Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler

218 Pages·2009·1.16 MB·English

by  Chad Fowler

Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
WhatReadersAreSayingAboutThePassionateProgrammer
Ifyouarepassionateaboutsoftwarecraftsmanship,ifyouwantto
beagreatsoftwaredeveloper,ifyouwanttoloveyourwork,orif
youwanttoraisethebarandturnsoftwaredevelopmentintoaprofes-
sioninsteadofajob,thenreadthisbook.Inthesepages,ChadFowler
presentsasetofno-nonsenseheuristics,disciplines,andattitudesthat
willteachyouhowtorespectandloveyourprofession—andbegreat
atit.
BobMartin
President,ObjectMentor,Inc.
Thegreatthingaboutthisbookisthatitisfullofplans—thingsIcan
do.Itkeepsresponsibilityformysituationwhereitbelongs—onme.
ThisbookmakesitclearthatI’mnotalone,itshowsthatmysituation
isnotuniquelyscary,anditexplainswhatIcandotoday.Andtomor-
row.Andfortherestofmycareer.
KentBeck
Programmer
SixshortmonthsbeforeIreadChad’sbook,Iwasonthevergeof
changingcareers.ThroughaseriesofaccidentsfromNovemberto
May,Idecidednotonlytostickwithsoftwaredevelopmentbuttobe
passionateaboutitwhilestrivingtobegreat.Withahealthydoseof
inspiration,thebookyou’renowholdingservedasaroadmapfor
achievingthosegoals.
SammyLarbi
ChiefSpaghettiCoder,codeodor.com
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
The Passionate Programmer
Creating a Remarkable Career
in Software Development
ChadFowler
ThePragmaticBookshelf
Raleigh,NorthCarolina Dallas,Texas
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
Manyofthedesignationsusedbymanufacturersandsellerstodistinguishtheirprod-
uctsareclaimedastrademarks.Wherethosedesignationsappearinthisbook,andThe
PragmaticProgrammers,LLCwasawareofatrademarkclaim,thedesignationshave
beenprinted in initial capital lettersor in all capitals. ThePragmatic StarterKit, The
PragmaticProgrammer,PragmaticProgramming,PragmaticBookshelfandthelinking
gdevicearetrademarksofThePragmaticProgrammers,LLC.
Every precaution was taken in the preparation of this book. However, the publisher
assumesnoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions,orfordamagesthatmayresultfrom
theuseofinformation(includingprogramlistings)containedherein.
Our Pragmatic courses, workshops, and otherproducts can help you and your team
createbettersoftware andhavemore fun.Formoreinformation,aswellasthelatest
Pragmatictitles,pleasevisitusat
http://www.pragprog.com
Copyright©2009ChadFowler.
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmit-
ted,inanyform,orbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or
otherwise,withoutthepriorconsentofthepublisher.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
ISBN-10:1-934356-34-4
ISBN-13:978-1-934356-34-0
Printedonacid-freepaper.
P1.0printing,April2009
Version:2009-4-15
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
ForKellyJeanne
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
Contents
Foreword 10
Acknowledgments 11
Introduction 13
PartI—ChoosingYourMarket 20
1. LeadorBleed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2. SupplyandDemand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3. CodingDon’tCutItAnymore . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4. BetheWorst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5. InvestinYourIntelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
6. Don’tListentoYourParents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
7. BeaGeneralist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
8. BeaSpecialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
9. Don’tPutAllYourEggsinSomeoneElse’sBasket . . 54
10. LoveItorLeaveIt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
PartII—InvestinginYourProduct 62
11. LearntoFish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
12. LearnHowBusinessesReallyWork . . . . . . . . . . 68
13. FindaMentor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
14. BeaMentor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
15. Practice,Practice,Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
16. TheWayThatYouDoIt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
17. OntheShouldersofGiants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
18. AutomateYourselfintoaJob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
PartIII—Executing 94
19. RightNow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
20. MindReader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
21. DailyHit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
CONTENTS 8
22. RememberWhoYouWorkFor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
23. BeWhereYou’reAt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
24. HowGoodaJobCanIDoToday? . . . . . . . . . . . 109
25. HowMuchAreYouWorth?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
26. APebbleinaBucketofWater . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
27. LearntoLoveMaintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
28. Eight-HourBurn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
29. LearnHowtoFail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
30. Say“No” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
31. Don’tPanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
32. SayIt,DoIt,ShowIt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
PartIV—Marketing...NotJustforSuits 143
33. Perceptions,Perschmeptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
34. AdventureTourGuide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
35. MeRiteReelNice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
36. BeingPresent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
37. SuitSpeak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
38. ChangetheWorld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
39. LetYourVoiceBeHeard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
40. BuildYourBrand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
41. ReleaseYourCode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
42. Remarkability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
43. MakingtheHang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
PartV—MaintainingYourEdge 179
44. AlreadyObsolete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
45. You’veAlreadyLostYourJob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
46. PathwithNoDestination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
47. MakeYourselfaMap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
48. WatchtheMarket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
49. ThatFatManintheMirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
50. TheSouthIndianMonkeyTrap. . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
51. AvoidWaterfallCareerPlanning . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
52. BetterThanYesterday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
53. GoIndependent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Reporterratum
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
thiscopyis(P1.0printing,April2009)
CONTENTS 9
HaveFun 210
Resources 211
Reporterratum
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler
thiscopyis(P1.0printing,April2009)
Foreword
Ibelievethateveryonehasremarkableinthembutthatittakesfinding
somethingtheytrulycareabouttodrawitout.Youcan’tberemarkable
ifyoudon’tloveyourenvironment,yourtools,andyourdomain.
Before I had my spark lit with 37signals and Ruby on Rails, I went
through aseries of jobs andgigs thatcertainlywouldn’t fitthe bill as
remarkable.Iwastreadingwaterandjustlettingonedayeatthenext.
BeforeIknewit,sixmonthsweregone,andIdidn’thaveanythingto
showforit.
That’s a terrible feeling of regret. I hate the feeling that my presence
doesn’t really matter and that the world would have been exactly no
differentinameaningfulwayifmyworkhadn’tbeendone.Tobecome
remarkable,youhavetobelievethatyou’remakingasignificantdent
intheuniverse.
When I wasn’t making a dent at work, it spilled over to my personal
life too. When I didn’t feel like I was having an impact during office
hours,itwasthatmuchhardertomuster theefforttohaveanimpact
afterward.
Tome,leadingaremarkablecareeristhebestwayIknowtokickstart
that same desire for leading a remarkable life—one where you don’t
justbecomeabetterandmorevaluableworker,butyoubecomeabet-
terhumantoo.
That’swhythisbookissoimportant.It’snotjustaboutmakingbetter
widgetsandfeelingsecureinyourjob.It’sjustasmuchaboutdevelop-
ing the skills and sensibilities for leading a more rewardinglife filled
withmanyremarkableaspects,withworkjustbeingoneofthem.
—DavidHeinemeierHansson
CreatorofRubyonRailsandpartnerin37signals
Prepared exclusively for Alison Tyler