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The Psychology of Computer Programming:
Silver Anniversary Edition

by Gerald M. Weinberg

ISBN: 978-0-932633-42-2  
©1998  360 pages   softcover  
$44.95 (plus shipping)

Subject(s): Programming, Team Management

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Find Jerry's eBook nonfiction and novels listed at Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords stores, and at www.geraldmweinberg.com.


Discover or Revisit One of the
Most Popular Books in Computing

About the Book

This landmark 1971 classic is reprinted with a new preface, chapter-by-chapter commentary, and straight-from-the-heart observations on topics that affect the professional life of programmers.

Long regarded as one of the first books to pioneer a people-oriented approach to computing, The Psychology of Computer Programming endures as a penetrating analysis of the intelligence, skill, teamwork, and problem-solving power of the computer programmer.

Finding the chapters strikingly relevant to today's issues in programming, Gerald M. Weinberg adds new insights and highlights the similarities and differences between now and then. Using a conversational style that invites the reader to join him, Weinberg reunites with some of his most insightful writings on the human side of software engineering.

Topics include egoless programming, intelligence, psychological measurement, personality factors, motivation, training, social problems on large projects, problem-solving ability, programming language design, team formation, the programming environment, and much more.

Dorset House Publishing is proud to make this important text available to new generations of Weinberg fans—and to encourage readers of the first edition to return to its valuable lessons.


Reviews

"This is a book that stimulates the reader. . . . There is a wealth of knowledge here for anyone involved in Process Improvement.

"There is much to gain from this book even if the reader is not a programmer, and even if the reader does not know how to program, because its focus is software development staff and the relationships that exist between them."

—Alan Richardson
Compendium Developments


"I recently reread parts of The Psychology of Computer Programming that seemed very radical to me when I first read them in 1971. As I look around at today's programmers, I can see what a large, beneficial effect that work has had."

—Richard Mateosian
IEEE Micro


"I listed this book as one of the best books of the year in my annual column published in the September, 1999 issue of Journal of Object-Oriented Programming and could probably do so again in another twenty five years."

Charles Ashbacher
Charles Ashbacher Technologies
posted on Amazon.com


"Whether you're part of the generation of the 1960's and 1970's, or part of the current generation of the 1980's and 1990's, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this wonderful book. Once you've digested it, you should then track down all [twelve] of the other Weinberg textbooks published by Dorset House. . . . Every one of them is a jewel."

 —Ed Yourdon
Cutter IT E-Mail Advisor


"On an inspired eight-week vacation in Italy, I wrote the first draft of The Psychology of Computer Programming.

". . . the book quickly became a best-seller among technical titles, running through more than twenty printings and staying in print for twenty-five years. . . .

"For this Silver Anniversary Edition, I decided to take my own advice to reviewees and not try to hide my errors, for they would be the source of the most learning for my readers. I decided to leave the original text as it was—antiques and all—for your illumination, and simply to add some 'wisdom of hindsight' remarks whenever the spirit moved me. I hope you find the perspective brought by this time-capsule contrast as useful to you as it has been to me."

 —GMW


"What surprised me as I read it again was how timely Weinberg's questions remain."

 —Dwayne Phillips
Editor's Choice


"I discovered the book in 1977, and decided I wanted to work as an egoless software engineer, not as a radio disk jockey. . . . Sometimes, oldies are goodies. Old books can be even better when they're revised to assess their prophecies and sage advice."

Johanna Rothman
Reflections
, Rothman Consulting Group


"The Psychology of Computer Programming . . . was the first major book to address programming as an individual and team effort, and became a classic in the field. . . . Despite, or perhaps even because of, the perspective of 1971, this book remains a must-read for all software development managers."

J.J. Hirschfelder
Computing Reviews


". . . many of the lessons about managing and leading people are as timely as they were today as they were when the book first appeared."

C.J. Van Wyck
CHOICE


"In this new edition, Jerry looks at where we were 30 years ago, where we are now and where we might be in the future. Instead of changing the original text, he's added new comments to each chapter. This allows the reader to compare and contrast his thinking over the decades, showcasing the errors and omissions as well as the threads that bore fruit.

". . . one issue -- communication -- has been at the core of Jerry's work for decades. Unknown to him at the time, Psychology was to form the outline of his life's work. . . . Psychology is valuable as history in a field that is all too ready to repeat the errors of its past. Read Psychology as a picture of where we've been, where we are now, and where we need to go next. Read it as an index to the thinking of one of the most influential figures in our field."

Sue Petersen
Visual Developer


". . . Weinberg's book isn't loaded up with one-liners, but rather provides an almost Freudian dive into the personalities of the people you work alongside. When I read it in the late 1970s (it came out in 1971) I was blown away by its dead-on-ness."

Alexander Wolfe
InformationWeek.com

 

Features
Reviews
Table of Contents
Preface
Excerpt: "Critical Personality Traits"
Index
Author Interview

Downloads
Dorset House Catalog
This Book's Flyer

By this Author
General Principles of Systems Design
Understanding the Professional Programmer

Also Recommended
Roundtable on Technical Leadership: A SHAPE Forum Dialogue, edited by Gerald M. Weinberg, Marie Benesh, and James Bullock
Software Productivity, by Harlan D. Mills
Understanding the Professional Programmer, by Gerald M. Weinberg

What Every Programmer Should Know About Object-Oriented Design, by Meilir Page-Jones

How to Order

To order this book by credit card directly from Dorset House in New York, please call (800) 342-6657 or (212) 620-4053, weekdays, 9am to 6pm. Alternatively, print out our Faxable Order Form and fax to (212) 727-1044.

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