Software Development in Practice

Cover
Copyright Page
CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
AUTHORS
ABBREVIATIONS
PREFACE
1 GETTING STARTED IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
	ENTRY POINTS INTO A SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ROLE
	SOFTWARE DEVELOPER SKILLS
	INTERVIEW SKILLS
	TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED AS A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
	SUMMARY
2 TARGET ROLES
	OVERVIEW OF DIFFERENT ROLES
	GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE
	RECRUITMENT PERSPECTIVE AND SENIORITY
	TIPS FOR TARGETING ROLES
	SUMMARY
3 OVERVIEW OF DIFFERENT TASKS A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPER MIGHT ENCOUNTER IN THE ROLE
	WHAT’S IN A NAME?
	WHAT WOULD MY RESPONSIBILITIES BE AS A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER?
	SUMMARY
4 OVERVIEW OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES
	DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACHES
	HOW DEVELOPMENTS GO WRONG
	KEY DESIGN METHODOLOGIES AND LIMITATIONS
	HOW IS A DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY CHOSEN?
	HOW THE CLIENT BRIEF AFFECTS THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
	SUMMARY
5 OVERVIEW OF COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE LANGUAGES AND 
PARADIGMS
	TRENDS IN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
	LANGUAGE BUILDING BLOCKS
	ALGORITHMS
	COMMON PROGRAMMING PARADIGMS
	DESIGN PATTERNS
	LMGTFY! (‘LET ME GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU!’)
	TIPS AND THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN WORKING WITH PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
	SUMMARY
6 ANALYSIS AND PLANNING
	ANALYSING THE PROBLEM
	ANTICIPATING POSSIBLE ERRORS AND ISSUES, AND MITIGATING THEM
	THE ROLE OF DOCUMENTATION
	SUMMARY
7 WRITING GOOD-QUALITY CODE
	CODING THE SOLUTION
	NAMING CONVENTIONS
	THE IMPORTANCE OF LAYOUT AND COMMENTING
	COMMENTS AS DOCUMENTATION
	HANDLING ERRORS AND EXCEPTIONS
	CODE REVIEW METHODS
	TIPS FOR GOOD CODING
	SUMMARY
8
DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE USER INTERFACES
	USER INTERFACE AND USER EXPERIENCE
	USE OF TOOLS
	SUMMARY
9
LINKING PROGRAM CODE TO BACK-END DATA SOURCES
	SOURCES OF DATA
	HARDWARE INTERFACES, SUCH AS SENSORS
	DATA FILES
	DATABASES
	WEB-BASED APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES
	TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH DATA
	SUMMARY
10 TESTING CODE AND ANALYSING RESULTS
	OVERVIEW OF TESTING
	METHODS OF TESTING
	DESIGNING TEST DATA
	ANALYSING TEST RESULTS
	TIPS FOR TESTING
	SUMMARY
11
WORKING WITH STRUCTURED TECHNIQUES TO PROBLEM-SOLVE AND DESIGN SOLUTIONS
	DESIGNING AND RESOURCING THE SOLUTION
	THE IMPORTANCE OF DIAGRAMMING
	CONFIRMING THE DESIGN WITH THE CLIENT BEFORE CODING
	SUMMARY
12
HOW TO DEBUG CODE AND UNDERSTAND UNDERLYING PROGRAM STRUCTURE
	WHEN SHOULD DEBUGGING OCCUR?
	DEBUGGING TOOLS
	COMMON DEBUGGING TACTICS USED BY DEVELOPERS
	SEMANTIC ERRORS
	MAKING THE UNDERLYING PROGRAM STRUCTURE MORE OBVIOUS
	TIPS FOR DEBUGGING
	SUMMARY
13
WORKING WITH SYSTEMS ANALYSIS ARTEFACTS
	USE CASES
	AGILE FRAMEWORKS IN PRACTICAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
	SUMMARY
14
BUILDING, MANAGING AND DEPLOYING CODE INTO ENTERPRISE ENVIRONMENTS
	DEVOPS
	DEVSECOPS
	SOFTWARE VERSIONING
	CHANGING DEVELOPMENTAL PRACTICES
	PRODUCING A TECHNICAL GUIDE
	PRODUCING A USER GUIDE
	TIPS FOR BUILDING, MANAGING AND DEPLOYING CODE INTO ENTERPRISE ENVIRONMENTS
	SUMMARY
15 INDUSTRY APPROACHES TO TESTING
	AUTOMATED TOOLS
	TRENDS
	HOW SECURITY AFFECTS TESTING IN THE MODERN IT INDUSTRY
	TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TESTING
	SUMMARY
16 CLIENT AND STAKEHOLDER FOCUS
	BEFORE DEVELOPMENT BEGINS
	SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CLIENTS
	CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR CLIENTS
	SUMMARY
17 PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
	THE NEED FOR CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
	SKILLS FRAMEWORK FOR THE INFORMATION AGE
	CERTIFICATION PROGRAMMES RECOGNISED BY INDUSTRY
	TIPS FOR GETTING PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
	SUMMARY
18 FINAL THOUGHTS
	HOW THINGS CHANGE…
	PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
	IDENTIFY YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
REFERENCES
FURTHER READING
GLOSSARY
INDEX
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