Who cares about software construction?

Software practitioners are subjected to a barrage of advice about effective development practices. The search for effective practices-programmers' gold-can be almost as chancy as the search for the precious yellow metal itself. Some mediocre practices are overhyped; many valuable practices are buried under the hype heaped on other practices. This paper aims to separate the gold from the ore by providing a practitioner's appraisal of past and present development practices.