The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition is the second edition of 1999 The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery - a classic software developer book - with many new materials—almost a complete rewrite.
I checked the old version before reading the 20th Anniversary Edition. Some examples did not age well, but the core ideas were still good. The new edition gives us a retrospective of changes in the last 20 years and how authors changed some of their viewpoints.
The general concept of the book is a set of tips - on how to become a "Pragmatic Programmer." For senior developers, most of the advices are already part of their practice - that's why they are seniors. However, even the most experienced developers could sometimes use a refresher course to remember some of their past mistakes and bad decisions.
The "Don't Live with Broken Windows" chapter is especially interesting. Authors argue about Broken Windows Theory -
In criminology, the broken windows theory states that visible signs of crime, anti-social behavior, and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes. The theory suggests that policing methods that target minor crimes such as vandalism, loitering, public drinking, jaywalking, and fare evasion help to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness.
Definition from Wikipedia
I have never thought about software in this way. This perfectly explains the state of some of the projects I have worked on. Programmers stopped caring and kept pilling up lousy code and questionable decisions instead of improving the solution.
The book is easy and fun to read. I recommend this book to every developer - young, old, inexperienced, and senior.
Authors
David Thomas and Andrew Hunt are a famous author duo. They have founded the Pragmatic Bookshelf publishing company - By Developers, For Developers. They were also part of the original manifest for the Agile Software Development team.