With tongue in cheek and pun in hand, Will Tracz - notorious for his "Confessions of a Used Program Salesman" articles popularized by IEEE Computer, IEEE Software, and ACM Software Engineering Notes - explores the very serious and important topic of software reuse.In this entertaining and comprehensive guide, he shows you how to go beyond ad hoc software reuse to institutionalize the process - how to create a well-planned program, design modular software specifically for reuse across applications, and take full advantage of your efforts.A seasoned practitioner, Will Tracz offers sound advice and hard-won truths from the reuse trenches. Through these insightful "Confessions," the book takes a close look at such specific issues as the characteristics of quality reusable software; intellectual property rights; the roles of Ada, C++, Case, and design patterns; and more. You will discover emerging technologies that have the greatest impact on software reuse, and the step-by-step program included in the book will lead you down the road to reuse, steering you clear of the potholes and hazards that others have discovered at a heavy cost.After reading this book you will have no more excuses. You will understand the importance and advantages of creating reusable software, and you will know how to make it happen."It (Confessions of A Used Program Salesman) succeeds by giving an excellent introduction into the principles of software reuse without getting bogged down in technical details." -Re-Print (The British Computer Society's Reuse Group Newsletter) 0201633698B04062001
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
"Before you can reuse software, there needs to be software to reuse. The trouble is that too much re-useless software exists today."
This book represents a lifelong ambition (1). I can't help but wonder if anyone will buy it. If you are reading this then I guess you did, or else you may be thumbing through it at some bookstore, in which case, buy the book! Trust me! And while you're at it, I have a few nice programs in the trunk of my car, only used by a little old lady on Sundays ...
Seriously speaking, software reuse is an intuitively appealing yet seductively elusive method for increasing programmer productivity and quality. The road to reuse is uphill, to say the least, and filled with numerous potholes, dead-ends, and blind alleys.
Furthermore, the cost of reuse is significant (often 2-3 times greater than that of software designed for a single application). The ultimate goal of this book is to provide a roadmap for the successful institutionalization of reuse (e.g., ego, intellectual property rights, programming language constructs, design techniques, etc.) through a series of humorous parables and anecdotes. The second half of the book provides details for overcoming these technical and nontechnical reuse inhibitors while avoiding the traps others have fallen into when trying to introduce software reuse programs into their organizations. Finally, I have included a detailed domain analysis process at the end of this book to address the questions: "What software should be made reusable?" and "How do you make software reusable?"
Who Should Read this Book? You don't have to have ever written a program to enjoy reading this book (though some of the numerous puns that are strewn throughout this book may not have the byte that they would if you had). This book was written for the entertainment and enlightenment of the general technical community. Current and future programmers will identify with the "challenges" they face slinging code. Systems engineers will reap satisfaction in the "I told you so" role they play in transitioning to a reuse program. Managers will especially benefit from the focus on the nontechnical issues, as well as learning from the failures and successes of others who have traveled down the reuse road.
In conclusion, read on! I hope you have as much fun reading this book as I had writing it. Besides, you might pick up a point or two that will help you save time and money by not "re-inventing" any wheels.
Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank IEEE Computer Society Press for giving me permission to (re)use some of the material in this book. Most of my "Confessions," which serve as the core material for the first few chapters of this book, have appeared in the Open Channel section of IEEE Computer. In addition, portions of this material, in a different format, have appeared in Software Reuse: Emerging Technology Tra88b.
Second, I am indebted to the referees and members of the Addison-Wesley publication team for all they have done to improve the quality of the material in this book.
In addition, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of my esteemed peers in the field of software reuse whose papers, opinions, and personalities have influenced what you are about to read. I would also like to apologize to them for any "reuse" of ideas that inadvertently may have been included in this book without proper citation. But, then again, some of them have done it to me before, so now we are even. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Martin Griss - the self-proclaimed reuse rabbi (2), Ted Biggerstaff - the founding father of software reuse, Ruben Prieto-Diaz - the founding faceted classifier, Jim Neighbors - the first father of domain analysis, David Parnas - the heralder of change, Doug McIlroy - the software component industry visionary from Bell Labs, Bill Frakes, Jeff Poulin, Larry Latour, Sholom Cohen, Guillermo Arango, Sid Bailin, Bertrand Meyer, Don Batory, Lou Coglianese, Eric Newton, Masao Matsumoto, Sadahiro Isoda, Mitch Lubars, Ed Berard, Steve Edwards, and Joseph Goguen. I can without reservation recommend to the reader any material produced by this cast of reuse crusaders.
Finally, I would like to thank Woody Allen, whose wit and charm warped me at any early age. I would also like to thank Dr. David Lougee, my writing professor at Stanford University. His interesting lectures on the joys of lex taught me write from wrong.
Will Tracz
Owego, NY
tracz@lfs.loral
bxcd07a@prodigy
Footnotes(1) Not really, I just wanted to say that because other people always write it and it really causes me to get all choked up inside - the same as when I watch the Buffalo Bills lose four straight Super Bowls. Seriously, it was something I have been meaning to do for the last five years, which to me seems like a lifetime.
(2) I would especially like to thank Martin Griss, with whom I have been trading "horrid bed pans" (as he puts it) over the last several years. Just as punsters often feed off each other, in many ways, technically, we have nurtured each other's work and, in my humble opinion, the state of the art of reuse is better off for it (though it has been unfortunate for those individuals who have had to suffer through our punny presentations).
0201633698P04062001
From the Back Cover
In this entertaining and comprehensive guide, he shows you how to go beyond ad hoc software reuse to institutionalize the process - how to create a well-planned program, design modular software specifically for reuse across applications, and take full advantage of your efforts.
A seasoned practitioner, Will Tracz offers sound advice and hard-won truths from the reuse trenches. Through these insightful "Confessions," the book takes a close look at such specific issues as the characteristics of quality reusable software; intellectual property rights; the roles of Ada, C++, Case, and design patterns; and more. You will discover emerging technologies that have the greatest impact on software reuse, and the step-by-step program included in the book will lead you down the road to reuse, steering you clear of the potholes and hazards that others have discovered at a heavy cost.
After reading this book you will have no more excuses. You will understand the importance and advantages of creating reusable software, and you will know how to make it happen. "It (Confessions of A Used Program Salesman) succeeds by giving an excellent introduction into the principles of software reuse without getting bogged down in technical details." -Re-Print (The British Computer Society's Reuse Group Newsletter)
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Recommended in a Google Tech Talk,
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The book is recommended favorably in the Google Tech Talk 'How To Design A Good API and Why it Matters' January 24, 2007
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Best book I've EVER read. Made me a millionaire!!!,
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By reading this book I have been able to increase my at-home business and become more efficient in all of my daily tasks. I've shared this book with many of my colleagues and they all feel that this is a magnificent resource.
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Made Me a Millionaire, TOO!,
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Secrets galore, Updates, Tricks enough to satisfy Nixon and all his friends. Now I lie out by the pool, drink enlightened soft drinks, and listen to music engineered by John Lennon's personal ghost. What a ghas ghas ghast!
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