I. M. Wright's Hard Code (Best Practices) by Eric Brechner


I. M. Wright's Hard Code (Best Practices)
Title : I. M. Wright's Hard Code (Best Practices)
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0735624356
ISBN-10 : 9780735624351
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 240
Publication : First published September 5, 2007

Get the brutal truth about coding, testing, and project management—from a Microsoft insider who tells it like it is. I. M. Wright’s deliberately provocative column “Hard Code” has been sparking debate amongst thousands of engineers at Microsoft for years. And now (despite our better instincts), we’re making his opinions available to everyone. In this collection of 49 columns, Eric Brechner’s alter ego pulls no punches with his candid commentary and best practice solutions to the issues that irk him the most. He dissects the development process, examines tough team issues, and critiques how the software business is run—with the added touch of clever humor and sardonic wit. His ideas aren’t always popular (not that he cares), but they do stimulate the discussion and imagination needed to drive software excellence. Get the unvarnished truth on how to: Companion Web site includes:

I. M. Wright's Hard Code (Best Practices) Reviews

  • Christopher Litsinger

    After a while of not really paying much attention to the world of software development, I'm back in a position where these things matter and this looked like a relatively fun way to survey what's been going on out there, as the I.M. Wright blog is an intentionally over-opinionated look at things that impact Microsoft developers.
    Generally speaking, I got what I wanted out of the book, and even read a few things that directly and immediately applied to my situation. Ocassionally the articles apply a little too specifically to Microsoft to be much use, and his analysis of Google is laughably biased and (in my opinion) flat-out wrong, but no less fun to read for that.

  • Steve Whiting

    For the first chapter or so, I wasn't really thrilled with this. The collected columns seemed to be very generic yet at the same time obsessively Microsoft-y (the incessant explanations of MS jargon got really wearing).

    Somewhere around the 2nd or 3rd chapter, the book really clicked, and there's quite a lot of good advice / experience in there - though his rant against Google in the last chapter is wasn't one of his finer moments.

    Recommended, with some caveats - a lot of the content really is specific to Microsoft as it is/was and you may not find those parts terribly useful

  • Robert

    Very interesting read, written by a very clever guy. Shows a lot of problems with the way traditional management of software programers has been done. Heavy on antidotes, light on principles...but will leave you with enough warnings to avoid most of the traps and with enough laughter to work through the ones you do get stuck in. Well worth reading.

  • Jeffrey

    I appreciated his insight into Microsoft's development organization. It added some soul and flesh to the behemoth that is usually depicted as soul-less. I especially appreciated the chapters dealing with management (both up and down) as this gave me further action items (and best practices) to deal with in my own organization.

  • Michael Ryan

    Great holiday reading.

    I was a little skeptical when I found out that it was a collection of articles from a Microsoft internal magazine.

    Turns out it is brilliant. A laugh-out-loud opinion on every page. A bulk of SD wisdom to take in and take-on-board. And Eric Brechner can really write.

  • Phil

    It's too bad more of Microsoft doesn't listen to this guy. A really interesting look at how some groups within MS deal with software development and provides a lot of good advice applicable to all developers.

  • Windie Chai

    Some chapters are interesting.