You can find here links to some of the most interesting sites and articles that I read.
Paul Graham’s essays – I believe that Paul Graham is a genius. Not only did he left his mark on software development, but he also funded Y!Combinator, a venture capitalism company specialized in technology start-ups, and, as if this wasn’t enough, he writes perfect, both in form and in essence, essays about technology, innovation, education and investment. If you don’t know him, read them – he will change the way you think about the world.
Martin Fowler’s website – I think Martin Fowler is the only software design theoretician who is spot on. Unlike many others, he is realistic about the premises of software development and doesn’t propose ideas and techniques for an ideal world. He coined and described techniques like refactoring, the various types of Domain Specific Languages, worked on patterns without overdoing it and many others. All in all, it’s a must read for anybody who wants to build good quality software within the budget.
No Silver Bullet – Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering – This is a well known article for any serious software engineer. It’s one of the few that touches the fundamental issues of software development, and shows the essential limitation in faster development of software.
The Mythical Man-Month – Frederick Brooks is a software engineer who participated in some of the largest projects of IBM, 25 years ago. He added his remarks in this book, probably the first discussing about the problems that we have when managing the development of a large software system. Most of his ideas prove still true today and serve as a basic building block for any software development organization method. I am still amazed how many companies, at least in Romania, make the same mistakes described more than 25 years ago by Mr. Brooks.
I’m a big Monty Python fan, as many other developers. For those who don’t know, the programming language python is named after them (its documentation is filled with Monty Python quotes) and the word spam comes from one of their sketches. I also liked that they embraced the new media, and provide a youtube channel with their works – which, by the way, also increased their sales.
However, their humour may be hard to digest at first, so here are a few of their classics. Watch these before trying something like the “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” or “The life of Brian”. So, here they are:
The parrot sketch – “This is a late parrot”
The dirty fork sketch – “Never kill a customer”
The Kilimandjaro expedition – “The purpose of this year’s expedition is to find any traces left by last year’s expedition”
And last but not least, my brother’s interesting drawings.