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Summary: I stand by my recommendation
Review: First, let me acknowledge I am the author of this book. I just had to respond to reviewer 'cesoir' about his comments on Stevens' book on UNIX. I have, in fact, both read and used Stevens book and I stand by my recommendation. Yes, Stevens' book has nothing about OO in it (I didn't say it did). But if you are developing in C++ in UNIX _you need this book_ because it tells you how UNIX works in ways that are more accurate than the UNIX docs of the vendors. In particular, the HP-UX documentation was actually wrong - and I solved a problem by using this book. I never said it was essential because it helped you with OO, just get it if you are on UNIX using C++ (or C).
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Summary: Helpful read
Review: This is an easy read on design patterns, compared to the GoF book. One gets fresh perspectives and examples in the context of two main projects, one about using CAD system and the other about e-tailing, on a number of most important design patterns out there: Facade, Adaptor, Bridge, Abstract Factory, Strategy, Decorator, Singleton/Double-checked Locking, Observer, Template Method, and Factory Method.I was just going through the final chapter that recommends some further readings. On page 317, the authors claims that Stevens' book, Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment, "is a must resource for anyone doing C++ development on UNIX." Either they have faulty memory or they never read the book themselves, because the Stevens book contains only C code and by no means designed as OO. Granted that C code is also C++ code, but that certainly misses the point of what this book is centered around: object-oriented design patterns. Sorry I got a little carried away in commenting on this particular book, but sometimes it's fun to laugh at the professors or instructors on the podium at little.
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Summary: A little light
Review: I agree with most of the reviewers that go soft on this book. Its not that earth shatteritng, and "accessible" is probably a good word.
An older Meilir Page-Jones book, _What_Every_Programmer_Should_Know_About_Object_Oriented_Design_ spends less pages re-hashing design patterns (none), and more time on more interesting OO design concepts including encapsulation, connascence, encumbrance, and cohesion. I'
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Summary: Easy access to design patterns
Review: Excellent book for those who are new to design patterns and want to learn about them. It's also very helpful even if you don't master OO design. If fact, applying design patterns is a good way to learn good OO design practices and avoid bad habits. Some chapters are also devoted to teach you how to "think in patterns". Not all the GoF patterns are in this book but the most common. I did consider the GoF book not so easy for a newbie like me in design patterns, but after reading Shalloway&Trott one (which is also full of references to the GoF book), it will be my next purchase.
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Summary: Ambitious at best
Review: I could not agree more Rob Williams, Wagner Truppel, and Shawn Robinson... if you find a book review that is profuse with elated adjectives- be careful, slow down, and think twise. I also bought this book on the strength of such "advice", regretably so. The authors of this book really warm you up with hype, but the value which the book provides is very limitted to anyone that has read and done even some OO. "A New Perspective on OOD" is so ambitious, I can only hope it was the publisher's idea. But then again, some of the claims the authors make are just on par. The book would have made a good journal article, had it been trimmed of all the hype and trivial examples. The reason why I would give it 2 rather than 1 star is that the authors do really seem eager to accept criticism. Granted, this review is not very constructive, I would be sending them my notes on the text. And please, please, the reason why our industry has lost so much respect in the eyes of many engineering faculties is because of the people that choose to peddle ill-supported claims and promises, with religious fervor at that! Steer clear from reviews which titles boast 'ultimate book', 'enlightment', or somehow imply that the book will provide you with the equivalent of a Computer Science Ph.D. (see "Handholding for those without ... Ph.D") Perhaps, it would be helpful to suggest some alternatives- if you feel you need some OO basics (without them patterns will always be fuzzy), consider "Fundamentals of OO Design" by Page-Mellir Johnes, or Object-Oriented Software Construction by Bertrand Meyers. For patterns, you need GoF and you need to read it without suspending your thought processes- there is no easy way to "enlightment"...
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Summary: Good book with lots of detailed explanations
Review: I personally like their approach. They present a problem first then give a quick and dirty solution - which seems like the solution that I would generally come up with. They then identify the "problems" and drawbacks of the first solution and gradually bring the pattern into the picture. They did a very good job on the Bridge pattern that other design pattern books fail to elaborate on... Sometimes it is very verbose, but that's ok - you can always skim over it. This book should accompany the GoF book.
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Summary: Good.. but Too Expensive
Review: A sweet little introduction to Design Patterns focusing not only on the technical side but also on the "philosophical".
Great first book for a beginner. Read it cover to cover in a weekend and you will start seeing that object oriented programming is not only about extending classes. Only downside of this book: the price. For what you will find inside it is worth about $.....
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Summary: Great read!
Review: the perfect book to learn design patterns. the authors do an excellent job in explaining the usage of design patterns thru examples that are concise and relevant. it really got me thinking of designing solutions in terms of design patterns instead of getting bogged down by the low-level details of finding the right data and methods
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Summary: Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective
Review: Design Patterns Explained is a book that was recommended to me. I had always been hesitant to really investigate Design Patterns after hearing how dry most books were. Luckily, I decided to give this book a try. It was a great experience. Summary: Chapter 1: The Object-Oriented Paradigm
The first chapter introduces us to Functional Decomposition, handling changing requirements, and the OO Paradigm. Functional Decomposition is the process by which many developers would break down a problem and create a solution. The Authors state this is a fairly natural process that many use. They then discuss the pitfalls of this approach. Chapter 2: The UML - The Unified Modeling Language
This chapter gives an overview of UML. Even though it is a quick chapter, the authors do a fantastic job explaining UML and how to read the diagrams. Chapter 3: A Problem that Cries Out for Flexible Code
Chapter 4: A Standard Object-Oriented Solution
In chapter 3 the author illustrates a problem that needs to be solved, actually using an example from real world experiences. He shows us the process by which we can get a better understanding of the problem, and then how to describe and define what the problems are. In chapter 4 a solution is given and discussed. It is shown why this is a good first solution, but why it is not a good final solution. Chapter 5: An Introduction to Design Patterns
This chapter is, as the title would indicate, an intro to Design Patterns. The origins of Design Patterns are discussed, and we find out how it was taken from Architecture and applied to software. Chapter 6: The Facade Pattern
This chapter discusses the Facade Pattern, which is a pattern that most have probably used but not realized it. This pattern is used when you have a very complex system and only need to use a subset or part of it. Chapter 7: The Adapter Pattern
The Adapter pattern is creating a new interface for an object whose interface just isn't doing the job. A great example is shown, and you leave the chapter understanding what the Adapter Pattern is. Chapter 8: Expanding Our Horizons
In this chapter the authors talk about Object, Encapsulation, and Inheritance but not just in the ways you might think. Chapter 9: The Bridge Pattern
This chapter discusses the Bridge Pattern in great detail. The authors state that this is a very difficult pattern to understand because it is extremely powerful. The two main ideas are "find what varies and encapsulate it" and "favor composition over inheritance". Chapter 10: The Abstract Factory Pattern
This chapter starts out with an example that will that will lead to knowing what the Abstract Factory Pattern is, and then shows you how to implement it. Chapter 11: How Do Experts Design?
In this chapter the discussion returns to the roots of Design Patterns, and discusses Christopher Alexander's approach to Architecture design. From this the authors can extend Alexander's theories and practices into the software world. Chapter 12: Solving the CAD/CAM Problem with Patterns
Armed with the knowledge of patterns we have learned, the discussion goes in depth to show how we can use patterns to solve the same problem more efficiently. Chapter 13: The Principles and Strategies of Design Patterns
This is a very brief chapter that covers designing from context, and encapsulating variations in classes. Chapter 14: The Strategy Pattern
Chapter 15: The Decorator Pattern
Chapter 16: The Singleton Pattern and the Double-Checked Locking Pattern
Chapter 17: The Observer Pattern
Chapter 18: The Template Method Pattern
Chapter 19: The Factory Method Pattern
In chapters 14-19 a new case study is introduced. I am not going into specifics on each chapter because they would basically each describe the new pattern, and how it can be applied in the case study. Each chapter builds on the ideas of the one before it. Chapter 20: The Analysis Matrix
This chapter concludes the case study in chapters 14-19 by discussing variations that occur in the problem domain. Through use of the Analysis Matrix, we can reveal patterns that manifest in the problem, and can deal with them accordingly. Chapter 21: Design Patterns Reviewed From Our New Perspective of Object-Oriented Design
This short summation chapter takes us on a brief high-level review of key points. Chapter 22: Bibliography
The authors give a listing of books they feel would be good further reading so you can continue your journey. To conclude I have a few thoughts. One is that I was very impressed by the way that this book was written. It takes pretty hard concepts and breaks them down into understandable real-world examples. The ideas are very well organized, and written in such a way that anyone could understand them. The authors are adept at this, and as a result create a finished product that is one of the most well written technical books I have reviewed. Another thing I liked about the book was that the chapter end summaries were very short, and outlined each chapter's key points perfectly. Also, the margins of the book have the key points next to the main paragraphs for each. This is a great idea because it makes looking back through the book for specific points much easier. If I could change one thing about the book it would be to write it with VB examples in addition to the Java and C++ ones it has. Maybe by the next edition there will be some VB.net examples since VB.net is now truly Object-Oriented. Don't be scared of the book just because it has only Java and C++ examples though. They explanations of theory are so well written that the example language would not be a barrier. I give this book a 10 out of 10. It is an excellent book, and one that is worth your while to read.
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Summary: GoF = Gang of Four
Review: The Gang of Four (Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides) wrote "Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software," a definitive classic on object-oriented software design. GoF is often used as a shorthand name for this book. If the subject is at all applicable to your line of work or interest, then "Design Patterns" should be in your personal library.
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