Why Software Sucks...

There are some books that anyone working with computers should just read. Code Complete by Steve McConnell is one of them. And now I've found another one.

Why Software Sucks... (and what you can do about it)  is by David Platt is a book you really should get. It is not hugely technical. It is not hard to read. It will make you laugh (and if you are a developer promptly feel guilty). It is a text which takes as its starting point the fact that we are not really very good at writing software.

It ties in rather neatly with a lot of things that I tell our students when they are writing programs for other people to use, but it also touches on security and a whole host of other issues, always with humour and always grounded in real life experience.

Even (or especially) if you are not a programmer you must read this book. Excellent stuff.