Ask HN: Best books under 200 pages for developers?

buy a copy of "Code Complete"

The Mythical Man Month, Brooks. Probably more than 200 pages, but you can read the chapters as stand-alone essays. There are other good books about programming as a social activity, but everyone who does development for a living should read this one.

Little Schemer (216 pages)

I think that would be better off in a different book rather than as a part of this book. It is better to provide a clear and memorable picture that is only slightly wrong than a hedging and muddled picture that is still slightly wrong.

This book brilliantly illuminates the deepest issues at the core of software development. It is a well-written, gentle read. I have been programming for close to 50 years now, and this is probably the best and most insightful book I have ever read on software development.

I came here to recommend this one, very digestible and has had a significant impact on the quality of the software I write.

I came into this thread hoping to find the suggestion near the top.

An absolute must have I agree, amazing book.

This is a great book.

A Philosophy of Software Design.

Much easier to follow than CLRS (and much more manageable in size, though it obviously leaves out a lot of the stuff they cover).

I was first put onto this book by my PhD supervisor while writing up my dissertation. Revolutionised the way I wrote English for the better.

Absolutely. It is surprising (but not really once you think about it) how applicable it is.

"The Elements of Style", by Strunk & White. 92 pages.

Strunk and White

Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. Found it to be a very well written book with simple but useful todos.

Programming Pearls is short and very good.

The Mythical Man Month

Very interesting read. I find law 12. the law of line extension speaks to the current apple product line.

Kernighan also co-authored a (imo) really great book with Rob Pike (once an assistant of Penn & Teller [3]) called "The Practice of Programming" [4].

Writing Solid Code by Steve Maguire - 245 pages but really well written and an enjoyable read.