BKRRAMPR.RVW   960315
 
"The Rise and Resurrection of the American Programmer", Edward Yourdon, 1996,
0-13-121831-X, U$26.95
%A   Edward Yourdon
%C   One Lake St., Upper Saddle River, NJ   07458
%D   1996
%G   0-13-121831-X
%I   Prentice Hall
%O   U$26.95 800-576-3800, 416-293-3621, +1-201-236-7139 fax: +1-201-236-7131
%P   (254?)
%T   "The Rise and Resurrection of the American Programmer"
 
Ed Yourdon has changed his mind.  Four years after writing "The Decline and
Fall of the American Programmer", he now sees a bright future.  Whereas before
he saw cheaper foreign programmers eating America's technological lunch, he now 
finds that advanced programming tools and methods are making American
programmers more productive.
 
It is difficult to understand the change in attitude.  For one thing, the tools
cited were mostly available four years ago.  For another, they are also
accessible to foreign software houses.  About the only real stumbling block
Yourdon suggests for offshore software is the difference in "culture".
 
Nevertheless, this book can provide some valuable advice.  Not to programmers,
but to managers.  The really practical advice in the book is all about the
oversight and direction of projects.  (Yourdon seems to be speaking to
programmers, but repeatedly admits that his suggestions may be vetoed by
management, and suggesting that if it is, programmers "vote with their feet".) 
Much of the material will be unsurprising to technical people, but there is an
abundance of useful, though counterintuitive, counsel for those "in charge" but
not "in the know".
 
There are several limitations of the book.  For one thing, although he suggests
that old COBOL programmers are on the way out, most of his guidance applies
primarily to large projects, and large programming groups.  The major exception
to this corporate emphasis is a series of anecdotes from Microsoft.  The recent
establishment of a Web site dedicated to Microsoft software security holes is
quite interesting in view of his emphasis on "Good Enough Software", in chapter
seven.  Chapter ten, a detailed examination of Java, is somewhat surprising,
and, again, his section extolling the safety and security of Java is intriguing
in view of recent discoveries of security problems with both Java and the
differently architected Javascript.  All of this, however, relates to technical
aspects, and does not detract from the management value of the book.
 
I would recommend that technical managers place this on the shelf next to
"Technimanagement" (cf. BKTCHNMN.RVW) for frequent reference.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   BKRRAMPR.RVW   960315

======================
roberts@decus.ca     rslade@vanisl.decus.ca     aa046@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
      If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)