Re^2: Meaning of Maintanability and Functionality in Coding Perl

I agree that Code Complete is a great book. However, it's fairly old and IMO quite a few parts of it are rather dated. I'd expect the Second Edition rectifies that, but haven't read it yet.

~~Also, as an instructional guide to perl programming I'd go with Perl Best Practices over Code Complete.~~

Update: dragonchild is right, that last sentence was inappropriate. Let me try again:

If you're looking for practical tips on how to write maintainable perl code, I would first buy and read Perl Best Practices. If you then further want to educate yourself on software design principles and practices I very much recommend that you read Code Complete. Other fountains of knowledge in this and related areas are The Pragmatic Programmer, Test Driven Development: By Example and The Mythical Man Month.

Comment on Re^2: Meaning of Maintanability and Functionality in Coding Perl

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Re^3: Meaning of Maintanability and Functionality in Coding Perl by dragonchild (Archbishop) on Oct 18, 2005 at 13:13 UTC
Perl Best Practices (aka PBP) isn't a Perl version of Code Complete (aka CC). While they certainly address the same basic topic (how to write maintainable code), CC provides a lot more detail in terms of why these practices are better than the others. PBP references no studies and works only in one language. I would recommend reading both books. As for CC being dated ... yes, it was written over 10 years ago. I've also worked on at least two major projects that are around that age ... written in Perl. Plus, nearly every app I've ever worked on has had to interface with another application that's over 10 years old. I would put forward that most applications are either under 3 years old or over 10. My theory is that every app is either new (under 3 years old), in the process of being rewritten, or it's survived. And, yes, 3 years old is new. My criteria for good software: Does it work? Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?	[reply]

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Re^3: Meaning of Maintanability and Functionality in Coding Perl
by dragonchild (Archbishop) on Oct 18, 2005 at 13:13 UTC

Perl Best Practices

Code Complete

why

both

As for CC being dated ... yes, it was written over 10 years ago. I've also worked on at least two major projects that are around that age ... written in Perl. Plus, nearly every app I've ever worked on has had to interface with another application that's over 10 years old.

I would put forward that most applications are either under 3 years old or over 10. My theory is that every app is either new (under 3 years old), in the process of being rewritten, or it's survived. And, yes, 3 years old is new.

My criteria for good software:

Does it work?
Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?

[reply]