RobertLGlass.com - The Official Robert Glass Web Site

Robert L. Glass (also known by his nickname, Bob Glass) is the author or editor of more than 25 books, many of which are available for purchase. A complete list (titles only) appears at the bottom of the page.

Published by developer.* Books

Software Creativity 2.0 (2006)

In Software Creativity 2.0, acclaimed author Robert L. Glass explores a critical, yet strangely neglected, question: What is the role of creativity in software engineering and computer programming? With his trademark easy-to-read style and practical approach, backed by research and personal experience, Glass takes on a wide range of related angles and implications.

Software Conflict 2.0 (2006)

As loyal Glass readers have come to expect, Software Conflict 2.0 takes up large themes and important questions, never shying away from controversy. Robert Glass has a unique perspective, owing partly to his longevity in the field, partly to his breadth and depth of experience as a practitioner, and partly to his experiences on multiple continents crossing back and forth between the worlds of the university and the professional programming shop.

Other Books By Bob Glass

Clicking on a book title will open the Amazon page for the book. Please note also that the Computing Trends titles in the second half of the list can be ordered directly from Robert Glass using the address provided.

You never know what Robert L. Glass is going to come up with next! Among his recent books are:

Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering (2003)

Originally titled 55 Frequently Forgotten Fundamental Facts, and a Few Fallacies, about Software Engineering, the publisher insisted on the shorter but less descriptive title because he said the longer one would turn off prospective buyers! Perhaps he was right—this has become a best-seller in both the US and Japan, and has also been published in Korea and Russia!

ComputingFailure.com: War Stories from the Electronic Revolution (2001)

Unlike Facts and Fallacies, this was a total dud in the marketplace! It tells the stories of dot-com companies that bombed. Perhaps all of that was too fresh and painful when it was published in 2001.

Computing Calamities (1999)

Lessons learned from products, projects, and companies that failed. Contains stories like "When bad things happen to good projects" and "When failure means success."

Software Runaways (1998)

This was another best-seller. It focuses on massive project failures, like the Denver Airport Baggage Handling System and the Internal Revenue Service Tax Modernization System.

Unlike the books in the above list, the following books were published by Glass himself (it was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it!) and can be obtained from his company Computing Trends (1416 Sare Rd., Bloomington IN 47401). $10/book plus $5 postage/handling (no matter how many books get handled and posted at once!) If you prefer, you can also order them from Amazon using the links provided.

Software 2020 (1988)

A contrarian view of the future of software development as seen with 20/20 hindsight from the year 2020. This is not your average "gee, how great it's going to be" view, in which today's computing research becomes tomorrow's state of the practice. Instead, Software 2020 is about an application revolution, a whole new way of managing software projects, an overhaul of software research, and the proverbial "much, much more."

Computing Shakeout (1987)

Real "what happened and why" stories about some well known microcomputer companies that failed. What happened to the pioneers, like MITS and IMSAI? Why did Texas Instruments get out of the business? What caused Steve Jobs to leave Apple after he had brought it up from nothing? Get answers to these questions and lots of others.

Computing Catastrophes (1983)

More real stories, this time about failures of some mainframe companies. Astonishingly, computing leaders like RCA, GE, and Xerox withdrew from the market. Why was there so much failure in the midst of so much success?

The Universal Elixir and Other Computing Projects Which Failed (1977)

Fictionalized tales about real failed projects. Reviewers have called this "the perfect programmers' bedside book," and proclaimed "Read it! Remember it the next time some wild new project is organized."

Software Folklore (1991)

Stories about some of the very real special people in computing. The "intentionally strange boss," the "software thief," "the computer that never computes," and "every programmer's dream." Such a cast of characters—it will ring true to anyone in the computing field!

Complete List of Robert L. Glass Titles

Published by developer.* Books

Software Creativity 2.0, Foreword by Tom DeMarco, 1998

Software Conflict 2.0: The Art and Science of Software Engineering, Foreword by Andrew Hunt, 2006

Published by Computing Trends

Software 2020, 1998

Software Folklore, 1991

Computing Shakeout, 1987

Computing Catastrophes, 1983

Software Soliloquies, 1981

The Second Coming: More Computing Projects Which Failed, with Sue DeNim, 1980

The Power of Peonage, 1979

Tales of Computing Folk: Hot Dogs and Mixed Nuts, 1978

The Universal Elixir, and other Computing Projects Which Failed, 1977

Published by Addison-Wesley/Prentice-Hall/Yourdon Press

Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering, 2003

ComputingFailure.com, 2001

Computing Calamities, 1999

Software Runaways, 1998

An ISO 9000 Approach to Building Quality Software, with Osten Oskarsson, 1996

Software Creativity, 1995

Measuring and Motivating Maintenance Programmers, with Jerome B. Landsbaum, 1992

Building Quality Software, 1992

Software Conflict, 1991

Measuring Software Design Quality, with David N. Card, 1990

Software Communication Skills, 1988

Real-Time Software, 1984

Modern Programming Practice-a Report From Industry, 1982

Software Maintenance Guidebook, with Ronald A. Noiseux, 1981

Software Reliability Guidebook, 1979

Published by IEEE Computer Society Press

In the Beginning: Recollections of Software Pioneers, 1998