Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, by Robert C. Martin, has been an excellent resource for my computer programming projects. I am a self-taught programmer and therefore have always have a few holes in my knowledge of code-writing, mainly the fundamental theories and “best practices”. Martin’s ideas on naming conventions has probably been the most informative section for me. Aside from basic style guidelines, Martin discusses some very abstract ideas, such as polymorphism and concurrency, as well as other object oriented fundamentals. The examples in the book are all Java, which I have no experience in, but it does not deter from my ability to walk away from the book with new insight and ideas. The most interesting and valuable facet of Martin’s writing is his ability to clearly describe and explain the abstract concepts that are such a core part of computer programming. There are a number of illustrations that leave quite a bit to be desired aesthetically, but are hilarious and, nonetheless, a great addition, (e.g. The Bottled City of Kandor, Data from Star Trek, drunk sailors representing the chapter on formatting)
You can find it on Amazon and Alibris.
Bibliography:
Martin, Robert C. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.