[YZF]

I think Code Complete is the kind of book that if you don't already know what's in it it's not going to help you and if you do know what's in it it's not going to help you.

That said, it has a lot of solid advice. It also has some less than solid advice which is more of an opinion.

I would still recommend people read it. I also recommend they read the references. I also recommend they talk with other people, look at their experiences, and try to figure things out for themselves.

Adding another thought here:

Some things have to be learnt through experience. You can read a really great book about swimming but it probably won't make you a good swimmer. So that's one thing.

The other thing is that I found the book trying to be very rigorous about subjects where it's simply impossible to do so. There are so many different ways to approach different problems and things like cost vary hugely between different businesses. Sometimes doing things one way makes sense in a given context and not in another. What we need is for people to develop that understanding rather than simply learn some rules.