''Code Complete'' is a

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

book, written by

Steve McConnell Steven C. McConnell is an author of software engineering textbooks such as '' Code Complete'', ''Rapid Development'', and ''Software Estimation''. He is cited as an expert in software engineering and project management. Career McConnell gradua ...

and published in 1993 by

Microsoft Press Microsoft Press is the publishing arm of Microsoft, usually releasing books dealing with various current Microsoft technologies. Microsoft Press' introduced books were ''The Apple Macintosh Book'' by Cary Lu and ''Exploring the IBM PCjr Home Comp ...

, encouraging developers to continue past code-and-fix programming and the big design up front and

waterfall model The waterfall model is a breakdown of developmental activities into linear sequential phases, meaning that each phase is passed down onto each other, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a speciali ...

s. It is also a compendium of software construction techniques, which include techniques from naming variables to deciding when to write a subroutine.

Summary

McConnell defines the main activities in software construction as detailed

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

, construction planning, coding and debugging,

unit testing Unit testing, component or module testing, is a form of software testing by which isolated source code is tested to validate expected behavior. Unit testing describes tests that are run at the unit-level to contrast testing at the Integration ...

, integration and integration testing. Although he does not dismiss the value of other aspects of software development such as requirements and documentation, McConnell emphasises the construction of software due to several reasons. Within the view of the book, construction is a large part of software development, as the central activity within software development and can significantly improve the productivity of a programmer when focus is directed towards it; in addition, the source code is seen as defining the operation of the software, with documentation implicated when code and documentation are opposed. Lastly, the book contends that construction is the exclusive activity which is guaranteed to remain completed. The techniques of a good programmer are also given throughout the book. The whole part seven of the book is about software craftsmanship (layout, style, character, themes and self-documentation). The other six parts of the book are: laying the foundation, creating high-quality code, variables, statements, code improvements and system considerations.

Review

''Code Complete'' has received outstanding reviews, being widely regarded as one of the leading must-reads for software developers. It won a Jolt Award in 1993. There are also negative reviews about the length and style of the book, which runs to over 900 pages and goes into detail on many topics. The first edition has been superseded by ''Code Complete 2''. The first editions can be found used and are still relevant for programmers using C, Pascal and GW-BASIC

Editions

* First edition (1993) * Second edition (June 2004)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Steve McConnell's websiteCode Complete Checklists
1993 non-fiction books Software development books Microsoft Press books