Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction. Redmond, Wa.: Microsoft Press, 880 pages, 1993. Retail price: $35. ISBN: 1-55615-484-4.  Buy Code Complete from Amazon.com.

Overview  

Winner of the Jolt Excellence Award--1993. Winner of the Society of Technical Communications Merit Award.

This practical handbook covers the art and science of software construction. Code Complete provides a larger perspective on the software-development process and the role of construction in the process that will inform and stimulate your thinking about your own projects, enabling you to take strategic action rather than fight the same battles again and again. Topics include: up-front planning, applying good design techniques to construction, using data effectively, reviewing for errors, managing construction activities, and relating personal character to superior software.

Examples are provided in C, Pascal, Basic, FORTRAN, and Ada--but the focus is on programming techniques that can be used in all languages.