Practical Analysis and Design for Client/Server and GUI Systems [Paperback]

David Ruble (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 1997 | ISBN-10: 013521758X | ISBN-13: 978-0135217580 | Edition: 1

This is a practical and witty guide to the core competencies client/server and GUI designers really need - and the analysis and design techniques that really work.The book lays the foundation for successful client/server and GUI analysis and design, presenting a universal methodology and practical techniques that all developers can use, regardless of the environment they work in. It helps analysts and users work together to define precisely measurable business objectives, explains event and information modeling in simple language, and shows in detail how to use models in successful design. It presents new guidance on client/server architectures, including hardware tiers, software layers, replication, and the pros and cons of fat clients vs. fat servers. The book also includes a detailed case study that builds on the techniques covered in this book to construct a real-world order entry and invoicing system. And don't miss "Dave's Top Ten Myths of Client/Server Development!"Critical reading for developers, analysts, project managers, senior IT managers, testers, information architects, GUI developers, and other software professionals responsible for the success of a client/server project.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

52175-7

Analysis and design techniques that work: a cogent, complete, and entertaining guide.

This is a practical and witty guide to the core competencies client/server and GUI designers really need—and the analysis and design techniques that really work.

Expert David Ruble introduces a project decision-making framework that helps analysts and users to work together to define measurable, business-focused objectives for new software systems. He brings unprecedented rigor to event modeling, showing how to systematically decompose business events from the conceptual level, all the way down to the mouse-clicks and keystrokes of event-driven applications.

Ruble shows how to choose prototyping techniques that deliver optimal results while allowing project managers to maintain close control. He also shows why written GUI design specifications are critical to effective construction, testing, and project management—and how they can be created quickly. The book includes sample specs that are proven to work and can serve as the basis for your own GUI design specifications.

Ruble offers lucid advice on client/server architectures, including hardware tiers, software layers, replication, and the pros and cons of fat clients versus fat servers. He also shows how mainframe developers can succeed in today's client/server and GUI-based environments, by blending their traditional software engineering competencies with newer techniques.

The book concludes with a start-to-finish case study that brings its techniques to life, through the analysis and design of a real-world order entry system.

Practical Analysis and Design for Client/Server and GUI Systems is essential reading for developers, analysts, project managers, senior IT executives, information architects, and any software professional responsible for the success of a client/server project.

About the Author

DAVID A. RUBLE is widely regarded as an expert in requirements analysis and system specification. A principal analyst and designer of many mission-critical client/server systems in both the public and private sectors, he has taught client/server and GUI software engineering techniques throughout the U.S. and abroad. Ruble is now a principal in Olympic Consulting Group, a system architecture and development firm located in Federal Way, Washington.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 542 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (July 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013521758X
• ISBN-13: 978-0135217580
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,524,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, easy to learn, truly practical techniques., June 22, 1998

By 

Mary Niva [e-mail] (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practical Analysis and Design for Client/Server and GUI Systems (Paperback)

This book is exactly what the title says. It's the best book I've ever read about analysis and design techniques for building systems quickly and effectively. The techniques Dave teaches in this book include how to scope the project, define context, event, information, database design and architecture models, prototype, and design interfaces and internal components. What is just as important, Dave tells us how these techniques relate to and impact one another, and how they each fit into the emerging picture of the complete system. Dave also puts today's methods into historical perspective to provide some "Ah ha's" as to how we got to where we are today in systems design.

Dave writes in a terse, easy-to-read, plain English style. All jargon, theories and concepts are explained in a simple, straightforward words, emphasizing their practical use. I've been studying this stuff for years, and Dave has written the clearest explanation of event modeling I've ever read. Humorous examples and analogies are used to lighten up abstract concepts. The "Chicken Crossing the Road" example used to explain associative entities is unforgettable. Lots of delightful cartoons, diagrams, screens and models drawn by the author also underscore important points and keep the pace moving from cover to cover.

As an instructor, I would highly recommend using this as a text in systems analysis and design courses. Each chapter concludes with a quiz and there is case study that brings all the tools and techniques together in a system design for a veterinary practice.

If you're reviewing system design techniques or learning them for the first time, Dave's concise descriptions and humor will keep you engaged and moving along at a rapid pace.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Platform independent, plain english, and complete - buy it., October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Analysis and Design for Client/Server and GUI Systems (Paperback)

I have read this book three times, and each I learn something new. It is nice to have a book that is independent of any development platform, and in PLAIN ENGLISH to boot. This book is more valuable than the course I had taken in college.

This book is for people who want to be productive. It is not for people who like sitting in all day meetings trying to come up with the CUTEST idea.

To get a straight forward answer on associative entities/relationships was like a breath of fresh air. I was told once that you should never have to use association tables. You should maintain the integrity of the database via code - yeah right.

I have recommended this book to every developer I know. This book should purge your mind of every piece of useless information that anyone has ever told you on how to approach building and designing applications.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best book I ever read, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Analysis and Design for Client/Server and GUI Systems (Paperback)

Easy to read and understand. Good and practical methodology. Cover most essential parts of Software Analysis and Design.

I agree with every words that printed on the back cover i.e. the analysis and design techniques that really work.