Chapter 1. Introduction

Apprenticeship makes a difference because it instills a lifelong passion to master the craft. It instills a passion for perpetual learning and, in the process, enables the apprentice to become a great developer.

—Pete McBreen, Software Craftsmanship

This book is written for software apprentices—for people who have had a taste of developing software and want to take it further, but need some guidance. Whether you have a college degree from a prestigious computer science program or are entirely self-taught, you recognize that there are great developers out there, and you aspire to achieve the same mastery that they possess. This book is written entirely for you—not for your boss, not for your team leader, not for your professor. There are many other books we would recommend for people in those roles, but this book is for people at the beginning of the journey.