Object Structures: Building Object-Oriented Software Components With Eiffel (Addison-Wesley Eiffel in Practice Series) [Paperback]

Jacob Gore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201634805 | ISBN-13: 978-0201634808 | Publication Date: March 1996 | Edition: 1st

This thoroughly object-oriented book takes the conventional topic of data structures and totally transforms it, leading you through the process of designing software components that are elegant, interchangeable, and reusable. Using Eiffel, the only pure object-oriented programming language designed specifically for software engineering, the book will teach you techniques for designing object structure interfaces and inheritance hierarchies. You will find detailed analyses of all the familiar data structures - arrays, lists, queues, stacks, trees, etc. - but the emphasis is on abstracting these structures to create well-designed, reusable components. You will learn how to create a number of different implementations to accomplish a specific task and analyze the advantages and trade-offs of each. In addition, the book illustrates the Design by Contract component design methodology originally developed by Bertrand Meyer, Eiffel's creator.Numerous exercises and sample applications will help you assimilate all of the information and sharpen your object-oriented programming skills. Written for conventional programmers who want to learn object-oriented programming through a familiar medium, or more experienced object-oriented programmers who want to improve their skills and techniques, this book will help you gain a deeper understanding of the theory and application of component design and the foundation of object-oriented programming. 0201634805B04062001

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Numerous exercises and sample applications will help you assimilate all of the information and sharpen your object-oriented programming skills. Written for conventional programmers who want to learn object-oriented programming through a familiar medium, or more experienced object-oriented programmers who want to improve their skills and techniques, this book will help you gain a deeper understanding of the theory and application of component design and the foundation of object-oriented programming.

About the Author

Jacob Gore is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Eastern New Mexico University. Prior to that, he was an Adjunct and Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Denver and Colorado School of Mines. He has been a programmer, researcher, advocate, and educator in object-oriented technology since 1984. He co-founded ToolCASE Computing, Inc., a software development and consulting firm, and has worked on object-oriented software projects at Hewlett-Packard, AT&T Wireless Services, IBM, and Chevron. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Northwestern University. 0201634805AB04062001

Product Details

• Paperback: 469 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub (Sd); 1st edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201634805
• ISBN-13: 978-0201634808
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,278,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, October 22, 2002

By 

Steve Thompson (Longmont, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Object Structures: Building Object-Oriented Software Components With Eiffel (Addison-Wesley Eiffel in Practice Series) (Paperback)

Before reading this book a few years ago, I had been programming in C++ and had yet to really realize reusable software. The excellent thing about this book is that from start to finish, the focus is consistently placed on creating a reusable library of data structures. As such, this is one of the only books I've ever purchased from which I've walked away not only better informed but with immediately useful code developed along the way.

Though the book uses the Eiffel language, it should be easy for folks used to other languages to approach. Much to his credit, Gore takes the time in the beginning of the book to basically hand hold the reader through the code and the exercises. As the book progresses, with each chapter building on the last, Gore gives the reader greater autonomy, until the text centers more on the theory of data structures than the source needed to represent them. I found this approach extremely effective, and wish that more computer books were written in the same fashion.

I've since read a number of books on data structures and OO for a variety of computer languages. If I had to pin down the text that was most useful to me in not only understanding the subject matter but also gaining deeper insights into reusability, it would definitely be this book. I can't recommend it highly enough!