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The Tao of Programming

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The Tao of Programming
AuthorGeoffrey James
IllustratorGloria Garland
Cover artistGloria Garland
LanguageEnglish
SubjectComputer programming
GenreComputer programming, Satire
PublisherInfoBooks
Publication date
1987
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages151
ISBN0-931137-07-1
OCLC13904639
005 19
LC ClassQA76.6 .J354 1987
Followed byThe Zen of Programming 

«The wise programmer is told about Tao and follows it. The average programmer is told about Tao and searches for it. The foolish programmer is told about Tao and laughs at it.»

The Tao of Programming is a book written in 1987 by Geoffrey James. Written in a tongue-in-cheek style spoof of classic Taoist texts such as the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi which belies its serious message[1], it consists of a series of short anecdotes divided into nine "books":

  • The Silent Void
  • The Ancient Masters
  • Design
  • Coding
  • Maintenance
  • Management
  • Corporate Wisdom
  • Hardware and Software
  • Epilogue

Geoffrey James wrote two other books on this theme, The Zen of Programming in 1988 and Computer Parables: Enlightenment in the Information Age in 1989.

See also

References