I have no idea why its 97 things, maybe because 99 is mainstream nowadays. The book is pretty nice, the chapters are very short and direct to the point. Yes, I think this is a must-read for programmers everywhere, especially for those who are still starting on their career. Anyway, here are some great lines from the book:
Comments should say something code does not and cannot say. - Kevlin Henney
Deliberate practice does not mean doing what you are good at; it means challenging yourself, doing what you are not good at. So it's not necessarily fun. - Jon Jagger
Programming is something some people do - some of the time. And the hard part - the thinking - is the least visible and least appreciated by the uninitiated. - Alan Griffiths
You'll never get where you want to go developing software for systems you don't care about. - Richard Monson-Haefel
A bug is not a standard unit of work any more than a line of code is a precise measurement of effort. - Matt Doar
A one-language programmer is constrained in her thinking by that language - Russel Winder
The primary purpose of software estimation is not to predict a project's outcome; it is to determine whether a project's targets are realistic enough to allow the project to be controlled to meet them. - Steve McConnell
If your code needs comments, consider refactoring it so it doesn't. - Peter Sommerlad
If you need to explain a change, do so in the version controll system check-in message and not in the code. - Peter Sommerlad
Sometimes the best thing you can do to solve a problem is to put the mouse down and step away from the keyboard - Burk Hufnagel
The next time you feel the need to improve your programming skills, don't read another book. Read code. - Karianne Berg
The code to hell is paved with good intentions. To be an excellent programmer, you have to rise above good intentions, and actually care about the code. - Pete Goodliffe
