regression testing at all, and the only mention of automated tests is fleeting at best. Another example is that the author recommends that you…

Continue ReadingDebugging

The Mythical Man-Month

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Book

I expect everyone (well, almost everyone) involved in some way in software engineering has heard of this book. I decided that it was time to finally read it, largely prompted by this excellent blog post by apenwarr which discusses second systems effect among other things. Now, you can buy this book for a surprisingly large amount of money, but as Michael Carden pointed out, the PDF is also made available for free by the Internet Archive. I’d recommend going that route.

The book is composed of a series of essays, which discuss the trials of the OS/360 team in the mid-1960s, and uses those experiences to attempt to form a series of more general observations on the art of software development and systems engineering.

(more…)

The Mythical Man-month Book Cover The Mythical Man-month
Frederick Phillips Brooks, Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.,
Computer programming
Reading, Mass. ; Don Mills, Ont. : Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
1975
195

Continue ReadingThe Mythical Man-Month

Is it good when the directors of your former employer start suing each other?

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Link

I've been trying very hard to not comment on the takeover attempt under way at my former employer, TOWER software. It's getting kind of hard when the directors start suing each other in court and the case is reported. I guess this sort of behaviour explains why TOWER is still a 20 year old startup. Bias note: I am a former employee of TOWER Software. I have previously stated that I hold shares in TOWER, and feel no ill feelings over my departure from TOWER. However, this childish behaviour and the low probability of the shares appreciating in value in the foreseeable future (the share price has been stagnant for four years) has prompted me to accept the takeover offer, and I will soon hold no more shares (I hope).

Continue ReadingIs it good when the directors of your former employer start suing each other?

End of content

No more pages to load