MWSS: Object-Oriented Design in Java (Mitchell Waite Signature) [Hardcover]

Bill Mccarty (Author), Stephen Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mitchell Waite Signature | Publication Date: April 13, 1998

Mitchell Waite Signature Series: Object-Oriented Design in Java takes a tutorial approach and teaches in a new way: by offering the Java code first and the design representations and explanations later. No other programming-level book on the market deals with design of Java software. There's nothing aimed at the in the trenches Java programmer. Nor can the Java programmer turn to general books on software design. These, with few exceptions, are abstract and academic, either incomprehensible or irrelevant from the perspective of the working programmer. This book targets the needs of Java application programmers, using an experience-based, hands-on approach.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With software engineering books, it's hard to get the right mix of theory and practice. Object-Oriented Design in Java combines the best of today's thinking on software engineering with nuts-and-bolts examples written in Java. The result is this fine introduction to both disciplined software engineering and the strengths of Java for effective object-oriented design (OOD).

The text begins with a discussion of design and its necessity in writing successful software. Then it expands on the advantages of OOD. It offers a quick tour of Java's syntax, which becomes useful in later sections on class design in Java. Further chapters look at strategies for creating objects in OOD, including when to use inheritance, encapsulation, and composition. Here the authors introduce the basics of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) along with actual case studies of small class hierarchies modeled in Java.

Some of the most useful material is the authors' leading-edge discussion of patterns--reusable designs for software--with examples written in Java. Later sections of the book grow more theoretical, with discussions of such topics as concurrency, database persistence, guidelines for user interface design, component and class library reuse, and system architecture. --Richard Dragan

From the Back Cover

Mitchell Waite Signature Series: Object-Oriented Design in Java takes a tutorial approach and teaches in a new way: by offering the Java code first and the design representations and explanations later. No other programming-level book on the market deals with design of Java software. There's nothing aimed at the in the trenches Java programmer. Nor can the Java programmer turn to general books on software design. These, with few exceptions, are abstract and academic, either incomprehensible or irrelevant from the perspective of the working programmer. This book targets the needs of Java application programmers, using an experience-based, hands-on approach.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Waite Group Press (April 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571691340
• ISBN-13: 978-1571691347
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must-have for serious Java developers, October 11, 1998

By 

Dan Shafer ([e-mail]) (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MWSS: Object-Oriented Design in Java (Mitchell Waite Signature) (Hardcover)

This is a witty, well-organized, thorougly researched and informative work. Not only do the authors do an excellent job of presenting the concepts of software design using solid OO techniques, their introduction to Java (in a chapter only somewhat facetiously titled "Teach Yourself Java in 21 Minutes") is almost certainly the most concise and understandable introduction to the language that I've seen.

Every chapter is focused and the flow of material is really excellent. I found myself, as someone who has had years of OO design and development experience, nodding my head repeatedly. And the end of each chapter contains a quiz, some suggested exercises, and a section on where to go for more depth on the subjects covered. As a result, this book would be outstanding for a college-level course or an informal workshop of Java developers who want to learn serious OO design and analysis.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good enough for me, March 2, 2001

By 

J. Wiest "whafrog" (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MWSS: Object-Oriented Design in Java (Mitchell Waite Signature) (Hardcover)

If you aren't a beginner at OOD you might find this a little light reading. For me it's been a perfect and thorough introduction to the vast topic. My programming history has been mostly procedural (Foxpro, C) and an ugly mix of pseudo objects and procedural (Visual Foxpro, C++).

It's one thing to learn the Java syntax and there are several books that can help you get up to speed with that, from Horton to Horstmann, etc. It's quite another to learn how to put it all together in a rational efficient way and actually build an application according to OO principles. In the first four chapters this book has already had me scrambling to redesign my current project accordingly. At first that seemed intimidating, but the immediate payoff has been code that makes a lot more "sense", even to me, the original programmer.

One thing is annoying, and that is the obligatory chapter on Java syntax, basic data types, control structures, etc. Why bother? There is no point in reading this book until you've at least finished, say, Ivor Horton's Beginning Java. They could have left it out.

Also, the version of Java they talk about is 1.1 so it's a little out of date. However, I haven't come across anything specific yet that is impacted by this.

Overall, 4 stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An easy read for a potentially complex subject..., June 30, 1999

By 

Joseph Greene (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MWSS: Object-Oriented Design in Java (Mitchell Waite Signature) (Hardcover)

Although I haven't read this entire book, it's obvious to me that these guys know how to write programming books. Some of the more difficult to understand oop and java concepts are explained very well, and, unlike other java books, I don't find myself peeling through layers and layers of abstract drivel to understand the key ideas. Whew! What a relief! Now I have a REAL book to refer to when I need to reinforce an important idea. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to really understand how to brew good, clean, effective java.