Hi After nearly 3 years after I bought the book "The Practice of Programming" by Kernighan and Pike I finally managed to read it, but I still have a long way to go before I'm done with the exercises. Chapter 5 Debugging and chapter 6 Testing are a required read for every programmer.
To have a clue about how to program and nodding along as you read is one thing. To actually learn how to crank out reliable code is hard work and time consuming. A book like tPoP can improve your efficiency and quality of work if you do the exercises and apply the knowledge to your own work.
I strongly recommend The Practice of Programming, but the true value of the book is not revealed before the exercises are done. It's easy to skip stuff because it sound so easy and obvious. Do a reality check with the exercises.
-vidar
