Customer Reviews

Collaborative Computing With Delphi 3

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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"

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.

I consider myself an intermediate level programmer and this book helped me a lot. It takes real world projects and uses object-oriented methods to project and implement them. I would have liked a better index and clearer titles for the sections and chapters, but considering the usefullness of the book, it can pass.

I just completed a very technical course on Systems Analysis and Design using the UML object notation. This book offers many of the same themes I have recently studied. I think the book is absolutely essential for any programmer. But... As others have mentioned, the table of contents is the worst I've have ever seen. That is the only reason I knocked it down to a 7 rating instead of a perfect 10. It's clear the author is trying to be cute, but it ends up being very distracting, especially when it comes to locating something that has already been read.

Note: As you are reading the book, it would be useful to create chapter titles that have some meaning and build your own table of contents. Hopefully, in the next edition, chapter titles and section titles can be given some meaning...

It pains me to give this book an average rating. It could score subtantially higher if it were not for the useless table of contents. I do not have time to read an 800 page book cover-to-cover. I rely on a well organized table of contents to help me focus on chapters of particular interest. Sections like "Fretting Friendly Futures", "Profess Perspicacious Preparedness", and virtually every other chapter and section make it impossible to see what this book has to offer. The intrepid investigator will find useful information, but it is not easy. I would love to see an addendum that simply provides the "real" table of contents.

PROS: 1. The artwork, layout and general organization of the book was wonderful. The CD was complete, and works well.

CONS: 1. Overpriced. 2. The book uses a lot of unusual words in it's text and chapter titles that I find distracting. For example: -Odoriferously Organic -Symboling Syncretic Structures -Flailing Failing Falls -Surveying Succulent Sequels

...and these kinds of phrases are littered throughout the text. This sort of thing can make it difficult to understand what the chapter is about, when scanning the table of contents.

The book progressivley leads the reader through the building of one application throughout. If you want to jump ahead to a later chapter, you expect to be able to take the completed code from chapter 8 (for example) and start working with chapter 9. Well, the chapter nine code won't run.

So, you may have to read the entire book, and do everything in it (regardless of what's on the CD) to simply go through the excercises in a later chapter.

The book is full of exciting ideas. It manages at once to challenge one's notions of what system development ought to be about, placing it in the context of the history of our field, and confirm what one's experience has (often painfully) taught. But cutting through the style to reach the content is such hard work. The altogether agonising alliteration has me -- from time to time -- physically chucking the book across the room. I suspect that the ambivalent nature of the reviews that have been submitted reflects this dichtomy.

Yes, the book is well worth the effort. But a less facetious style would make the effort unnecessary.

Of the six Delphi books that I have this is the best on my shelf. This book is chock full of complex examples and thinking. I have found Mr. Callan's ideas fresh, abstract and innovative, yet hidden and illusive. I may never unravel all the hidden references and futuristic vision in this book. (But then again who will?) Each time I pick it up something new pops out. It is a really good read. You never know what will jump out and grab you next with this one.

The chapters in this book on server programming and architecture are a must read for everyone doing client-server development. I know a few DBAs that ought to study this book. Although the author maintains that "Client-Server is dead" and builds on this theme throughout, client-server Programmers will in fact find this their best source of practical information.

Our company has not yet moved to web-based transactional systems and multiple tiers, but we intend to use the material in this book to help us
do so. It is far superior and more detailed than anything we have found in magazines or books. This book pulls no punches and tells it like it is. I
found Callan's irreverent attitude towards managerial decision making a hoot. What a breath of fresh air.

Although the component chapters review basic material, they quickly cover new ideas not touched on by others. I learned a few new twists on
components. The material on class methods should be read by all serious Delphi people. There are a few custom components that you must see to
believe. This author's take on data modules is radical, but right on the money.

With 42 chapters, there is a lot of information to keep you busy. And don't forget about the CD that comes with this book. The CD has some really cool stuff on it. Most of the custom programs on the CD were written in Delphi. It also comes with alot of freeware and products that you can trial. Microsoft really ought to take a hint from the custom freeware browser that's on the CD.
Overall, this book is a classic. As someone in our office once said it talks about a lot more than just Delphi. I am glad I bought my copy. I
recommend this book to any serious developer.

I found my mistake about my opnion. And I have so many dept to James Callan. Please accept my applogies. This book cover so many programming topic related collaborative computing. It was my fault. Why I did not read carefully? I do applogy with all my heart. If you purchase this book, Read carefully. Then you will find valuable information. Seonghwa Jin.