Understanding Software: Max Kanat-Alexander on simplicity, coding, and how to suck less as a programmer
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781788628815
Publisher: Packt Pub
Published: Sep 29 2017
Pages: 278
Weight: 0.83
Height: 0.58 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
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.
Key Features:
- 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
Book Description:
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.
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
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!
Also in
Programming
Interactive Theorem Proving and Program Development: Coq'art: The Calculus of Inductive Constructions
Castéran, Pierre
Bertot, Yves
Hardcover
The Legend of Zelda(tm) Tears of the Kingdom - The Complete Official Guide: Collector's Edition
Piggyback
Hardcover
The Legend of Zelda(tm) Tears of the Kingdom - The Complete Official Guide: Standard Edition
Piggyback
Paperback
Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming
Matthes, Eric
Paperback
Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos Into Clarity
Dickerson, Mikey
Nitze, Marina
Weaver, Matthew
Paperback
Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations
Humble, Jez
Kim, Gene
Forsgren Phd, Nicole
Paperback
Embedded Systems with ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers in Assembly Language and C: Fourth Edition
Zhu, Yifeng
Paperback
Fundamentals of Software Architecture: A Modern Engineering Approach
Richards, Mark
Ford, Neal
Paperback
Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery: A Hands-On Primer for the New Electronics Enthusiast
Platt, Charles
Paperback
Site Reliability Engineering: How Google Runs Production Systems
Jones, Chris
Leng, Christof
Beyer, Betsy
Paperback
Vibe Coding: Building Production-Grade Software with Genai, Chat, Agents, and Beyond
Yegge, Steve
Kim, Gene
Paperback
The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
Fournier, Camille
Paperback
AI Projects with Raspberry Pi: High-Performance Artificial Intelligence for Robotics, Security, Home Automation, and Vision
Hattersley, Lucy
Jepson, Brian
Paperback
I Have an App Idea: The Essential Guide to Building an App Without Tech Skills
Spann, Amanda
Paperback
The Devops Handbook, 2nd Edition: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, & Security in Technology Organizations
Kim, Gene
Humble, Jez
Debois, Patrick
Paperback
The Return on AI: From Promise to Profit in the Age of Intelligent Business
Sawhney, Mohanbir
Mittal, Ashwin
Paperback
The Staff Engineer's Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change
Reilly, Tanya
Paperback
Evals for AI Engineers: Systematically Measuring and Improving AI Applications
Husain, Hamel
Shankar, Shreya
Paperback
The Developer's Guide to AI: A Field Guide for the Working Developer
Orshalick, Jacob
Reghunadh, Jerry M.
Thompson, Danny
Paperback
Forecasting: Principles and Practice, the Pythonic Way
Athanasopoulos, George
Hyndman, Rob J.
Paperback
Building Applications with AI Agents: Designing and Implementing Multiagent Systems
Albada, Michael
Paperback
Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures
Ford, Neal
Richards, Mark
Sadalage, Pramod
Paperback
Observability Engineering: Achieving Production Excellence
Fong-Jones, Liz
Miranda, George
Majors, Charity
Paperback
Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions
McDowell, Gayle Laakmann
Paperback
Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to Html, Css, Javascript, and Web Images
Robbins, Jennifer
Paperback
Linux Basics for Hackers, 2nd Edition: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali
Occupytheweb
Paperback
The New AI Cold War: Liberty vs. Tyranny in the Age of Machine Empires
Maginnis, Ltc Robert L.
Paperback
Building Safer Technology: A Field Guide to Failing Well
Coles, Neil
Kissner, Lea
Zunger, Yonatan
Paperback
The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition
Thomas, David
Hunt, Andrew
Hardcover
SQL QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Managing, Analyzing, and Manipulating Data With SQL
Shields, Walter
Hardcover
Building Resilient Distributed Systems: Patterns and Practices for Stable Software
Newman, Sam
Paperback
A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control
Hosanagar, Kartik
Paperback
Grokking Algorithms, Second Edition: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People
Bhargava, Aditya Y.
Paperback
Java in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
Clark, Jason R.
Flanagan, David
Evans, Benjamin J.
Paperback
Learning Domain-Driven Design: Aligning Software Architecture and Business Strategy
Khononov, Vlad
Paperback
Generative AI Design Patterns: Solutions to Common Challenges When Building Genai Agents and Applications
Hapke, Hannes
Lakshmanan, Valliappa
Paperback
Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
Graham, Ronald
Patashnik, Oren
Knuth, Donald
Hardcover
The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2026: Astounding Projects with Raspberry Pi Computers
Makers of Raspberry Pi Official Magazine, The
Paperback
Signals & Levers: Systems Thinking Tools to Unblock Software Delivery
Hendrickson, Elisabeth
Tosi, Joel
Paperback
The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise
Hohpe, Gregor
Paperback
Head First Design Patterns: Building Extensible and Maintainable Object-Oriented Software
Robson, Elisabeth
Freeman, Eric
Paperback
Learning Generative AI Tools for Excel: Speed Up Your Everyday Tasks with Microsoft Excel, Copilot, Chatgpt, and Beyond
Duca, Angelica Lo
Paperback
AI Agents with MCP: Model Context Protocol for Building Clients, Servers, and End-To-End Agents
Stratis, Kyle
Paperback
Build an AI Agent (from Scratch): Agents That Reason, Plan, and ACT Autonomously
Song, Younghee
Hur, Jungjun
Paperback
Building AI-Powered Products: The Essential Guide to AI and Genai Product Management
Nika, Marily
Paperback
The Multiplier Mindset: How to Move from Senior Engineer to Tech Leader in the Age of AI
Ojstersek, Gregor
Paperback
Living a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families
Diamant, Anita
Cooper, Howard
Paperback
Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules for Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems
Agans, David J.
Paperback
Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time
Wright, Hyrum
Winters, Titus
Manshreck, Tom
Paperback
The Book of Debugging: A Systematic Workflow for Finding and Fixing Bugs
Kuhlmann, Johannes
Paperback
Learning Php, MySQL & JavaScript: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites
Nixon, Robin
Paperback
Frictionless: 7 Steps to Remove Barriers, Unlock Value, and Outpace Your Competition in the AI Era
Forsgren, Nicole
Noda, Abi
Paperback
Programming Massively Parallel Processors: A Hands-On Approach
El Hajj, Izzat
Hwu, Wen-Mei W.
Kirk, David B.
Paperback
Certified Associate in Project Management (Capm)(R) Exam Official Cert Guide
Kanabar, Vijay
Thomas, Arthur
Lechler, Thomas
Paperback
Python Programming for Young Coders: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Coding for Beginners, Kids, and Teens
Pandey, Anand
Paperback
Creación de Aplicaciones Con Agentes de Ia (Spanish Edition): Diseño E Implementación de Sistemas Multiagente
Albada, Michael
Paperback
Programming Rust: Fast, Safe Systems Development
Blandy, Jim
Orendorff, Jason
Tindall, Leonora F. S.
Paperback
Electronic Music and Sound Design - Theory and Practice with Max 9 - Volume 1 (Fifth Edition)
Maurizio, Giri
Cipriani, Alessandro
Paperback
Computer Science from Scratch: Building Interpreters, Art, Emulators and ML in Python
Kopec, David
Paperback
Head First Algorithms and Data Structures: A Learner's Guide to the Foundations of Computing
Freeman, Eric
Robson, Elisabeth
Paperback
