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Very good list. I've been compiling a list for a while now using google notebook. Its a big mess and many of the books I have yet to read but it links to a few
by danw 20y ago
Very good list. I've been compiling a list for a while now using google notebook. Its a big mess and many of the books I have yet to read but it links to a few good lists such as the ones on joelonsoftware and onstartups.
http://www.google.com/notebook/public/14636089903511277449/BDQiPSgoQ98yW0vQh http://www.google.com/notebook/public/14636089903511277449/BDQiPSgoQ98yW0vQh
Also python: long tail is a good read, drags out a bit though. Possibly more my attention span at fault there.
- bootload 20y agogreat list. I'll take some time to go through this. To this I'd add the - JOS software reading list [0] - JOS management reading list [1] There are gaps in these lists but pretty much cover the best for both programmers & business - types. But the lists needs updating as I note pg's 'Painters & Hackers' is not listed nor is Cal Hendersons 'Building Scalable Websites' [3]. Reference [0] Joel On Software 'Book Review, reading list' http://www.joelonsoftware.com/navLinks/fog0000000262.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/navLinks/fog0000000262.html [1] Joel On Software, 'Management reading list' http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FogCreekMBACurriculum.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FogCreekMBACurriculum.html [3] Cal Henderson, 'Building Scalable Web Sites, 978-0596102357': http://www.amazon.com/Building-Scalable-Web-Sites-Applications/dp/0596102356 http://www.amazon.com/Building-Scalable-Web-Sites-Applications/dp/0596102356
- danw 20y agoHackers and Painters is on my list three times :) I'm going to have to check out Cal Hendersons book sometime but first I have to make a good site then I can worry about scaling it.
- bootload 20y agoyeah shows how much I read. Hence why i like short lists. Take the time to also listen to CH on Carson Workshops [0] & this one [1]. Also check out the O'Reilly chapter from the book [2]. [0] Carson Workshops, 'The Future of Web Apps, carsonworkshops.com/summit, Cal Henderson' http://media.libsyn.com/media/carsonsystems/Cal_Henderson.mp3 http://media.libsyn.com/media/carsonsystems/Cal_Henderson.mp3 [1] Carson Workshops, 'Building Enterprise Web Apps on a Budget How We Built Flickr, ~ 10Mb, 10 min.' http://odeo.com/audio/1207043/view http://odeo.com/audio/1207043/view [2] O'Reilly, 'O'Reilly, Building Scalable Web Sites, Cal Henderson. Chapter 5: Data Integrity and Security, ~ 5Mb'. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/web2apps/chapter/index.html http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/web2apps/chapter/index.html
- nostrademons 20y agoCal addresses that by arranging his book in roughly the order that you should think about things. He recommends that you think about: 1. Version control 2. Issue tracking 3. One-click deploy 4. Internationalization 5. Security before you start building your application, then you build and release it, then (and only then) start thinking about: 6. Email 7. Web services 8. Scalability 9. Statistics & monitoring 10. APIs This mostly squares with my experiences (both with my own startup - currently on step 3, with 4, 5 and a launch-ready app already done - and working for others). The only changes I'd make are: 1. Move statistics and monitoring up the priority list, before launch. You want that data available to drive feature implementation. 2. I'm of two minds on internationalization. I think that most apps can wait until they're popular before they need to internationalize. However, i18n is really difficult to do later, after you've already built an app. I watched LiveJournal go through the process, and it wasn't pretty. So even though you don't need it, you may want to do it upfront because it'll be much harder later.
- danw 20y agoNow I think I need this book. Your right about stats, I would move them to number 6 or perhaps even to prelaunch.
- python_kiss 20y agoDan, thank you for sharing that awesome list. Joel's recommended books are great; in fact, back when I was developing a micro ISV, I used to turn to Joel's website for advice. That is where I discovered Paul Graham's "Hackers and Painters". Since then, I have shifted my allegiance to a new mentor :) I think the book brought three major changes in how I think: 1. Think big: Since I was developing a micro ISV, I had never really considered scaling the business to millions of customers (aka users). "Hackers and Painters" entered my life just a few weeks before I was about to launch my product; and I realized I had to develop something that can scale. I took a leap of faith and decided to instead pursue web startups; the opportunities for growth were many times in magnitude. 2. There are others like me: Toronto, Canada is not exactly a Silicon Valley. So uptil then, I didn't know there were so many other young entrepreneurs pursuing the same goals as me. Eventhough I wasn't acquainted with other hackers, I could at least gain a sense of security that I am not alone. 3. The Art of the Start: The single most valuable lesson I learned from Paul's book was the governing dynamics of web startups. Before reading it, there was not much inspiration or reason to think big because even if I did venture into online startups, I wouldn't know what to do. While I have read some excellent books, I can credit Paul's work for watering the first seeds.