C++ Common Knowledge, by Stephen C. Dewhurst, is a short book of 63 items that cover a broad variety of topics targeted at the “intermediate” C++ programmer. It certainly isn’t for a C++ beginner, but I can see how someone with some C++ experience could quickly learn important stuff about C++ by reading this book. None of the information was new to me, but most items were still fun reminders of C++ techniques that I don't get to use every day. Besides, the back cover and introduction make it clear that its primary use for “expert” C++ programmers is to help train “less-experienced colleagues.”

I happily recommend this book to any C++ programmers out there that are ready to move to the “next level,” but don’t stop there. Immediately after item 63 is an excellent bibliography of C++ books that are “must reads” for any C++ programmer, all of which I have read and highly recommend.

If you prefer reading paper to reading a computer screen, you might like The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky. It contains a number of articles by various authors on various aspects of software development. Much of the content is available online – in fact, I’d already read a handful of the articles – but printed books are still a lot easier on the eyes and the brain than reading out of a Web browser.

Here are some of the main points that I want to remember:

• Coding style should be enforced by the compiler.
• Software should be flexible, simple, sloppy, tolerant, and forgiving.
• Strong testing can replace strong typing.
• Great programmers want interesting projects more than anything else.
• You can’t directly measure the performance of programmers or testers.
• Emphasizing rewards for individual merit is dangerous for team morale.
• Writing good social software is really hard.
• Small software companies should “trust the customer.”
• Hiring good people is hard (but still easier than firing).
• Ruby looks even stranger than Perl.

I can’t promise that it’s the “best” software writing, but it’s pretty good, so I recommend this book to anyone in the software industry looking for some interesting ideas.