Since I was a kid, I’ve been passionate about technology and had a clear vocation to work with computers. I’ve been a developer for more than 20 years now, spending half of them mainly in the Python environment, and I’ve always been interested in improving my skills. While it’s true that software development is a field that changes constantly and technology evolves at great speed, there are some elements that remain relatively unchanged and can be used to compound knowledge and ability. In particular, the elements that are closer to the human element, teamwork, coordination, etc. are quite stable over time.
I wrote...
Python Automation Cookbook
By
Jaime Buelta
What is my book about?
Python Automation Cookbook is a collection of recipes that aim to present the power of the Python programming language as a way of making a computer do the heavy lifting in a lot of repetitive tasks. Some examples present in the book include dealing with files, creating graphs, working with emails, web scrapping, sending SMSs, or marketing examples.
Python is a great language because is easy to learn and to use, and at the same time is powerful and extensive, having a great community. While a bit of knowledge of Python is assumed, the book is aimed at non-experts and casual users that can learn how to automate their own tasks.
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The Books I Picked & Why
The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering
By
Frederick P. Brooks Jr
Why this book?
A true classic about software development, and incredibly as relevant today as the time of the examples described in the book, in the 60s and 70s, when software development was still in its infancy. Because the book talks about the process of creating software and how teams work while doing it, any developer will see themselves reflected in their day-to-day. It’s great to understand naïve problems (in hindsight) and avoid them. A lot of common phrases used in software development originate from this book.
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Practical Vim: Edit Text at the Speed of Thought (Pragmatic Programmers)
By
Drew Neil
Why this book?
A very personal recommendation, as it is about Vim, a very particular text editor that can be difficult to learn at first, but this is the best technical book that I’ve ever read. I use Vim as my main editor and this book makes an astonishing job in clearly explaining why it works the way it works. This book gets you into the proper mindset to use Vim, making it click internally and from there on, to feel way more natural and powerful. Even if you don’t want to use Vim as your main editor, it’s ubiquitous and it’s available by default on a huge amount of computers, making being comfortable with its usage a really powerful tool in a lot of situations.
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Python Testing with Pytest: Simple, Rapid, Effective, and Scalable
By
Brian Okken
Why this book?
While this is a Python-specific book, it’s a fantastic description of all the possibilities for testing with a powerful module like Pytest offers. Testing is one of the basic experiences for a programmer, as it should be included as a core part of the development process. Understanding all the different options available like mark groups of tests, parametric tests, building your own extensions, or test coverage, to name only a few details, expands the understanding of how to design better tests and run them more efficiently.
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The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery
By
David Thomas,
Andrew Hunt
Why this book?
A full collection of self-reflecting ideas about how to approach coding from a strategic point of view. While some of it can be a bit obvious for the experienced developer, it can be invaluable for the newcomer and it’s always great to solidify knowledge in a more consistent way. The kind of book that you can read again after a few years and keep learning.
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Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
By
Michael Lopp
Why this book?
Michael Lopp, or Rands, as he is commonly known online, has been sharing his knowledge as a software manager for years, mainly through his blog. He is one of the most insightful voices about the art of management in a software environment, and even if you are not a manager yourself (and don’t want to become one), will make you understand and better collaborate with your own manager, and be ready when you need to lead a team or understand how it is to work with other humans.
