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.

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."

Doorpreneur Tony LeBlanc leverages decades of property management experience to unlock known barriers and blind spots - that takes real estate rental management professionals beyond toilets and lease renewals and on to bigger profits.

Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Now internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Simplicity Parenting offers inspiration, ideas, and a blueprint for change: • Streamline your home environment. Reduce the amount of toys, books, and clutter—as well as the lights, sounds, and general sensory overload. • Establish rhythms and rituals. Discover ways to ease daily tensions, create battle-free mealtimes and bedtimes, and tell if your child is overwhelmed. • Schedule a break in the schedule. Establish intervals of calm and connection in your child’s daily torrent of constant doing. • Scale back on media and parental involvement. Manage your children’s “screen time” to limit the endless deluge of information and stimulation. A manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood, Simplicity Parenting is an eloquent guide to bringing new rhythms to bear on the lifelong art of raising children.

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

You're already a great coder, but awesome coding chops aren't always enough to get you through your toughest projects. You need these 50+ nuggets of wisdom. Veteran programmers: reinvigorate your passion for developing web applications. New programmers: here's the guidance you need to get started. With this book, you'll think about your job in new and enlightened ways. The Developer's Code isn't about the code you write, it's about the code you live by. There are no trite superlatives here. Packed with lessons learned from more than a decade of software development experience, author Ka Wai Cheung takes you through the programming profession from nearly every angle to uncover ways of sustaining a healthy connection with your work. You'll see how to stay productive even on the longest projects. You'll create a workflow that works with you, not against you. And you'll learn how to deal with clients whose goals don't align with your own. If you don't handle them just right, issues such as these can crush even the most seasoned, motivated developer. But with the right approach, you can transcend these common problems and become the professional developer you want to be. In more than 50 nuggets of wisdom, you'll learn: Why many traditional approaches to process and development roles in this industry are wrong - and how to sniff them out. Why you must always say "no" to the software pet project and open-ended timelines. How to incorporate code generation into your development process, and why its benefits go far beyond just faster code output. What to do when your client or end user disagrees with an approach you believe in. How to pay your knowledge forward to future generations of programmers through teaching and evangelism. If you're in this industry for the long run, you'll be coming back to this book again and again.