Customer Reviews

Object Technology: A Manager's Guide

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I found this book to be very helpful in understanding the concepts of object oriented programming. As I work in an industry that is related to technology, but not directly involved on a personal level with it (IT recruiting), I had an understanding of systems and languages, but nothing in depth. I have never been able to have someone explain the basics so clearly as Dr. Taylor does. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about OO, so long as they have a basic understanding of how computer systems and languages work and interact. He explains the concepts in an intelligent way that most non-technical people cannot, yet speaks in clear enough terms for laypeople that programmers often have difficulty with.

Note that, although the subtitle for this text implies Taylor's audience is solely managers, this book is suitable for anyone looking for a concise introduction to object-oriented software technology. Simply ignore some of the negative comments in other reviews regarding this book's viability in relation to early 21st-century software development - like almost every text written for an information technology audience, parts of this book, especially some of the predictions Taylor makes in the last chapters (at least in the first edition of the text), have been outmoded by lessons learned or shifts of focus in the past decade. Simply purchase the latest edition of texts such as this, especially if you are new to the topic - just remember that the new edition will undoubtedly be outmoded again in the future, but by that time you will probably have a handle on the topic and not need to refer back (at least very often) to an introductory text. What I like best about this text are the following: its conciseness (less than 150 pages) and compactness, its readability (very simple language - it is not written to impress by use of an extensive vocabulary), and its diagrams. As an individual who enjoys proper use of effective visual communication when technical topics are addressed, the simple diagrams are excellent - his use of the living cell as a model in understanding object basics like data and methods is ingenious, in my opinion. No code in this text, you say? If one is looking for an introductory OO text, why would he/she need code? Use of code would not only defeat the purpose of this text, but outmode it as soon as the next language of the day/week/month/year comes into fashion.

This book gives a great introduction to object technology. It puts the technology in easy to understand terms and applies real-world business problems to objects.

However, it does oversimplify how object technology is implemented and the real-world actual and realistic value that object technology may afford an organization.

I was frustrated with most of the material I came across on the subject of object technology when I first began to learn about it. I had a fair amount of programming experience in so-called structured techniques. When I wanted to learn about objects, everything I got hold of assumed I already knew the fundamental concepts and so either omitted any discussion entirely, or glossed over the basics and moved you right in to teaching some language. I was getting nowhere until I happened across this book.

Regardless of why you want to get a grip on object technology this book does a good job of introducing the fundamental concepts. It is not trying not to teach you a programming or modeling language, which was just the angle I needed. I'm pretty visually oriented and I found the illustrations quite helpful. The foundation I got from this this book enabled me to finally move on to more meaty things.

You don't have to be technical to deal with this book. Some of the later chapters may be more than what some people need, and the author's choice of evolution as an example of an object-oriented system may aggravate some readers.

I would recommend this book to mangers, technical writers, educators, and students as a good first book on the subject.

Managers of software projects need to understand the fundamentals of object-oriented programming before they can effectively communicate with the developers they are managing. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of object-oriented programming at the level of someone with a limited technical background. In that sense, it is an overwhelming success. I have taught object-oriented programming to experienced programmers for many years. When I first read this book in 1998, I was so impressed with some of the explanations that I have used modifications of them in my classes. There is no code in the book, most of the main ideas are demonstrated by diagram.
Although the programming world continues to change at a rapid rate, this is still the best introduction to the principles of object-oriented programming that is available to the non-technical person.

I gave a [highlighted] copy of this book to my boss. This was after reading it thoroughly several times. It is an excellent introduction to OO analysis and design issues.

This won't replace Booch, Rumbaugh, UML and GoF Design Patterns, but it will get you started on the road to better software development. This is a primer, a bird's-eye-view. It can serve as a common vocabulary and basis of communication between non-technical and technical ppl.

The best thing about this book is the strong integration of text, annotations and high-quality graphics. The ideas jump out of the page into your head. This book could be used as an introductory CS text in senior high school or freshman college.

The book has been excellent in explaining the benefits and reasons to use OO technology. Though most part of the book covers only conceptual ideas, it is definitely suitable for beginners of OO programming and for people who would like to know more on OO. Persoanlly I like this book very much.

This book is by far the very best coverage of object oriented software design. It should be the starting point for anyone interested in this subject. The most amazing thing about this book is how it can be so complete, and yet so concise, at the same time. It is written using language that non-technical managers can understand, yet, covers all of the most important details that programmers need to know. In all the books that I have ever read, I have never once found any book, that teaches a technical subject even half as efficiently as this one.

The book is written in a very lucid and simple language and unlike any other technica book, I could not keep the book down and read it in less than a day.

The book is useful for all Programmers essentially to change their mindset of Procedural programming and shif their mind into the Hig geared Object Technology.

I read this book, along with Entsminger's Tao of Objects, when I needed to gain a good "technical lay person's" understanding of object-oriented technology. Though I've since done some rudimentary programming to hammer home the key concepts, I recommend both books.