Archive for the ‘CodeBook’ Category

The Design of Design

No Comments »

tmmmBefore, I loved being in a bookstore. Now, I turn to the WWW to buy books. I, always, prefer choice and cheap over instant gratification. Recently, I had to actually pickup a book for my wife–she likes instant, tell me about it. As I hurry to checkout, out of the corner of an eye, tdod I spot a book that looks like TMMM (the 1995 edition). So I hit the flaps, bank hard left, dive down and swoop up a bluish 400 page book entitled The Design of Design by Frederick P. Brooks, jr. Distrustful, I wonder: “Real or lookalike?,” “Piggybacking on earlier success?” So I browse a few random pages. Wow, brilliant stuff. I have got to have this book, like now! I hurry through checkout, to the car and start reading. Here is what I think. First, re-read TMMM. Go ahead, I’ll wait… Ok, re-read at least chapters 2 and 16. Second, read TDOD, but skip the non computer essays. I say this because the first part of TDOD is brilliant but dense. Refreshing the context will make it more digestible. Also, I highly disagree with the much iterated notion that TDOD is applicable outside the CS realm. Building analogy considered harmful.