internationallysourcegear

THEBESTSOFTWAREWRITINGISelectedandIntroducedbyJoelSpolskyTheBestSoftwareWritingI:SelectedandIntroducedbyJoelSpolskyCopyright2005EditedbyJoelSpolskyAllrightsreserved.
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CONTENTSAbouttheEditorviiAbouttheAuthorsixIntroductionxvKenArnoldStyleIsSubstance1LeonBambrickAwardfortheSilliestUserInterface:WindowsSearch7MichaelBeanThePitfallsofOutsourcingProgrammers.
.
9RoryBlythExcelasaDatabase17AdamBosworthICSOC04Talk23danahboydAutisticSocialSoftware35RaymondChenWhyNotJustBlocktheAppsThatRelyonUndocumentedBehavior47KevinChengandTomChiKickingtheLlama51CoryDoctorowSaveCanada'sInternetfromWIPO53ea_spouseEA:TheHumanStory59BruceEckelStrongTypingvs.
StrongTesting67PaulFordProcessingProcessing79PaulGrahamGreatHackers95JohnGruberTheLocationFieldIstheNewCommandLine111GregorHohpeStarbucksDoesNotUseTwo-PhaseCommit119RonJeffriesPassion125EricJohnsonC++—TheForgottenTrojanHorse129EricLippertHowManyMicrosoftEmployeesDoesItTaketoChangeaLightbulb135Michael"Rands"LoppWhattoDoWhenYou'reScrewed139LarryOstermanLarry'sRulesofSoftwareEngineering#2:MeasuringTestersbyTestMetricsDoesn't151MaryPoppendieckTeamCompensation157RickSchautMacWord6.
0171ClayShirkyAGroupIsItsOwnWorstEnemy183ClayShirkyGroupasUser:FlamingandtheDesignofSocialSoftware211EricSinkClosingtheGap,Part1223EricSinkClosingtheGap,Part2233EricSinkHazardsofHiring247AaronSwartzPowerPointRemix261whytheluckystiffAQuick(andHopefullyPainless)RideThroughRuby(withCartoonFoxes)267Index293ContentsviABOUTTHEEDITORJoelSpolskyisagloballyrecognizedexpertonthesoftwaredevelopmentprocess.
Hiswebsite,JoelonSoftware(www.
joelonsoftware.
com),ispop-ularwithsoftwaredevelopersaroundtheworldandhasbeentranslatedintoover30languages.
AsthefounderofFogCreekSoftwareinNewYorkCity,hecreatedFogBugz,apopularprojectmanagementsystemforsoftwareteams.
JoelhasworkedatMicrosoft,wherehedesignedVBAasamemberoftheExcelteam,andatJunoOnlineServices,devel-opinganInternetclientusedbymillions.
Hehaswrittentwopreviousbooks:UserInterfaceDesignforProgrammers(Apress,2001)andJoelonSoftware(Apress,2004).
JoelholdsaBSfromYaleincomputerscience.
BeforecollegeheservedintheIsraeliDefenseForcesasapara-trooper,andhewasoneofthefoundersofKibbutzHanaton.
ABOUTTHEAUTHORSKenArnoldhasloiteredaroundthecomputingfieldfordecades,includ-ingattendingBerkeleywhereheworkedontheBSDproject,creatingthecurseslibraryandhelpingonrogue;writingthe"TheCAdvisor"col-umnforUnixReview(later"TheC++Advisor"asprogressledusdownthegardenpath);coauthoringTheJavaProgrammingLanguageandotherbooks;designingJavaSpacesandhelpingdesignJini;andocca-sionally(asshownhere)pretendingtobehipbyblogging.
HiscurrentdalliancesincludethehumanfactorsofprogramminglanguagesandAPIs,electronicvotingsystemsyourmothercouldtrust,andtheNapkinpluggablelookandfeelforJavathatmakesprovisionalGUIslook,well,provisional.
LeonBambrickisaprolificprogrammer,satirist,andpugilist,workingoutofthesouthernhemisphere.
HefirstmetJoelSpolskywhentheywerestrandedtogetheronadesertisland,withnothingbutan8086andacopyofKerniganandRitchie.
Hiswebsite,secretGeek.
net,hasasmallcameoinStarWarsEpisodeIII–RevengeoftheSith—asanImperialGuard'scodpiece.
MichaelBeanisasoftwaredeveloperandentrepreneur.
HeiscurrentlypresidentandoneofthefoundersofForioBusinessSimulations.
BeforeForio,Michaelheldseniormanagementpostsatconsultingandsoft-warefirmsintheUnitedStatesandEurope.
MichaelwasalsoaresearchassociatefortheSystemDynamicsGroupatMIT,wherehedevelopedsimulationsthatanalyzedthestrategicimplicationsofmanagerdeci-sions.
Michaelhasconsultedwithcorporationsandgovernmentagenciesnationallyandinternationallyontransferpricing,competitivestrategy,emergingtechnologies,andcustomermigration.
Hehascon-ductedscenarioplanning,systemsthinking,andcomputersimulationseminarstocorporationsandgovernmentagenciesworldwide.
Inaddi-tion,Michaelhaspresentedatnationalconferencesonstrategy,software,andcomputersimulation.
RoryBlythworksforMicrosoftasacorporatestooge.
Inhissparetime,hekeepsablogatwww.
neopoleon.
com,ponderstheuniverse,andconsid-ershimselftobeoneofthethreemissingSankarastones,althoughheprobablyisn't,butitmakeshimfeelbetteraboutbeingsobloodyinsignificant.
AdamBosworthjoinedGooglerecentlyasvicepresidentofengineering.
HecametoGooglefromBEA,wherehewaschiefarchitectandseniorVPofadvanceddevelopmentandresponsiblefordrivingtheengineeringeffortsforBEA'sFrameworkDivision.
PriortojoiningBEA,hecofoundedCrossgain,asoftwaredevelopmentfirmacquiredbyBEA.
KnownasoneofthepioneersofXML,heheldvariousseniormanage-mentpositionsatMicrosoft,includinggeneralmanageroftheWebDatagroup,ateamfocusedondefininganddrivingXMLstrategy.
WhileatMicrosoft,hewasresponsiblefordesigninganddeliveringtheMicrosoftAccessPCDatabaseproductandassemblinganddrivingtheteamthatdevelopedInternetExplorer4.
0'sHTMLengine.
danahboydisaPhDstudentintheSchoolofInformationManagementandSystemsattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,whereshestudieshowpeoplenegotiateapresentationofselfinmediatedsocialcontextstounknownaudiencesusingethnographicmethods.
Sheisparticularlyinter-estedinhowyouthdevelopaculturallysituatedunderstandingofselfandtheroleoftechnologyinthisprocess.
PriortoBerkeley,danahreceivedamaster'sinsociablemediafromtheMITMediaLabandabachelor'sincomputersciencefromBrownUniversity.
Herworkhasrangedfrompsy-chologicalstudiesofhowdepthcueprioritizationisdependentonlevelsofsexhormonestodesigninstallationsofinteractivesocialvisualizations.
danahblogsextensivelyatApophenia(www.
zephoria.
org/thoughts)andMany-to-Many(www.
corante.
com/many).
RaymondChenhasworkedinMicrosoft'sWindowsdivisionsince1992andhasseenalotofthingscomeandgo.
HisblogdealswiththehistoryofWindowsandthedyingartofWin32programming.
AbouttheAuthorsxKevinChengisanindependentuserexperiencespecialistandglobalnomad.
Heholdsamaster'sinhuman-computerinteractionandergonomicsfromtheUniversityCollegeLondonInteractionCentre(UCLIC)andhasspokenatUXNet,UPA,andACM-SIGCHI.
HeisthecofounderandcocreatorofOK/Cancel(www.
ok-cancel.
com),anonlinesitebelievedtobeinthetopfiveofusabilityandHCI-themedcomics.
TomChihasaMastersDegreeinElectricalEngineering,whichproba-blymeanshe'squalifiedneithertotalkaboutHCInortowriteanysortoffunnything.
Yet,weekafterweekhedreamstheimpossibledreamatok-cancel.
com.
Asforcredentials,thereisthesmallmatterofhavingdesignedUIfeaturesfortworeleasesofMicrosoftOutlook,aswellashisdarkhistoryofconsultingforF500clients—butthesearetopicsthatcivilizedpeopleshouldn'tspeakof.
Shhh.
CoryDoctorow(craphound.
com)isEuropeanAffairsCoordinatorfortheElectronicFrontierFoundation(www.
eff.
org),amember-supportednon-profitgroupthatworkstoupholdcivillibertiesvaluesintechnologylaw,policy,andstandards.
HerepresentsEFF'sinterestsatvariousstandardsbodiesandconsortia,andattheUnitedNations'WorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization.
DoctorowisalsoaprolificwriterwhoappearsonthemastheadsatWired,Make,andPopularSciencemagazines,andwhosesciencefictionnovelshavewontheCampbell,Sunburst,andLocusAwards.
HisnovelDownandOutintheMagicKingdomisafinalistforthisyear'sNebulaAward.
HeisthecoeditorofthepopularweblogBoingBoing(boingboing.
net).
BorninCanada,henowlivesinLondon,England.
BruceEckel(www.
BruceEckel.
com)istheauthorofThinkinginJava(PrenticeHall,1998,2ndedition,2000,3rdedition,2003,4thedition,2005),theHands-OnJavaSeminarCD-ROM(availableonthewebsite),ThinkinginC++(PH1995;2ndedition2000,Volume2,withChuckAllison,2003),andC++Inside&Out(Osborne/McGraw-Hill,1993),amongothers.
He'sgivenhundredsofpresentationsthroughouttheworld,publishedover150articlesinnumerousmagazines,wasafound-ingmemberoftheANSI/ISOC++committee,andspeaksregularlyatconferences.
Heprovidespublicandprivateseminarsanddesigncon-sultinginC++andJava.
xiAbouttheAuthorsPaulFordisaneditoratHarper'smagazine,afrequentcommentatoronNPR'sAllThingsConsidered,andthesoleproprietorofFtrain.
com.
Hehasfooledwithcomputersforthelasttwodecades,andfeelsnoinclina-tiontostop.
HelivesinBrooklyn,NewYork.
PaulGrahamisanessayist,programmer,andprogramminglanguagedesigner.
In1995hedevelopedwithRobertMorristhefirstweb-basedapplication,Viaweb,whichwasacquiredbyYahooin1998.
In2002hedescribedasimpleBayesianspamfilterthatinspiredmostcurrentfilters.
He'scurrentlyworkingonanewprogramminglanguagecalledArc,anewbook(probably)forO'Reilly,andisoneofthepartnersinYCombinator.
PaulistheauthorofOnLisp(PrenticeHall,1993),ANSICommonLisp(PrenticeHall,1995),andHackers&Painters(O'Reilly,2004).
HehasanABfromCornellandaPhDincomputersci-encefromHarvard,andstudiedpaintingatRISDandtheAccademiadiBelleArtiinFlorence.
JohnGruberisafreelancewriter,webdeveloper,designer,andMacnerd.
Hecombinesthoseinterestsonhiswebsite,DaringFireball(http://daringfireball.
net/).
JohnlivesinPhiladelphiawithhiswifeandson.
GregorHohpeleadstheEnterpriseIntegrationpracticeatThoughtWorks,Inc.
,aspecializedproviderofapplicationdevelopmentandintegrationservices.
GregorisawidelyrecognizedthoughtleaderonasynchronousmessagingarchitecturesandcoauthoroftheseminalbookEnterpriseIntegrationPatterns(Addison-Wesley,2004).
Gregorspeaksregularlyattechnicalconferencesaroundtheworldandmain-tainsthewebsitewww.
eaipatterns.
com.
RonJeffrieshasbeendevelopingsoftwarelongerthanmostpeoplehavebeenalive.
Heholdsadvanceddegreesinmathematicsandcomputersci-ence,bothearnedbeforenegativeintegershadbeeninvented.
Histeamshavebuiltoperatingsystems,compilers,relationaldatabasesystems,andalargerangeofapplications.
Ron'ssoftwareproductshavepro-ducedrevenueofoverhalfabilliondollars,andhewonderswhyhedidn'tgetanyofit.
AbouttheAuthorsxiiEricJohnsongraduatedfromtheUniversityofIllinoiswithaBSincom-putersciencein1993andhasworkedatFactSetResearchSystemseversince.
CurrentlyheisthedirectorofmarketdataengineeringandliveswithhiswifeandtwokidsinsouthwesternConnecticut.
Hecanbereachedatjohnson.
eric@gmail.
com.
EricLipperthasbeenasoftwaredeveloperatMicrosoftsince1996.
HespenthisfirstfiveyearsworkingonVBScript,JScript,WindowsScriptHost,andotherscriptingtechnologiesandmorerecentlyhasbeenworkingonVisualStudioToolsForOffice.
Healsowritesablog,wherehedispensesadviceaboutscripting,security,and(occasionally)romance.
Whennotwritingsoftwareorwritingaboutsoftware,Ericcanbefoundplayingoldsongsonoldpianos,tryingtokeepthemastofhistinysailboatupright,buildingkites,ortalkinghisfriendsintohelpinghimfixhis97-year-oldhouse.
Michael"Rands"LoppisaSiliconValley–basedsoftwareengineeringmanager.
He'sriddenavarietyofhigh-techroller-coasters,includingBorlandInternational,NetscapeCommunications,AppleComputer,andastart-upyou'veunfortunatelyneverheardof.
Inhissparetime,hewritesaweblogatwww.
randsinrepose.
com,whereheoptimisticallycon-templatesthefactthattheworldcontinuestogetuncomfortablysmaller.
LarryOstermanhasbeenworkingatMicrosoftsince1984.
Inthattime,he'sworkedasasoftwareengineerdeepintheplumbingofvariousMicrosoftproducts,includingMS-DOS,MS-NET,LANManager,WindowsNT,Exchange,andeHome,andiscurrentlyworkingintheWindowsMultimediaTechnologiesgroup.
LarrylivesjustnorthofSeattlewithhiswifeValorieandtheirtwokids,fourcats,andtwohorses.
MaryPoppendieckisaseasonedleaderinbothoperationsandnewprod-uctdevelopmentwithmorethan25yearsofITexperience.
Shehasledteamsimplementingleansolutionsrangingfromenterprisesupplychainmanagementtodigitalmedia,andbuiltoneof3M'sfirstjust-in-timeleanproductionsystems.
MaryiscurrentlythepresidentofPoppendieckLLCinMinnesota.
HerbookLeanSoftwareDevelopment:AnAgileToolkit,whichbringsleanprinciplestosoftwaredevelopment,wontheSoftwareDevelopmentProductivityAwardin2004.
xiiiAbouttheAuthorsRickSchautgrewupinGreenBayandMilwaukee,Wisconsin,wherehespenthischildhoodwatchingPaulHornungscoretouchdownsandHankAaronhithomeruns.
Atonepoint,hebelievedthatournationalanthemendedwith,"thelandofthefreeandthehomeoftheBraves,"andhehadahardtimefiguringoutwhyeveryAmericanLeagueumpirewasnamed"Al.
"Aftergraduatingfromhighschool,RickstudiedeconomicsattheUniversityofWisconsin,Milwaukee,andcomputerscienceattheUniversityofWisconsin.
RickjoinedMicrosoftin1990,andhasbeenworkingonversionsofMicrosoftWordeversince.
ClayShirkyteachesatNYU'sgraduateInteractiveTelecommunicationsProgram,andworkswithclients,includingtheLibraryofCongress,ConnectingforHealth,andNokia,onnetworkdesignissues.
HewritesabouttheculturalandeconomicissuesoftheInternet(archivedatshirky.
com).
EricSinkisthefounderofSourceGear,adevelopertoolsISV.
MoreofEric'swritingsandrantscanbefoundonhisweblogatsoftware.
ericsink.
com.
EricandhiswifeliveincentralIllinoiswiththeirtwoyoungdaughtersandoneoldcat.
AaronSwartzisateenagewriter,hacker,andactivist.
FormerlytheMetadataAdvisortoCreativeCommonsandmemberoftheW3C'sRDFCoreWorkingGroup,heiscurrentlyastudentatStanfordUniversity,whereheauthorshispopularweblogandisbeginningworkonatechnologystartup.
whytheluckystiffisacomputerprogg'erandaspiringauthorwithnotrueachievementsunderhisbelt.
Excepttherewasthattimewhenhetoreabuildinginhalfwithhisbarefeet.
AbouttheAuthorsxivINTRODUCTIONNewYorkCityisablast.
Justtheotherday,asIwaswalkingthefourblocksfrommyofficetothesubwayentrance,interestingthingskepthappening.
Notreallyinterestingthings,justmodestlyinterestingthings.
So,forexample,someguywasrunningdownthesidewalkfranti-cally,lookingverymuchlikeacharacterinanR.
Crumbcomic,flappinghisarmsbroadlyandmakingchickensounds.
Runningisn'ttherightword.
Hewaskindofpratfallingrepeatedlyandthencatchinghimselfrightbeforehehittheground.
Thenataxiturningthecornernearlyknockedoveranoldmanwhowascrossingthestreetalittlebittooslowlyforthetaxidriver'staste.
Acoupleofchubby,red-facedout-of-townersaskedmeiftherewasabaranywherenearby.
(Therewas.
Wewereinfrontofit.
)Someonewashandingoutlittleadvertisingcardsattheentrancetothesubway.
Ofcourse,theinsideofthesubwaystationwascompletelylitteredwiththecardsbecauseeverybodywhotookoneimmediatelyhurleditonthegroundasviolentlyasyoucanhurlafour-by-sixpost-card.
Ialmostslippedononeonthestepsdown.
Modestlyinterestingstuff,butquiteforgettableinNewYork.
ThenextdayIwastalkingtooneofthesummerinternswejusthired.
Forsomereason,thisyear'ssummerinternclassconsistsof75%peoplewhoareeitherfromIndianaorwhowenttoschoolinIndiana.
Indiana,forthoseofyounotfamiliarwithourAmericanlandscape,issomewhereinthemiddle—astateoffarms,wholesomecollegeswithcorn-fedbasketball-playingkids,NormanRockwelltowns,andtheoccasionalrust-belthellmouthindustrialcitygaspingitslastbreath.
(AsIwritethesewordsIbracefortheslewofangrylettersfromtheIndianaDepartmentofTourismandInfrastructurepromotingtheexcitingcul-turalscene,themanypicturesquelakes,theworld-classtelephonesystem,andthevarietyofethnicrestaurants.
YoumightfindaMexicanrestaurantandanItalianrestaurantonthesameblock!
)Anyway,theinternsaidhehadneverlivedinNewYorkCity,andaskedmewhatitwaslike.
Ididn'treallyhaveagoodanswer,butIsaid,"NewYorkisthekindofplacewhere10thingshappentoyoueverydayonthewaytothesubwaythatwouldhavequalifiedasinterestingdinnerconversationinBloomington,Indiana,andyoudon'tpaythemanynotice.
"Feelingsmugwithmyself,Ipulleddownanatlasfromthebookshelftofindanotherstatetoinsult.
Anyhow,Ican'trememberwhyItoldyouthatstory.
Oh,wait,yesIcan,butfirstIhavetotellyouanotherstory.
Afewmonthsago,Igotareviewcopyofabookfromanotherpub-lisher,otherthanthepublisherofthisbook,whowillremainanonymous,andthebookwillremainanonymous,andtheauthorwillremainanonymous,becauseI'mafraidIjusthavenothinggoodtosayaboutsaidbook.
Thepublisherwantedtogetaquotefrommetoputonthebackcovertalkingabouthowwonderfulhisbookwas.
NormallyI'dbehappytodothat;I'macompletepublicityslutandwilldojustaboutanythingtogetmynameinfrontofthereadingpublic.
MyhopeisthatifIdothisenough,telemarketerswhocallmeathomewillbeabletopronouncemyname.
Thebookstartedoutlookingpromising.
Itfilledarealneed.
Irememberseveraltimesstandinginbookstoresdesperatelytryingtofindabookontheverytopic,buttherewasnothingtobefound.
SoIstartedreadingthemanuscriptfullofhighhopes.
Bleah.
Icouldhardlybeartokeepreading.
Theauthorkeptsayingsmartandinterestingthings.
Heevenwroteclearly.
Butthebookwasthoroughly,completely,boring.
Andworse,itwascompletelyunconvincing.
Theauthorhadviolatedthenumberoneruleofgoodwriting,the"Show,don'ttell"rule.
Therewasnotasinglestoryinthebook.
Itwaschock-fullofsentenceslike"Agoodteamleaderprovidesinspirationbysettingapositiveexample.
"WhattheeffIntroductionxviPayattention.
Here'sthewaytosay"Agoodteamleaderprovidesinspirationbysettingapositiveexample"withoutputtingyouraudiencetosleep:ForafewmonthsinthearmyIworkedinthemesshall,clearingtablesandwashingdishesnonstopfor16hoursaday,withonlyahalf-hourbreakintheafternoon,ifyouwashedthedishesreallyfast.
Myhandswereperma-nentlyred,thefrontofmyshirtwaspermanentlywetandsmelly,andIcouldn'ttakeitanymore.
Somehow,Imanagedtogetoutofthemesshallintoajobworkingforahigh-rankingSergeantMajor.
Thisguyhadyearsofexperience.
Hewasprobably20yearsolderthanthekidsintheunit.
Eveninthefield,hewasalwaysimmaculate,wearingaspotless,starched,pressedfulldressuniformwithimpeccablypolishedshoesnomatterhowdustyandmuddytherestoftheworldwasaroundhim.
Yougotthefeelingthathesleptin300-threadcountEgyptiancottonsheetswhilewesleptindustysleepingbagsontheground.
Hisjobconsistedoftwothings:disciplineandthephysicalinfrastructureofthebase.
Hewasabitofaterrortoeveryoneinthebattalionduetohisroleasthechiefdisciplinaryofficer.
Mostpeopleonlyknewhimfromstruttingaroundthebaseconductinginspections,screamingatthetopofhislungsanddemandingimpossiblyhighstandardsoforderandcleanlinessinwhatwasessentiallyabunchoftentsinthemiddleofthedesert,alternatelydust-chokedormud-choked,dependingontherainsituation.
Anyway,onthefirstdayworkingfortheSergeantMajor,Ididn'tknowwhattoexpect.
Iwassureitwasgoingtobeterrifying,butithadtobebetterthanwashingdishesandclearingtablesalldaylong(andit'snotliketheguyinchargeofthemesshallwassuchasweetheart,either!
).
Onthefirstdayhetookmetotheofficers'bathroomandtoldmeIwouldberesponsibleforkeepingitclean.
"Here'showyoucleanatoilet,"hesaid.
Andhegotdownonhiskneesinfrontoftheporcelainbowl,inhispressedstarchedspotlessdressuniform,andscrubbedthetoiletwithhisbarehands.
Toa19-year-oldwhohastocleantoilets,somethingwhichisalmostbydef-initiontheworstpossiblejobintheworld,thesightofthishigh-ranking,38-year-old,immaculate,manicured,pampereddisciplineofficercleaningatoiletcompletelyresetmyattitude.
Ifhecancleanatoilet,Icancleanatoi-let.
There'snothingwrongwithcleaningtoilets.
Myloyaltyandinspirationfromthatmomentonwereunflagging.
That'sleadership.
SeewhatIdidhereItoldastory.
I'llbetyou'drathersitthrough10ofthose400-wordstoriesthanhavetolistentosomeonedroneonabouthow"agoodteamleaderprovidesinspirationbysettingapositiveexample.
"xviiIntroductionAnyway,Icalleduptheeditorofthebookthattheywantedmetopraise,andsaidIcouldn't,ingoodfaith,recommendaboringbookwithoutanystoriesinit,evenifitwas100%correctandotherwisewell-written.
Ithinktheyhatemenow.
Sobeit.
Thesoftwaredevelopmentworlddesperatelyneedsbetterwriting.
IfIhavetoreadanother2000-pagebookaboutsomeclasslibrarywrittenby16separatepeopleinbrokenESL,I'mgoingtoflipout.
IfIseeanotherhardbackbookaboutobject-orientedmodelswrittenwithdensefaux-academicpretentiousness,I'mnotgoingtoshelveitanymoreintheFogCreeklibrary:it'sgoingrightintherecyclebin.
IfIhavetoreadanotherspiritedattackonMicrosoft'sbuggycodebyanenthu-siasticnine-year-oldTrekkieonSlashdot,Imightjustpokemyeyesoutwithasharpenedpencil.
Stopit,stopit,stopit!
Andthat'swhywhenGaryCornellsuggestedthisbook,Ileaptattheidea.
Itwouldbeachancetoshowcasesomeofthebestwritingaboutsoftwarefromthepastyear"orso.
"Theoriginalideawastomakeitanannual,sothevolumeyou'reholdingwouldbe"TheBestSoftwareWritingof2004,"buttherewereabunchofgreatarticlesfrom2003thatwewantedtoinclude,andwewereafraidbookstoreswouldreturnitattheendoftheyeariftherewasadateinthetitle.
Isolicitednominationsfromthefaithfulreadersofmywebsite,JoelonSoftware,andselectedthefinalstoriesmyself,sotheblameforwhat'sincludedandwhatisn'tincludedisentirelymyown,butfullcreditforreallyincrediblewritinginafieldthatdoesn'tnormallygetanygoestothecontributors.
Introductionxviii