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Book Review: 'Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers' by Robert 'Uncle Bob' Martin

In popular culture, computer programmers, sometimes confused with sysadmins, are often described as teenage punks, sitting in a dark, lit only by the glow of their monitor, empty cartons of pizza and Mountain Dew bottles scattered strategically around, frantically hacking away on their keyboard.

What does it mean to be a professional programmer? Is it wearing a suit and tie to work? Is it having certifications or diplomas decorating the walls of your office? Is it working hard, sometimes overtime and weekends, just to show your dedication?

To Uncle Bob, this is not what professional programmer means. The things commonly mistaken for professionalism, such as a dress code, are not what’s important, at the end of the day. Having developers act professionally towards the code and towards each other, however, is.

Clean Coder is a collection of anecdotes and stories about the 42-year programming career of Robert Martin, and he shares his rich experience of what it means to be a professional programmer. It’s knowing when to say no even to the most persistent of managers, and saying yes by committing to a task, and standing behind your commitment. It’s writing the best code possible by not sacrificing any of the principles of good coding practices, even in times of pressure. It’s asking for help and helping others, instead of hacking away with your headphones on.

If you value your chosen profession, you should definitely read this book, especially if you are working in less-then-ideal corporate environment - it’s up to you to drive changes in your work place, if the settings do not allow you to act professionally. If your company is not using source control - set it up yourself, and make sure to teach your team how to use it. If you’re not writing unit tests or waiting for QA to test for bugs - learn how to test your code, so that you’ll be able to know for sure that it works. Keep your skills sharp and your tools sharper. That’s what it means to be a professional programmer!