Shop all No Starch Press

Paranoid Programming - by Stephen Oualline (Paperback)

Name: Paranoid Programming - by Stephen Oualline (Paperback)
Brand: No Starch Press
SKU: 1010134412
Price: 49.99 USD
Availability: PreOrder

New at

$49.99

Pre-order

Free & easy returns

Return this item by mail or in store within 90 days for a full refund.

Eligible for registries and wish lists

About this item

Details

Highlights

A blunt, experience-driven guide to real-world software engineering that explains why software projects fail in predictable ways--and how teams can prevent those failures by consistently applying fundamentals that actually work.
About the Author: Steve Oualline is an experienced software developer and the author of numerous programming books, including How Not to Program in C++, Wicked Cool Perl Scripts, Practical C Programming, Practical C++ Programming, Second Edition, Perl for C Programmers, and C Elements of Style.
248 Pages
Computers + Internet, Software Development & Engineering

Description

Book Synopsis

A blunt, experience-driven guide to real-world software engineering that explains why software projects fail in predictable ways--and how teams can prevent those failures by consistently applying fundamentals that actually work.

Most software engineering books describe an orderly world: clear requirements, rational decisions, and well-defined processes. That is not the world most teams work in.

Paranoid Programming focuses on how software projects actually unfold when deadlines compress, priorities shift, and "obvious" steps quietly get skipped. In this environment, no one may be intentionally out to get you, but a combination of vague requirements, premature coding, weak testing, organizational pressure, and wishful thinking reliably produces the same outcomes: late projects, fragile systems, burned-out teams, and expensive failures.

Drawing on decades of real-world experience and advice delivered to Fortune 500 companies, Steve Oualline explains the common failure patterns that plague software projects--and how to defend against them. The book emphasizes fundamentals that teams routinely endorse in theory but abandon in practice: writing requirements instead of assuming alignment, designing before coding, and treating testing as essential engineering work rather than cleanup.

What looks like obvious advice becomes urgent when you see the cost of ignoring it. This book offers practical, unsentimental guidance for recognizing trouble early, putting simple guardrails in place, and building software that fails less often--and recovers faster when it does.

About the Author

Steve Oualline is an experienced software developer and the author of numerous programming books, including How Not to Program in C++, Wicked Cool Perl Scripts, Practical C Programming, Practical C++ Programming, Second Edition, Perl for C Programmers, and C Elements of Style. He has provided software-engineering advice to Fortune 500 companies and brings decades of hard-won lessons about what actually works on real projects. He lives in San Diego, California.

Specifications

Dimensions (Overall): 9.25 Inches (H) x 7.0 Inches (W)

Weight: .81 Pounds

Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up

Number of Pages: 248

Genre: Computers + Internet

Sub-Genre: Software Development & Engineering

Publisher: No Starch Press

Theme: Systems Analysis & Design

Format: Paperback

Author: Stephen Oualline

Language: English

Street Date: October 13, 2026

TCIN: 1010134412

UPC: 9781718504868

Item Number (DPCI): 247-28-9089

Origin: Made in the USA or Imported

If the item details aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.

Shipping & Returns

Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 1 inches length x 7 inches width x 9.25 inches height

Estimated ship weight: 0.812 pounds

We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.

This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO, Alaska, Hawaii

Return details

This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com.

This item must be returned within 90 days of the date it was purchased in store, delivered to the guest, delivered by a Shipt shopper, or picked up by the guest.

See the return policy for complete information.