{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "kind": "BooksRedditRecommendationReceipt",
  "id": "booksreddit:recommendation-receipt:clean-code",
  "book": {
    "slug": "clean-code",
    "title": "Clean Code",
    "author": "Robert C. Martin",
    "authors": [
      "Robert C. Martin"
    ],
    "first_published": 2008
  },
  "canonical_url": "https://booksreddit.com/book/clean-code/",
  "receipt_anchor_url": "https://booksreddit.com/book/clean-code/#recommendation-receipt",
  "evidence_urls": {
    "json": "https://booksreddit.com/evidence/clean-code.json",
    "markdown": "https://booksreddit.com/evidence/clean-code.md"
  },
  "consensus": "Clean Code accumulated 536 mentions across 483 commenters over seven years, making it one of the most-cited programming books in the tracked subs. r/programming leads with 143 mentions, r/learnprogramming follows at 135, and both skew broadly positive. r/cscareerquestions sits at 91 mentions — it shows up alongside The Pragmatic Programmer in career reading lists, treated as a cornerstone rather than a revelation.",
  "read_if": "If you're in your first two years of programming and have never worked in a shared codebase, this is probably the most-recommended starting point on Reddit for a reason. The ↑948 r/learnprogramming thread isn't really about Clean Code — it's about planning before programming — but the book gets cited there because it crystallizes habits beginners don't have yet. Five years in, with opinions formed, you'll argue with half of it.",
  "skip_if": "r/ExperiencedDevs returns flat sentiment across 82 mentions — the consensus there is that the principles are real but the book's examples, especially the Prime Generator refactor, actively demonstrate the wrong way to apply them.",
  "strongest_evidence": {
    "subreddit": "learnprogramming",
    "excerpt": "If you feel your code is held together by duct tape, you have approached programming in the wrong way (which is a typical beginner problem). You need to learn to *plan before program*. The better, the more detailed you plan, the better will the outcome, your program, be. A good developer spends ti…",
    "score": 948,
    "sentiment": 0,
    "published_at": "2022-04-20T18:39:34+00:00",
    "permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/u830kb/is_it_normal_to_feel_like_my_code_is_held/i5ijts3/"
  },
  "dissent": {
    "editorial_caveat": "r/ExperiencedDevs returns flat sentiment across 82 mentions — the consensus there is that the principles are real but the book's examples, especially the Prime Generator refactor, actively demonstrate the wrong way to apply them.",
    "negative_source_excerpt": null
  },
  "sample": {
    "total_mentions": 536,
    "unique_commenters": 483,
    "published_quote_count": 8,
    "average_sentiment": 0.35,
    "subreddits": [
      {
        "name": "programming",
        "mentions": 143,
        "average_sentiment": 0.28,
        "last_seen": "2026-01-06"
      },
      {
        "name": "learnprogramming",
        "mentions": 135,
        "average_sentiment": 0.45,
        "last_seen": "2026-02-01"
      },
      {
        "name": "cscareerquestions",
        "mentions": 91,
        "average_sentiment": 0.4,
        "last_seen": "2025-09-02"
      },
      {
        "name": "ExperiencedDevs",
        "mentions": 82,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2026-03-09"
      },
      {
        "name": "AskProgramming",
        "mentions": 27,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2026-01-12"
      },
      {
        "name": "webdev",
        "mentions": 20,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2025-06-19"
      },
      {
        "name": "Python",
        "mentions": 17,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2026-01-17"
      },
      {
        "name": "datascience",
        "mentions": 11,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2024-03-26"
      },
      {
        "name": "gamedev",
        "mentions": 6,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2025-03-24"
      },
      {
        "name": "MachineLearning",
        "mentions": 2,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2020-04-29"
      },
      {
        "name": "compsci",
        "mentions": 2,
        "average_sentiment": 0,
        "last_seen": "2024-12-11"
      }
    ]
  },
  "updated_at": "2026-06-06T00:00:00.000Z",
  "sources": [
    {
      "subreddit": "learnprogramming",
      "excerpt": "If you feel your code is held together by duct tape, you have approached programming in the wrong way (which is a typical beginner problem). You need to learn to *plan before program*. The better, the more detailed you plan, the better will the outcome, your program, be. A good developer spends ti…",
      "score": 948,
      "sentiment": 0,
      "published_at": "2022-04-20T18:39:34+00:00",
      "permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/u830kb/is_it_normal_to_feel_like_my_code_is_held/i5ijts3/"
    },
    {
      "subreddit": "programming",
      "excerpt": "I'm an old programmer. I'm 57 and have been programming since about 10. As I get older, my memory increasingly fails...so now I \\*have\\* to write code as clearly as possible (Because I can no longer rely on remembering \"but first you always have to call x function\" and don't forget it also changes …",
      "score": 688,
      "sentiment": 0,
      "published_at": "2020-02-17T21:25:48+00:00",
      "permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/f5adfa/kernighans_law_debugging_is_twice_as_hard_as/fhyfa8m/"
    },
    {
      "subreddit": "cscareerquestions",
      "excerpt": "The Pragmatic Programmer is like the cornerstone for code quality. As well as Clean Code. EDIT: I'm going to include a few more that I think will help for your career. * Clean Architecture by Robert C Martin (the whole Clean series is good) * Code Simplicity by Max Kanat-Alexander * Refactoring:…",
      "score": 687,
      "sentiment": 0.5,
      "published_at": "2021-01-18T14:03:37+00:00",
      "permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/kzum7m/which_programming_books_are_still_must_reads_aka/gjpxvym/"
    },
    {
      "subreddit": "programming",
      "excerpt": "Here's the list, for anyone interested in just that: 1. The Pragmatic Programmer by David Thomas & Andrew Hunt (67% recommended) 2. Clean Code by Robert C. Martin (66% recommended) 3. Code Complete by Steve McConnell (42% recommended) 4. Refactoring by Martin Fowler (35% recommended) 5. Hea…",
      "score": 655,
      "sentiment": 0.3,
      "published_at": "2020-02-26T18:08:43+00:00",
      "permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/f9ut5f/the_most_recommended_programming_books_of_alltime/fiufpgf/"
    }
  ],
  "methodology_url": "https://booksreddit.com/methodology/",
  "limitations": [
    "Mention counts describe the tracked Reddit sample, not every Reddit comment or every reader.",
    "Average sentiment summarizes sampled discussion and is not a star rating.",
    "Editorial consensus, reader fit, and caveats are derived from the existing sourced book synthesis."
  ]
}