Synopsis
Code Complete, 2nd Edition - This book is a treat for everyone. Titled "Code Complete", McConnell's book is the definitive reference on the phase between requirements definition and pure testing. This is a book that should actually be Required Reading for programmers; some sections of it should be tattooed on the forehead of anyone wanting to manage a development team.
After touching on requirements and specs, the author goes through the various topics that merit a developer's interest, including routine design, quality assurance, and anything you might think of. Yet he does not dictate; McConnell presents hard data why you should adopt some methodology, and then offers you a selection of methods, but he never claims that his view is the only correct one.
This alone distinguishes him positively from the likes of Booch, Rumbaugh, Jacobson and so on, who peddle their books to further their seminar operations.
The author's reading list and the annotated bibliography alone are worth the price.
By the way, to use this book most effectively, leave it lying around ... until one of your co-workers snarfs it. Then, leave another copy lying around. Repeat until your environment is fully saturated and keep a final copy to yourself. (I went, since 1993, through eleven copies of "Code Complete", and the pay-off was worth it!)
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