#7 in the ranking · technical · 1993
Code Complete
Code Complete, by Steve McConnell, published in 1993, is cited by 337 people in conversations on Hacker News, Stack Exchange and TabNews. It shows up in all 20 years, from 2007 to 2026, with the most mentions in 2011. People who cite it also cite The Pragmatic Programmer, Clean Code and Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.
Year by year
Peak: 46 mentions in 2011
Mentions per year: 2007: 2; 2008: 12; 2009: 12; 2010: 34; 2011: 46; 2012: 37; 2013: 14; 2014: 15; 2015: 16; 2016: 23; 2017: 30; 2018: 32; 2019: 18; 2020: 13; 2021: 17; 2022: 22; 2023: 10; 2024: 8; 2025: 12; 2026: 1.
Where it’s cited
What people write
From a text search; it doesn’t yet tell recommending apart from just mentioning.
Well actually I would recommend Code Complete II as it is the be updated version.
Hacker News · 2023 · in “Ask HN: Is "Code Complete" by Steve McConnell still a recommended read?” · see comment ↗
Code Complete has some of my favorite quotes on programming.
Hacker News · 2022 · in “Software engineering books” · see comment ↗
Is Code Complete still worth reading for a working developer?
Hacker News · 2016 · in “Books Programmers Don't Really Read (2008)” · see comment ↗
McConnell wrote Code Complete, a book I highly recommend.
Stack Exchange · 2013 · in “Are programming books in other languages useful for Python?” · by Despertar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · see comment ↗
And then there's the classics - mythical man month, code complete, pragmatic programmer etc.
Stack Exchange · 2012 · in “Best books on the theory and practice of software architecture?” · by Rocklan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · see comment ↗
Of the ones you mentioned "Code complete", "The pragmatic programmer" and "SICP" have been on my recommended-reading list for all new developers that start here at my company and want to get to a higher level.
Stack Exchange · 2011 · in “Is there an expiration date for well regarded, but old books on programming?” · by Joris Timmermans · CC BY-SA 3.0 · see comment ↗
"Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction" de Steve McConnell - Este livro é uma excelente referência para programadores de todos os níveis de habilidade.
TabNews · 2023 · in “Leituras obrigatórias para um melhor dev” · see comment ↗
| 5 | Code Complete | Steve McConnell | 44 | 4,6 |
TabNews · 2026 · in “Os 15 livros mais recomendados para devs segundo 100 fontes.” · see comment ↗
Code Complete: Um Guia Prático para a Construção de Software - Steve McConnell
TabNews · 2024 · in “Livros: Será que vale o que todos dizem? [Alguém?]” · see comment ↗