As CTO of a software company I co-founded, I'm not only looking for books that help me improve individually, but also books that the whole development team – from developers to architects – may find useful. Robert C. Martin’s Clean Code does both, and, like the good code described therein, it’s well written, clear, and easy to read. Martin includes many helpful examples and his suggestions are applicable to any programming language.
Ideally, each developer takes charge of their own education and is constantly improving their skillset, an aspect that Martin covers in The Clean Coder. I view it as an important part of my job to help my team improve. To do so, I distill a lot of written material down to actionable components and provide that to my development team. Concepts from Clean Code have become very helpful guides for them. Below are a few of my favorite takeaways.
The first is what Martin calls The Boy Scout Rule: “Leave the campground a little cleaner than you found it.” It’s a great concept, not only because it's simple to follow, but also because it has broad applicability and can be used on any project. Essentially, when a team member works on a piece of code, they should aim to improve it somehow by the time their task is finished. A few examples of this among many are: fixing an unclear variable name, breaking up a large function into smaller functions, or cleaning up a conditional for improved clarity. With everyone on the team doing this, the code improves over time and everyone feels responsible for the code whether they wrote it personally or not. Even if something can’t be addressed immediately, developers are encouraged to log the issues they see.
Another of my favorite takeaways is the Three Laws of TDD, a concept I was able to quickly roll out to the team as a framework to follow for how TDD should be conducted on a project. This virtually ensures that all of your product code has test coverage. It also helps make most of your code SOLID (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOLID_%28object-oriented_design%29), since code that is built in this fashion is structured with SOLID concepts in mind. This is a must for effective testing.
Finally, the topics of proper identifier names and commenting really resonated with me and my team. In our company, we tend to “adopt” existing codebases – projects that have already been started by other developers whose code is of widely varying quality. If we're lucky, it's structured well and demonstrates best practices and approaches in how it's constructed. Unfortunately, the code is sloppy at times and requires some TLC to get it in shape. A part of that process is understanding what the existing application does. As Clean Code correctly outlines, many comments are superfluous or even plain wrong and misleading. As a team, we don’t blindly trust the accuracy of existing comments and instead go right to the application’s code to determine what it does. This is where proper naming comes into play. With good names, the code reads like comments or as a narrative of what the application does, nullifying most needs for additional commenting. Simply put, the code comments itself. We also use refactoring tools to improve names and clean up comments as we go. Of course, by doing so, we’re also applying the Boy Scout Rule.
Overall, Clean Code is a wonderful book with much useful and immediately-applicable information for developers of all levels. If you're looking for a book that will help make you a better developer, this will.
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- The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey To Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition)David ThomasHardcoverGet it as soon as Monday, Feb 2
- Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship (Robert C. Martin Series)PaperbackEUR 9.70 shipping
- Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented SoftwareHardcoverGet it as soon as Friday, Jan 30
From the Publisher
From the Preface of "Clean Architecture"
“…The rules of software architecture are the rules of ordering and assembling the building blocks of programs. And since those building blocks are universal and haven’t changed, the rules for ordering them are likewise universal and changeless.
But one thing has changed: Back then, we didn’t know what the rules were. Consequently, we broke them, over and over again. Now, with half a century of experience behind us, we have a grasp of those rules.
And it is those rules—those timeless, changeless, rules—that this book is all about.”
— Robert C. "Uncle Bob" Martin
Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship
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The Clean Code: Practical Advices for the Professional Programmer
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Clean Craftsmanship: Desciplines, Standards, and Ethics
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Clean Agile: Back to Basics
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Clean Architecture: A Craftsman's Guide to Software Structure and Design
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| Price | EUR 18.96 | EUR 22.18 | EUR 30.77 | EUR 26.89 | EUR 22.81 |
| Best agile practices of cleaning code “on the fly” Software Craftsmanship. | Endure and succeed amidst swirling uncertainty and nonstop pressure. | Picks up where Clean Code leaves off, outlining additional ways to write quality and trusted code you can be proud of every day. | A clear and concise guide to basic Agile values and principles. Perfect for those new to Agile methods and long-time developers who want to simplify approaches for the better. | Direct, no-nonsense answers to key architecture and design questions. | |
| "It is the best pragmatic application of Lean principles to software I have ever seen in print." —James O. Coplien, Founder of the Pasteur Organizational Patterns project | “Some technical books inspire and teach; some delight and amuse. Rarely does a technical book do all four of these things.” — George Bullock | ". . . [A] timely and humble reminder of the ever-increasing complexity of our programmatic world and how we owe it to the legacy of humankind--and to ourselves--to practice ethical development.” — Stacia Heimgartner Viscardi, CST & Agile Mentor | “What is in the world of Agile development is nothing compared to what could be. This book is Bob’s perspective on what to focus on to get to that ‘what could be.’ And he’s been there, so it’s worth listening.” — Kent Beck | "A good architecture comes from understanding it more as a journey than as a destination, more as an ongoing process of enquiry than as a frozen artifact." — Kevlin Henney |
Pick Up Where Clean Code Leaves Off
"As software developers, we have to continually solve important problems for our employers, customers, colleagues, and future selves. Getting the app to work, though difficult, is not enough, it does not make you a craftsman. With an app working, you have passed the app-titude test. You may have the aptitude to be a craftsman, but there is more to master. In these pages, Bob expresses clearly the techniques and responsibilities to go beyond the app-titude test and shows the way of the serious software craftsman."
— James Grenning, author of Test-Driven Development for Embedded C and Agile Manifesto co-author
Customers say
Customers find this book a must-read for programmers of any experience level, praising its clear explanations and practical tips. The book effectively explains why clean code is important and provides thorough examples of refactoring, making code reviews easier. Customers appreciate its detailed examples, particularly those in Java, and its focus on Agile programming principles. Customers consider the book worth the cost, with one noting it paid for itself through improved code quality.
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152 customers mention readability, 133 positive, 19 negative
...They mention various attributes of good code such as easy to read, efficient, DRY, focused, literate, minimal, error handling and warn of bad code...Read more
...For my part I feel it was a waste of money. An easy read and well written nevertheless.Read more
...a great collection of best coding practices where well organized, readable code that follows "good coding practices" is desired but no one around...Read more
...The book is well written, easy to follow, and provides a plethora of examples to reinforce the authors point.Read more
127 customers mention knowledge level, 117 positive, 10 negative
76 customers mention code quality, 66 positive, 10 negative
...delves into the principles and best practices of writing clean, maintainable code, making life easier for developers and ensuring that software...Read more
Clean Code is a well-written book by Robert Martin and a few colleagues, explaining their take on the best way to write computer code....Read more
It really changed my mind on what good code is...Read more
...The code examples are written in Java and are there to show how to refactor code based on the principles and reasoning within the book....Read more
75 customers mention writing quality, 70 positive, 5 negative
...Still, I consider it an essential read. Well written, extremely knowledgeable, full of clearly explained examples....Read more
well written book, just what i needed for my course.Read more
Great writing, with clear examples and explanations....Read more
...I had high hopes for this book, because I think writing clean, easy to read and understand code is really important....Read more
20 customers mention value for money, 17 positive, 3 negative
...It is definitely worth it. As the book states, it will take sweat to learn to write clean code. This wasn't taught when I went to college....Read more
Good priceRead more
...then "Clean Code" is probably worth a skim, but it is by no means the book I had hoped it would be.Read more
...It is a quick read and well worth your time.Read more
17 customers mention insight, 15 positive, 2 negative
Important insights and guidance from someone who really understand what he is talking about. Every developer should read this book.Read more
...Even as an experienced software developer I found this book to be insightful....Read more
The concepts are good, but it excessively wordy. Something that can stated and illustrated in 10 lines, he says that same thing in 500 lines....Read more
This is a good book. Love the philosophy and love all the best practices. It helps me a lot in forming good habits. Love the book.Read more
15 customers mention encyclopedia content, 11 positive, 4 negative
Great writing, with clear examples and explanations....Read more
Well written and covers many topics with realistic examplesRead more
...But there is no concrete examples....Read more
...The book is very clear on the concepts and explanations, has a lot of examples and is written by Robert Martin !...Read more
15 customers mention programming knowledge, 11 positive, 4 negative
...I can suggest it for everyone who want to be a better software engineer!Read more
...of programming – this is one of the few books that focuses on computer programming as an artform: it will transform the way you look at programming...Read more
...insights on what to do when refactoring code, probably not for seasoned programmers, but still they might get surprised..Read more
This is a crystal clear introduction to agile programming. It covers basic topics like SRP and DIP in a very (very) accessible style....Read more
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Alexander E.Reviewed in Germany on April 13, 2025
Hat mir persönlich sehr gut gefallen
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - JimReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2025
Excellent book
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - User name im usingReviewed in the Netherlands on February 14, 2025
must read
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - GeorgeReviewed in Australia on March 27, 2021
This book is worth it for any programming language.
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