[Ace26]

There are lots of books out there that teach application development. I have read quite some but there are others that have that uncanny touch of class in that the author(s) passes on information in a very comprehensive and easy manner without watering down technical content in any way.

Below are some of the best and most helpful yet, I have ever read(not in any particular sorting order):

C# programming:
• Apress Pro C# 2005 and the .NET 2.0 Platform (Andrew Troelsen)
• Apress Beginning C# 2008 Objects from Concept to code (Grant Palmer and Jacquie Barker)
• Wrox Professional C# 2005 (Christian Nagel et al)
• Programmers Heaven’s C# School (1 edition by Faraz Rasheed et al)
• Network Programming in .NET with C# and VB.NET (Fiach Reid)
Web Development:
• Apress Beginning CSS Web Development from Novice to Professional (Simon Collison)
• Apress Pro ASP.NET 2.0 in C# 2005 (Matthew MacDonald and Mario Szpuszta)
• Wrox Professional ASP.NET 2.0 XML (Thiru Thangarathinam)

Database Development:
• Apress Beginning Database Design From Novice to Professional (Clare Churcher)
• Apress Beginning C# 2008 Databases From Novice to Professional (Vidya Vrat Agarwal and James Huddleston)

General Programming Practices:
• Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship (Robert C. Martin)
• The Unified Modeling Language User Guide SECOND EDITION (Grady Booch et al “The three Amigos”)

I am yet to read any books on C++ programming as I program better and comfortably in C# but will do that from the start of next year (2010) so as to broaden my horizon, like they say.

That is that for me. How about you?

[Martyr2]

No Code Complete 2nd Edition by Steve McConnell or The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master? I am dumbstruck! I thought these books would be the staple of every programmer.

I am a sad sad programmer now.

[Ace26]

Martyr2, on 12 Dec, 2009 - 02:19 PM, said:

No Code Complete 2nd Edition by Steve McConnell or The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master? I am dumbstruck! I thought these books would be the staple of every programmer.

I am a sad sad programmer now.

I've always had that "blackish" book (The Pragmatic Programmer) but I've never gotten around reading it anyways. But now u've mentioned it I think i'll just spend this period of the year perusing through it.

Still a sad programmer?

[SpeedisaVirus]

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable OO Software by Gamma, Helm, Johnson, and Vissides

Very useful.

This post has been edited by SpeedisaVirus: 17 December 2009 - 06:54 PM

[AdaHacker]

SQL For Smarties: Advanced SQL Programming by Joe Celko.

I thought I knew SQL until I read that book. There's nothing like reading the work of a genuine expert to help you realize just how ignorant you actually are.

[rahulbatra]

Along with the 2 Martyr2 mentioned, I'd definitely put Programming Pearls by Bentley there. Its the journey from an amateur to really thinking like an expert programmer.

[Raynes]

Real World Haskell

The best way to learn to use Haskell for real world tasks. It's a perfect introduction to Haskell and functional programming in general. I would be lost without it.