Collaborative Computing With Delphi 3 [Paperback]

James Callan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

Callan delivers an advanced book for experienced Delphi programmers and developers with an especially strong focus on the concept of "scaling"-- the process of upscaling software applications from the desktop to the client/server environment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 827 pages
• Publisher: Wordware (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556225547
• ISBN-13: 978-1556225543
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,274,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Borland Delphi

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcomed Originality, August 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collaborative Computing With Delphi 3 (Paperback)

I have to comment in defense of Mr. Callan's literacy style. Due to the vocabulary-bashing he's taken here, I almost didn't buy the book. But what the heck, you've got 30 days...

I'm glad I didn't let the nay-sayers sway me because the vocabulary isn't nearly as bad as some are saying. In fact, the author purposefully uses carefully selected phrases to hint at the deeper, underlying meanings of the topics.

A little personal history: In my graduate studies, one of my professors assigned some research articles written by a prolific scientist. At first, it was the most difficult reading I had encountered. You know, a lot of big words and long sentences. For some odd reason, my professor wanted us to understand the material (of all the nerve) which forced me to really dig into the articles. Later, I realized that the author communicated more in one sentence than most writers do in four, and his style began to appeal to me. Have you read anything from Grady Booch lately? You'll find that Mr. Callan's writing is on the same level, but clearer.

So maybe you do need to get out your dictionary every now and again to read this book. That's why I keep mine close by... I'm pressed for time, but not so pressed that I can't stop to look up a word or two.

It's a good book and well worth your time. Hey, you're also on Amazon.com, so order a dictionary while you're here! They're cheap!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real World Advice and Nice Author, May 22, 2003

By 

Kenneth Jarvis (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collaborative Computing With Delphi 3 (Paperback)

I loved this book. I purchased a used copy on the advice of a friend as was amazed. Mr. Callan did predict the future. I read and disagreed with several of these other reviews. I then wrote Mr. Callan and asked about the book, any sequels and use of the material in commercial applications. He wrote back. I include his email below.

"Kenneth,

Thanks for the kind words, especially after my book has been out for so long. You had mentioned sales...the book met the expectations of my publisher and helped the publisher to break into more technical books. My last royalty check for that book arrived sometime last year, which was a pretty good run after all.

I have not written a sequel for several reasons. First, I make a great deal more income from my consulting services than from writing. I wrote this book because the publisher asked me to write the book. Second, I have learned since the book was published that most people think tactically rather than strategically. As such, most people do not relish gaining insights on their own, independently. They prefer to have things given to them. I believe that nothing is really learned until one gets the "Aha" experience. Some readers experienced this, but many did not. Third, the book predicted the future of software five years into the future. Some of the predictions are still coming to fruit. Why mess with what works? Fourth, gone are the days that single individuals write 800 page books by themselves. I certainly will not be writing a tome this long again.

As to your first question...To my knowledge I had received only one inquiry regarding use of the code in the book for production applications. This involved a gentleman in Germany that wanted to adapt the Date Time visual component for a PIM application. I had indicated that the component in the book was designed more to illustrate several points about aggregation and visual aggregation in particular. I advised him to expose many more options and properties than were done in the book and to add the capability of supporting foreign date formats. As the examples were intended to illustrate techniques and approaches, I do not believe that companies would be using the book examples verbatim without additional enhancement.

As to your question of maintainability, the subject of maintainable software currently fills entire books. My book discusses at length the need for unit testing prior to integration testing. The book also spends much time attempting to goad the reader into designing software so as to anticipate change. If readers took this advice then we would have much more robust and maintainable software.

In summary, I believe that the company that you mentioned may not have had well trained and skilled staff or the company applied the principles discussed in my book incorrectly. I have heard from several executives that purchased multiple copies of the book to infuse their respective staffs with the solid principles in the book. The book was written for the experienced programmer seeking to refine their skills and to best prepare for the future. Those that purchased the book for a quick fix have been disappointed.

Cheers,

Jim Callan"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Up to 2001 still in all respects the best Delphi Book !!, February 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Collaborative Computing With Delphi 3 (Paperback)

James Callan's Collaborative Computing with Delphi 3 is simply the best book ever written for Delphi. Nothing compares!! Do not listen to those who got scared by the admitedly frightening and potentially confusing topics and titles. If you persevere you have a mighty treasure trove on Systems Development in general and contemporary approaches and directions. And Delphi and SQL!!

It certainly is one of the best software development books ever written and certainly by a real software expert and visionary. Kudos to James Callan. Buy this book and go the extra mile or two to be studious and go through it. You will be surprised. And Hey - it is very entertaining. It is a very practical approach to developing component-based, e-commerce age systems. It has a lot to teach on software architecture, data modelling and database design in the spirit of excellent s/w design books like: a) Designing Hard Software by Douglas Bennet and b) Business Component Factory by Peter Herzum

The difference here is that these other books cover the concepts in a fairly general way. Callan's coverage is practical and Delphi-specific. And his coverage of Delphi is quite comprehensive. Compared to most other 4- or 5-star Delphi books Callan's coverage is more comprehensive. And he does it in some 800 pages and still has space to not only teach you these things better but throw in a lot of s/w development wisdom.