The Third Bit

Co-founder and first Executive Director of Software Carpentry
Co-founder of It Will Never Work in Theory and The Architecture of Open Source Applications
ACM SIGSOFT Influential Educator of the Year
Co-winner, Jolt Award, Best General Book
Member, Python Software Foundation
Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh
Author or editor of over a dozen books on programming and two for children

…more

Software Design by Example: A Tool-Based Introduction with Python is now available, and all royalties go to the Red Door Family Shelter in Toronto.

The book is an excellent guide for anyone going from "just programming" to building larger projects. It's like a choose-your-own adventure, but the adventure is learning to build very complex software as a composition of much simpler patterns.
- Jennifer Moore

This is my new favorite book on the art of writing software. There is so much to like about it—the way it leads the reader to explore and develop their understanding, the choice of projects and examples, the clarity of the instruction, the Creative Commons license, and much more. It will be my first recommendation for people looking to really learn professional development, either on their own or in a classroom setting.
- Naomi Ceder

I know I can share this book with folk in the confidence that they'll get a guided experience that's both accessible and comprehensive, leaving them with real world software skills. Teaching using examples makes the techniques meaningful and tangible to the learner which is in itself a great motivator, and the use of tooling examples is a bonus.
- Sue Smith

Blending computer science with sound software engineering practices (with citations!) is difficult enough on its own, but this book guides the reader through practical design patterns that they can put into practice. The addition of historic anecdotes gives readers extra context for what they've learned and brings theory back to practice.
- Julia Ferraioli

This book is both a great refresher if you've not worked with Python in a long time, or your next textbook if you know just enough to be a little dangerous and want to level up. The exercises being tool-based means the experience gained will instantly feel applicable to whatever you end up using the language for.
- Jenn Schiffer

Software Design by Example: A Tool-Based Introduction with JavaScript is also available, and all royalties also go to the Red Door Family Shelter in Toronto.

Software Design by Example is the book I'll recommend to every new dev… It is nice to you. It wants you to succeed… It's a bridge from "learn to program" to working programmer.
– Jessica Kerr

I am v much enjoying gvwilson's book Software Design by Example. It makes me miss teaching, it would be such a fun text to use!
– Jenn Schiffer

There's a lot of books on programming but fewer books that couple software development with effective and practical use of tools, presenting a language not as a main course but as a part of an engineering ecosystem. Greg Wilson's book hits all the right notes in bringing together theory, pragmatism, and best practices.
– Emily Gorcenski

The book is really bloody lovely.
— Danielle Navarro