Head First Design Patterns

Rating:
Summary: A really fun way to present technical content
Review: "Head First Design Patterns", from O'Reilly, is a true joy to read, which is saying an awful lot for a tech book. Eric & Elisabeth Freeman have succeeded in taking a potentially mind-numbing technical stuff and presenting it in a way that is entertaining and fun. In the end, I was amazed at how much I had retained, thanks to their use of funny photos, conversational writing style, and real-world examples. Anyone who has read a techie book knows that a lot of them are either so far above our heads that it takes a while to "sink in" or are about as entertaining as a poorly-translated VCR manual. After completing a chapter and doing the exercises, I actually looked forward to the next chapter!

The book is about applying design patterns to Java code. It doesn't go into all of the "Gang Of Four" patterns, concentrating only on the ones you will use the most. My favorite was the Strategy pattern example and its "Sim-u-Duck" example. It was a really funny way of setting the stage, illustrating inheritence, encapsulation, and the use of the pattern. These folks are truly brilliant! While I'm not a Java developer, I found that the content was very usable in my C# coding. I've reserved a spot for this book in my desktop library at work; I've already used the knowledge I've gained from this book in refactoring some of my legacy applications.

Read this book and you will write better code. If nothing else, you will have a blast reading the book! well done!!!

Rating:
Summary: Don't get me wrong!
Review: Don't get me wrong! This is a very interesting book, but it just doesn't work for me. If you are anything like me, you love those good old serious books with less funny pictures. I find reading this book to be a waste of time because the style of the book is distracting. I know a lot of people who love head first series and it works for them. But I don't understand why? We are not kids anymore, unlike what authors of head first series think. Some of their jokes are really funny. Some others are just stupid! I give 2 star to the sense of humor of this book, but since the book is far less efficient for me than for example Manning Pulishing Books, I would give Zero to other parts of it. Again, this book covers a lot of good material, but just isn't for everyone. Beware!

Rating:
Summary: Gang of 2 liked it
Review: Gamma and Helm liked it, read blurbs inside front cover then compare with the Shalloway/Trott DP intro. Both excellent books, pick the one that works for your style of learning. S/T is a (beautifully written) conventional narrative tutorial covering about the same number of DP's. (I Haven't looked at Holub's book, or Refactor'g to Patterns)

HeadFirst works because the cartoons, dialogs, quizzes and other heuristics/mnemomics all reinforce what a working developer would stumble over: you're told: "Program to interfaces", "duck-type", whatever, but you can't really do that til you've mastered a certain number of DP's. So the book talks about pragmatics and compromises, some built into java libs, others built into the economics of delivering software (and tells you to be patient and keep reading).

Interesting thing about Head1st: usually when i'm done absorbing technical material, it's covered with highlighter and notes in red ink. This book is clean, because the Freemans's pseudo-handwritten notes to source code have anticipated most of my questions. Pretty neat trick.

Shalloway/Trott book has source in java, C# and C++, between the book and website. Head1st only has java, but the java source should be straightforward enough for non-javistas who know basics (interfaces, abstract meths, namespace / method resolution, compile vs runtime )to work thru. There's a very limited amount of java-exclusive material (java.io, java.util.Observable). Both books are recent vintage, cover 1.4 (I think) so you don't have to deal with ancient Java syntax.

(and just as an aside, these DP books seem to have inspired some of the best Amazon reviews i've ever read)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent - finally something I can easily understand!
Review: I bought several other books on design patterns and frameworks, they all went straight over my head, the explanations were all way to complicated and written by pointed headed professors for pointed headed professors, this book explains it in a fun easy to learn matter..

Rating:
Summary: Spiffy, Rewarding, Inspiring
Review: I bought this book because I felt I was missing crucial parts of programming "theory" and it definitely filled in the gaps. Then, there was the added bonus of re-inspiring me about programming.
First of all, they claim at the outset that they study educational theory and wrote the book with these theories in mind. Their theory is to present the material so that several different parts of your brain have to get activated to work on it, facilitating better learning. So, you are hand copying code, drawing diagrams, answering short essay questions, following arrows around the page jumping out of the text for little side notes.

They aren't afraid to crack the whip. "The exercises are not optional", they say. I like a book that grabs my collar and shakes me around. I found most of the exercises worth while, but some made me feel a little silly. The book can be tackled at a good pace, maybe two hours per chapter.

One of the most valuable things for me is that explanations of the way some of the java APIs are set up accompany many of the design patterns. This helps make plain old java code more understandable. For example, Swing EventListeners follow the observer pattern and the Java I/O follows the decorator pattern. Now that I know this, those two APIs aren't so baffling.

An interesting thing to mention is that while I am working through the chapters, I feel a connection with the authors and the person on the front cover. I feel like I am doing the work for them and they would be disappointed if I didn't learn the stuff and use it. Kind of like the comp-sci prof I never had (sniff). I have not felt that with any other computer book.

It says at the outset that this book is not a pattern reference and they are not lying... It is meant to be read through like a novel and enjoy over coffee.

Rating:
Summary: Great book especially for beginners!!!!
Review: I have skimmed through a lot of books related to design patterns, and this is the best beginner book I have found so far. It is fun to read, and easy to understand, More importantly, unlike many other design pattern books which use the same examples over and over again ('mimic' Gang of Four classic Design Pattern book's examples), this book uses different examples that give you a better understanding about how each design pattern can be used. Of course, as described in the book, this is not a reference book or book for guru, because it focuses on more popular patterns, but it does touch on the rest of patterns that are less used, which gives you a good head start. Another good thing about this book is, it also describes the "relationship" between one pattern and another, and how they can be used together (although more would be nice). Anyhow, if you want to learn Design Pattern, this will be a good start!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Once again, Head First teachs old dogs new tricks...
Review: I've read a few books on design patterns, and it's always been a lesson in patience and endurance. They generally aren't fun to read and are a struggle to learn from. Knowing the power of the Head First approach to technology books, I looked forward to reading Head First Design Patterns by Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Freeman (with Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates). As usual, an outstanding job on a usually hard subject.

Chapter list: Welcome to Design Patterns; Keeping your Objects in the Know; Decorating Objects; Baking with OO Goodness; One of a Kind Objects; Encapsulating Invocation; Being Adaptive; Encapsulating Algorithms; Well-Managed Collections; The State of Things; Controlling Object Access; Patterns of Patterns; Patterns in the Real World; Leftover Patterns; Index

If you've never seen a Head First book (where have you been???), you're in for a treat. Sierra and Bates have created a concept styled around active learning. With a combination of pictures, crazy dialog and examples, text all over the place, and ducks (yes, the kind that go quack), Eric and Elisabeth Freeman approach design patterns in a way you've never seen (but that remain true to the Gang Of Four classic). Each of the main chapters take a specific pattern, set up a fictional scenario, and explore how that pattern can be applied to the problem at hand. Along the way, you learn the standard pattern usage, when and when not to use it, along with coding examples that show it being done. The graphics and sketches cement the concepts in a way that straight code or endless paragraphs of text just can't accomplish. When you get done, you understand the pattern almost without having made an effort to do so. That's the unique value of the Head First concept... All the senses are engaged (most with humor), and as a result the mind doesn't have a chance to wander off and think about what's for dinner...

As I continue to work on learning this stuff, HFDP will be close at hand. And I'll be able to refute the common adage "old dogs can't learn new tricks". With Head First Design Patterns, not only can they learn new tricks, they can actually apply them! Great book...

Rating:
Summary: Read First Design Patterns
Review: Lots of people told me that you must put GOF Design Patterns on your desk even though you can't understand it. But after reading the first 5 pages of Head First Design Patterns, I can't stop reading it. It explains the design patterns so clearly. It also tells you how and when to use them. This book is worth every penny you spent buying it. You can put this book on your desk and, at the same time, you can understand it and can discuss it with your colleagues.
I never gave a book 5 stars except this book.
By the way, I spent more US$60 buying this book in Taiwan.

Rating:
Summary: Very good book for learning design patterns and better OOP
Review: Ok, I need to admit that I'm only into this book about 30 pages, but I've already had some very big Ahas. I checked out a couple of books on this subject, and this one is quite readable. I didn't get it on Amazon (I wanted it now), so I paid too much, but it's worth it.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This book is certainly fun to read and it makes me smile quite often. We were told that this book (and this series) "using casual language, instead of lecturing". Well, I believe this book does deliver very good lectures and this is the magic. However, it is not like giving lectures by a book. Reading this book is more like to attend a lecture in a classroom. And it is given by one of your most favorite lecturers. This lecturer does not repeat the textbook. He/she explains it intuitively and supports the discussion with examples. This lecturer often put a piece of code on the whiteboard, underline the important part, cycle out mistakes and make recommendations. He/seh even dare to leave homework to make sure you understand. The language and diagrams are conversational and engaging. This lecturer also summarizes the important principles in a way you will never forget. Even better, this lecturer is quite funny. Look at the classroom; most of the students are smile while in a software course. This is incredible. Many lectures crack us into thinking we are not that smart. This one cracks us into smile and feel we have leart something important instead.

Isn't this the lecture you will enjoy to attend? Go ahead to buy this book. It is a must.

I recommend this book to everyone who is new to design pattern. This is a good book to start with. The discussion of this book is based on Java. If you only program .Net, you will not have too much difficult to learn the essence and I still consider this the best book for you to get start.

I am not new to design pattern; but I enjoy reading this book very much, not just for the jokes, but also, more importantly, for the stimulating and serious coverage of the subject of design pattern.

Since reading this book, I have made recommendations to friends and librarians. I have not bought this book yet. I read it at the café of a nearby bookstore during several weekends. I feel it is the optimal way to read this book. I even did not sit next to a desk; I read it while sitting on a sofa, not as a couch potato. Isn't it wonderful?

I will fulfill my obligation to buy a copy of this book to reward the authors and the publisher for making such a wonderful book. The bookstore has made money from the coffee I drank and from all the music CD's I bought while I were at the happy mood after read a couple chapters in a sunny afternoon.