10 Best Books For Self-Taught Programmers | 2023

Do you have a dream of becoming a self-taught programmer? Are you interested in learning programming on your own and improving with plenty of coding practice?

A self-taught programmer is one that has gained all the programming skills they have on their own. They are independent, creative, and productive programmers who have a knack for solving problems and are usually responsible for starting their own companies.

Whenever you learn how to program on your own, you get to dictate your learning path, goals, and outcomes. This means that the learning style will be ideally suited to your own needs and you can easily learn how to create solutions to real-world problems with ease.

There are plenty of resources that you can use to become a self-taught programmer. Some of them are books that include in-depth coverage of everything that you need to learn in addition to training exercises and useful references to further your knowledge of the concepts that are being covered in the books.

When you have a bunch of books to reference from, you will be able to create programs in certain programming languages in addition to developing programming patterns that you can use to make your work much easier.

The books will be easy to learn since you will be working at your own comfortable pace. As such, the learning material can be planned out to fit your schedule and you will be able to learn with much ease.

Programming is a skill that is quite important for the modern world and it enables you to develop software solutions for many of the problems that are facing people and businesses on a daily basis.

The use of books is one of the best ways to learn to program and if you would like to become a self-taught programmer, you should get the best selection of books. A good selection of books will enable you to get the best skills and tips that will enable you to become the best programmer.

You will also be able to work on practical exercises and other projects that are incremental in nature and enable you to understand core programming concepts with ease. A firm foundation in programming knowledge is best done with a programming book that teaches you the basics and gives you somewhere you can grow and improve your skills.

In an effort to make your journey to becoming a self-taught programmer much easier, we have done most of the heavy lifting for you. We have done in-depth research on all the major titles in programming and new books that are being released every day. We have also looked at the software engineers’ book collections and selected some of the best titles that they use.

Following are some of the best books that can help you to become a self-taught programmer. These are the titles that have the basics of programming and core concepts of software engineering. They will enable you to develop more effective and efficient software solutions for many of the problems that have been plaguing the world.

1. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

Code can function even when it is badly written. However, the programs that you create will only perform better when you have written clean code that is easy to read and debug. The Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship teaches you the agile principles of software development from a practical perspective and enables you to become better at the code you write.

Patterns of writing clean code are heavily emphasized throughout the text and you learn how to write better software components when you are dealing with a high level of software complexity. The book further goes on to investigate a number of case studies that are meant to provide you with the knowledge base that you will need to write better, cleaner, and more maintainable code.

Main Topics

• Identifying good and bad code
• Writing good code
• Proper code naming practices
• Formatting code to be easier to read
• Implementing complete error handling in your programs
• Writing unit tests and the art of test-driven development
• Heuristics that can enable you identify bad code

2. The Pragmatic Programmer

This award-winning title digs deep into the technicalities of modern software development and also looks at the core practices that are involved in turning a requirements specification into working and maintainable code that meets the needs and expectations of the client. It is a good book with useful information about personal development and career development.

You will also learn the techniques that are used to make code not only easy to use, but also easy to reuse and adapt. When you read this book, you will be able to fight bad programming practices and avoid writing double code. You will also be able to test more effectively once you have read this book for self-taught programmers.

Main Topics

• Proper testing practices and habits
• How to write maintainable code
• Avoiding coincidences in programming
• Meeting the requirements and expectations of your users
• Capturing the requirements of your clients more accurately
• Code architectural techniques
• Using exceptions, assertions and contracts to make your code more functional

3. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

This is a book that takes the topic of programming from a unique perspective by taking on the form of a narrative. As such, it is easier for the reader to go through the content provided in the book and understand the concepts more easily.

By following the storyline, you will also be able to take away the key points and concepts of the topics more easily. As such, you will be able to become a better programmer with the best context presented in this engaging book.

Self-taught programmers need to learn about what happens behind the scenes when they are writing code and whenever someone is creating computer programs, they should be able to know what is getting weaved by the software and hardware threading mechanisms underneath the operating system.

Main Topics

• Using objects to understand programming
• Language systems
• Manipulating language to develop solutions
• Developing solutions for real-wold problems
• Computer hardware languages
• Software programming languages
• Programming patterns

4. The Self-Taught Programmer: The Definitive Guide to Programming Professionally

This should actually be the first book on our list because of the title and the directness of the content that is presented. It has been written by a self-taught programmer which means that you have a better reference to the learning experience and the things that you need to learn if you are to land a job at a major company.

The book teaches you how to code in addition to covering the other things that you should learn in order to create professional programs. It is a road map for the self-taught programmer and will take you from knowing nothing at all to writing highly maintainable code that performs as you would expect and is easier to debug.

Main Topics

• Building your first program using Python 3
• Object-oriented programming and how you can start using its concepts using Python
• Developer productivity with tools such as Bash, Git and regular expressions.
• Data structures
• Algorithms
• Best coding practices
• Tips for getting yourself a job in programming.

5. Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Second Edition

This is one of the best practical guides for anyone that wants to learn to program. Code Complete has been helping programmers and software engineers to write better software and cleaner code. Learn about the best practices in programming and get coding with the hundreds of code samples that are provided in the book.

The art of software construction is also studied in great depth in this book and you get to get useful tips that have been obtained from academia, research, and everyday programmer practice.

You are also taught about the most effective techniques and principles that you must learn to write better code. Regardless of how much experience you have in software development, you will be able to get a new way of thinking when you read this book and as a result, you will be writing the best quality of code.

Main Topics

• Designing software for minimal complexity
• Making use of collaborative development
• Using defensive programming techniques to identify and get rid of errors in your code
• Evolving code using refactoring and doing this more effectively.
• Debugging problems more effectively
• Resolving critical issues in your software design early
• Integrating quality right into your programming project.

6. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

New technologies such as the Java programming language are being increasingly used in the workplace. However, less experienced developers are creating code that is hard to maintain and as such, the longevity of the software that is being created is greatly reduced.

Knowing how to refactor enables you to rewrite code in more effective and practical ways as a programmer, improving the code that has been written by other programmers and making code projects and repositories easier to maintain. In the book, you will learn how to improve the design of existing code and make it more usable for a wide range of real-world applications.

You will learn about all the techniques that you need in order to improve the performance and structure of existing software applications. This is useful for maintenance purposes and makes code easier to maintain even when the program is being used over a long period.

Main Topics

• Identifying bad code
• What are some of the bad programming practices
• Restructuring code
• Improving the structure of existing code
• Refactoring code written by others
• Adding comments for easier software documentation
• Best practices for code refactoring

7. Pragmatic Unit Testing in Java with Junit

As a Java programmer, you can improve your existing coding skills by making use of unit testing. Unit testing is used by programmers to make corrections to code and find bugs more effectively.

It is also used to improve the structure of existing programs and weed out any performance bugs and inefficiencies in the code. When you learn how to write tests on your own, you will be able to become a better programmer and the quality of the code that you write will also improve.

Additionally, the performance of your programs and software applications will be highly enhanced and you will be able to create better applications for the real world. Finding where the bugs are located in your code will also be covered in this book and you will learn about a number of frameworks that can be used to catch the bugs that exist in your code.

Main Topics

• Writing better code
• Identifying bugs hidden in your code
• Considering all things that could possibly go wrong in your code
• Testing individual modules of your code without including the entire application
• Testing effectively as a team
• Mock objects and how they are used in testing
• Improving your design skills

8. Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash

Lean software development practices are increasingly being used in the real world. For a self-taught programmer, they enable you to create code for your own startup and design programs that are more functional and effective.

The book has been structured in a manner that makes it easier for you to learn the core concepts that are covered. Additionally, you will be able to identify software snugs and performance bottlenecks in your code more effectively when you are debugging your code and testing your programs.

Theory and practice are all covered in this book which teaches you about the best ways to develop and manufacture products. The book is a must-have for anyone that wants to become a self-taught programmer and will benefit you greatly as you work on your own projects.

Main Topics

• Leveraging and extending agile practices
• Building the most effective development teams
• Improving software quality through continuous feedback
• Making the best decisions
• Delivering quickly
• Improving trade-offs for the satisfaction of the customer
• Project management

9. Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide

Learning about design patterns is important for people who are looking to become self-taught programmers. This is the one book that covers this topic in great detail and provides you with practical and real-world examples that you can refer to for a better understanding.

The book makes use of Java 8 and teaches self-taught programmers how they can use tested and reliable patterns in order to develop software that is elegant, reusable, flexible, and functional.

You will find the book to have all the best design practices that you can use for your software development and what you should note whenever you are designing software solutions for many real-world problems. The book is also visually reached and highly engaging yet simple to read at the same time. You will find it to be a friendly introduction to design patterns that you can use to form your foundation in programming.

Main Topics

• Design patterns
• Reusable software
• Organizing your code
• Keeping your code maintainable
• Creating functional software
• Design patterns for testing
• Reusing software solutions to reduce your code footprint

10. Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming

This is one of my favorite books and the reason for this is the book has the best introduction to programming and makes use of one of the simplest to learn programming languages. A foundation in programming using the Python languages is one of the best learning paths that you can ever take and it will ensure that you have all the core concepts.

Getting started with the practical aspects of programming is also easier when you are working with this book and you will find it to be ideally suited to your learning style. As a self-taught programmer, you will be able to make use of various programming concepts just by reading this book. You should get your copy as well.

Main Topics

• Lists
• Dictionaries
• Classes
• Loops
• Writing clean and readable code
• Interactive programs
• Testing your code

FAQ

Q: Which programming should I learn in 2022?

A: Java and Python are some of the programming languages that you should learn in 2022. There are currently 97,683 Java programming jobs and 80,930 Python programming jobs on Indeed.

Q: Is learning to code worth it in 2022?

A: As artificial intelligence and the metaverse begins to take center stage, learning how to code in 2022 should be at the top of your list. It is at the top of mine and so should you. Emerging trends such as blockchain development require programming skills and you can find yourself in a well-paying job when you are a good, self-taught programmer.

Q: Can programmers be self-taught?

A: Yes. Programmers can be self-taught and they are even better programmers when they pick up their skills in this way. Being self-taught gives them greater confidence and a firm foundation of the core programming concepts that they need.