Joel on Software

Ever heard of Joel on Software? Coming out of school you might not have heard of it and even for some years afterwards. I didn't know about it either until just recently. My boss made me take this software test The Joel Test: 12 Steps to Better Code.

Joel on Software is a weblog on software engineering. In short, it is the Office Space of software commentary coming from one person's experience - Joel Spolsky. When I say Office Space, I mean the movie and its witty comments about desk life and computer programmers in general. Mr. Spolsky uses witty commentary to keep his readers enthralled and in the process manages to make them understand some really neat tips for survival in the software world.

His logs have been converted into books but they are actually freely available on his website. I like his style of writing and his logs are an interesting read on any day. Its like reading Shakespearean comedy designed for software engineers, just much easier to understand. If you have ever read Much Ado About Nothing then you know what I mean. Its a good site to learn more about the non-academic aspect of software, aka the Real World.