Code Simplicity

Every complexity of software design, simplified and codified at last, for use by every programmer, from the novice to the architects of major applications.

Software legend Max Kanat-Alexander shows you how to succeed as a developer by embracing simplicity, with forty-three essays that will help you really understand the software you work with. About This Book Read and enjoy the superlative writing and insights of the legendary Max Kanat-Alexander Learn and reflect with Max on how to bring simplicity to your software design principles Discover the secrets of rockstar programmers and how to also just suck less as a programmer Who This Book Is For Understanding Software is for every programmer, or anyone who works with programmers. If life is feeling more complex than it should be, and you need to touch base with some clear thinking again, this book is for you. If you need some inspiration and a reminder of how to approach your work as a programmer by embracing some simplicity in your work again, this book is for you. If you're one of Max's followers already, this book is a collection of Max's thoughts selected and curated for you to enjoy and reflect on. If you're new to Max's work, and ready to connect with the power of simplicity again, this book is for you! What You Will Learn See how to bring simplicity and success to your programming world Clues to complexity - and how to build excellent software Simplicity and software design Principles for programmers The secrets of rockstar programmers Max's views and interpretation of the Software industry Why Programmers suck and how to suck less as a programmer Software design in two sentences What is a bug? Go deep into debugging In Detail In Understanding Software, Max Kanat-Alexander, Technical Lead for Code Health at Google, shows you how to bring simplicity back to computer programming. Max explains to you why programmers suck, and how to suck less as a programmer. There's just too much complex stuff in the world. Complex stuff can't be used, and it breaks too easily. Complexity is stupid. Simplicity is smart. Understanding Software covers many areas of programming, from how to write simple code to profound insights into programming, and then how to suck less at what you do! You'll discover the problems with software complexity, the root of its causes, and how to use simplicity to create great software. You'll examine debugging like you've never done before, and how to get a handle on being happy while working in teams. Max brings a selection of carefully crafted essays, thoughts, and advice about working and succeeding in the software industry, from his legendary blog Code Simplicity. Max has crafted forty-three essays which have the power to help you avoid complexity and embrace simplicity, so you can be a happier and more successful developer. Max's technical knowledge, insight, and kindness, has earned him code guru status, and his ideas will inspire you and help refresh your approach to the challenges of being a developer. Style and approach Understanding Software is a new selection of carefully chosen and crafted essays from Max Kanat-Alexander's legendary blog call Code Simplicity. Max's writing and thoughts are great to sit and read cover to cover, or if you prefer you can drop in and see what you discover new every single time!

Distributed across servers, difficult to test, and resistant to modification--modern software is complex. Grokking Simplicity is a friendly, practical guide that will change the way you approach software design and development. It introduces a unique approach to functional programming that explains why certain features of software are prone to complexity, and teaches you the functional techniques you can use to simplify these systems so that they''re easier to test and debug. Available in PDF (ePub, kindle, and liveBook formats coming soon). about the technology Even experienced developers struggle with software systems that sprawl across distributed servers and APIs, are filled with redundant code, and are difficult to reliably test and modify. Adopting ways of thinking derived from functional programming can help you design and refactor your codebase in ways that reduce complexity, rather than encouraging it. Grokking Simplicity lays out how to use functional programming in a professional environment to write a codebase that''s easier to test and reuse, has fewer bugs, and is better at handling the asynchronous nature of distributed systems. about the book In Grokking Simplicity, you''ll learn techniques and, more importantly, a mindset that will help you tackle common problems that arise when software gets complex. Veteran functional programmer Eric Normand guides you to a crystal-clear understanding of why certain features of modern software are so prone to complexity and introduces you to the functional techniques you can use to simplify these systems so that they''re easier to read, test, and debug. Through hands-on examples, exercises, and numerous self-assessments, you''ll learn to organize your code for maximum reusability and internalize methods to keep unwanted complexity out of your codebase. Regardless of the language you''re using, the ways of thinking in this book will help recognize problematic code and tame even the most complex software. what''s inside Apply functional programming principles to reduce codebase complexity Work with data transformation pipelines for code that''s easier to test and reuse Tools for modeling time to simplify asynchrony 60 exercises and 100 questions to test your knowledge about the reader For experienced programmers. Examples are in JavaScript. about the author Eric Normand has been a functional programmer since 2001 and has been teaching functional programming online and in person since 2007. Visit LispCast.com to see more of his credentials.

Eliminate the unavoidable complexity of object-oriented designs. The innovative data-oriented programming paradigm makes your systems less complex by making it simpler to access and manipulate data. In Data-Oriented Programming you will learn how to: Separate code from data Represent data with generic data structures Manipulate data with general-purpose functions Manage state without mutating data Control concurrency in highly scalable systems Write data-oriented unit tests Specify the shape of your data Benefit from polymorphism without objects Debug programs without a debugger Data-Oriented Programming is a one-of-a-kind guide that introduces the data-oriented paradigm. This groundbreaking approach represents data with generic immutable data structures. It simplifies state management, eases concurrency, and does away with the common problems you’ll find in object-oriented code. The book presents powerful new ideas through conversations, code snippets, and diagrams that help you quickly grok what’s great about DOP. Best of all, the paradigm is language-agnostic—you’ll learn to write DOP code that can be implemented in JavaScript, Ruby, Python, Clojure, and also in traditional OO languages like Java or C#. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the technology Code that combines behavior and data, as is common in object-oriented designs, can introduce almost unmanageable complexity for state management. The Data-oriented programming (DOP) paradigm simplifies state management by holding application data in immutable generic data structures and then performing calculations using non-mutating general-purpose functions. Your applications are free of state-related bugs and your code is easier to understand and maintain. About the book Data-Oriented Programming teaches you to design software using the groundbreaking data-oriented paradigm. You’ll put DOP into action to design data models for business entities and implement a library management system that manages state without data mutation. The numerous diagrams, intuitive mind maps, and a unique conversational approach all help you get your head around these exciting new ideas. Every chapter has a lightbulb moment that will change the way you think about programming. What's inside Separate code from data Represent data with generic data structures Manage state without mutating data Control concurrency in highly scalable systems Write data-oriented unit tests Specify the shape of your data About the reader For programmers who have experience with a high-level programming language like JavaScript, Java, Python, C#, Clojure, or Ruby. About the author Yehonathan Sharvit has over twenty years of experience as a software engineer. He blogs, speaks at conferences, and leads Data-Oriented Programming workshops around the world. Table of Contents PART 1 FLEXIBILITY 1 Complexity of object-oriented programming 2 Separation between code and data 3 Basic data manipulation 4 State management 5 Basic concurrency control 6 Unit tests PART 2 SCALABILITY 7 Basic data validation 8 Advanced concurrency control 9 Persistent data structures 10 Database operations 11 Web services PART 3 MAINTAINABILITY 12 Advanced data validation 13 Polymorphism 14 Advanced data manipulation 15 Debugging

Ten laws of simplicity for business, technology, and design that teach us how to need less but get more. Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design—guidelines for needing less and actually getting more. Maeda—a professor in MIT's Media Lab and a world-renowned graphic designer—explores the question of how we can redefine the notion of "improved" so that it doesn't always mean something more, something added on. Maeda's first law of simplicity is "Reduce." It's not necessarily beneficial to add technology features just because we can. And the features that we do have must be organized (Law 2) in a sensible hierarchy so users aren't distracted by features and functions they don't need. But simplicity is not less just for the sake of less. Skip ahead to Law 9: "Failure: Accept the fact that some things can never be made simple." Maeda's concise guide to simplicity in the digital age shows us how this idea can be a cornerstone of organizations and their products—how it can drive both business and technology. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

With the same insight and authority that made their book The Unix Programming Environment a classic, Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike have written The Practice of Programming to help make individual programmers more effective and productive. The practice of programming is more than just writing code. Programmers must also assess tradeoffs, choose among design alternatives, debug and test, improve performance, and maintain software written by themselves and others. At the same time, they must be concerned with issues like compatibility, robustness, and reliability, while meeting specifications. The Practice of Programming covers all these topics, and more. This book is full of practical advice and real-world examples in C, C++, Java, and a variety of special-purpose languages. It includes chapters on: debugging: finding bugs quickly and methodically testing: guaranteeing that software works correctly and reliably performance: making programs faster and more compact portability: ensuring that programs run everywhere without change design: balancing goals and constraints to decide which algorithms and data structures are best interfaces: using abstraction and information hiding to control the interactions between components style: writing code that works well and is a pleasure to read notation: choosing languages and tools that let the machine do more of the work Kernighan and Pike have distilled years of experience writing programs, teaching, and working with other programmers to create this book. Anyone who writes software will profit from the principles and guidance in The Practice of Programming.

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A guide to writing computer code covers such topics as variable naming, presentation style, error handling, and security.