Practical Object-Oriented Design: An Agile Primer Using Ruby, 2/e

Introduction

We want to do our best work, and we want the work we do to have meaning. And, all else being equal, we prefer to enjoy ourselves along the way.

Those of us whose work is to write software are incredibly lucky. Building software is a guiltless pleasure because we get to use our creative energy to get things done. We have arranged our lives to have it both ways; we can enjoy the pure act of writing code in sure knowledge that the code we write has use. We produce things that matter. We are modern craftspeople, building structures that make up present-day reality, and no less than bricklayers or bridge builders, we take justifiable pride in our accomplishments.

This all programmers share, from the most enthusiastic newbie to the apparently ...