Customer Reviews

Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Design patterns used to be the hottest topic around a couple of years ago. One of the side-effects was the "Applied Java Patterns" book which I very much liked and used to recommend to anyone looking for a "GoF" replacement using Java for code examples. Not anymore. From now on, I'm recommending Kuchana's "Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java".

Why am I so pleased with this book? What makes it any different than other design pattern books? Well, first of all the volume is huge. Kuchana's book covers all the original Gang of Four patterns plus another 20 or so patterns, including a couple of multithreading related patterns. Second, the text itself is very readable and doesn't cling too much on fancy words. The explanations are concise and to the point. Further kudos goes to dealing with such frequently asked questions like the difference between Factory Method and Abstract Factory.

To list some things I didn't like about this book, I have to say that having exercises without sample answers in the back was a tiny disappointment and I would've preferred a bit more condensed font for the code listings. That's about it.

All in all, a very good choice for filling the gaping design patterns encyclopedia slot in your bookshelf. Highly recommended.

I purchased this book hoping to brush up on my design pattern skills for a new job I had just accepted. I purchased this book on the recommendations of other Amazon.com readers, but I have to say that I am pretty disappointed in the text. The book covers the 23 GoF patterns plus an additional 19 patterns.

I struggled with this text on a couple of different levels. First, some of the patterns presented aren't really patterns at all. There is a "pattern" called Accessor Methods, but this isn't anything more than good coding practices. The same could be said of Constant Data Manager (btw - I disagree with the author's solution of mashing together unrelated constants into a single location).

But my real problem with this book is the presentation of the patterns themselves. GoF presents patterns in a canonical form that is widely embraced by the pattern community. This book chooses not to present the pattern in much of a form. Instead, each pattern is given a short introduction (1 page most of the time) followed by one or more examples (8, 9 or 10 pages). There is no high-level goal (motivation) of the pattern stated. The benefits of the pattern are never identified. Nor are the drawbacks (consequences). The structure of the pattern is never clearly identified.

This book relies on the examples explaining the patterns, but I don't think that the intent behind each pattern is explained any where near well enough. This book would be good for a person that wants to see decent (but not great) implementations design patterns. I don't think this book is good for learning the concepts behind the different design patterns and gaining the understanding knowing when to use one pattern over another.

If you want to see some implementations of patterns then maybe consider this book. If you want to learn/study about patterns this isn't the right book.

For me it is back to GoF. I have heard good things about the Head Start Design Pattern book. Maybe I will check this out. But I severely doubt I will be referencing (or keeping) this book much in the future.

I was not impressed with Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java. I've been programming professionally for about five years, and have previously read Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides ("GoF"). Currently Java is the language I am most fluent in. What I hoped to get out of this book was:

* A deeper understanding of the GoF patterns and how Java facilitates their implementation.
* Useful new patterns that reflect how the software world has changed since the GoF book was published.
* An extra bonus would have been some insight into how Java itself uses the patterns.

This book failed to deliver on all counts. The example code is all in Java but there is no discussion of how Java affects the use of the pattern. (Languages do affect pattern use; e.g. Peter Norvig has argued that most of the GoF patterns are not needed in dynamic functional languages like Lisp.)

The examples are highly contrived and pages and pages of simple beans with getters and setters obstruct following the higher level arguments. In fact, Partha Kuchana at times left me sufficiently confused that I had to refer back to the GoF to understand how a particular pattern differed from another or what a patterns purpose was.

The additional patterns presented here are not terribly useful -- often they're so obvious you wonder what alternative could possibly be used instead. A nice reminder than quantity is not the same as quality.

I would recommend reading the GoF book (which is highly regarded, still highly relevant, and for the most part approachable and understandable) instead. If you strongly prefer a Java-oriented book there are many other highly rated ones to choose from.

I have recently learned that one should not give his comments on books until he reads the book to the last page and until he reads some other books he can buy. Previously I gave the excellent rating the Head First Design Patterns because I found it very original and helpful about some patterns. But when reading that book further, and when reading the other book Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java by Partha Kuchana, I realized how one should be careful when judging a book on his first impressions. Now I read the Kuchana's book completely.

Simply said, right now I would recommend Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java as a good start in patterns. The book includes all patterns from GoF (Head First did not) and adding some of its own. The style is very practical and speaks about a pattern in direct, practical and programmer style. The book does not convey the spirit of exaggerated ultimate excitation that you can feel in some other books ( "oh, this pattern is so gorgeous, so delightful"). This book simply says what a pattern is about and how to use it, all in simple terms, like a programmer to a programmer. Highly practical and down to earth, which I like.

When a Java beginner reads this book he will have some occasional problems however when jumping to the examples that use Java graphical interface, but there are other examples so you can probably find out your way without AWT or Swing examples anyway, because the explanations are excellent by themselves.

So, 5 stars.

Don't be deceived by the five-star reviews here at Amazon for the book. I bought it encouraged by good reviews and being really interested in getting a good book on architectural patterns, but I'm very disappointed after reading the book.
Here is my summarized opinion on the book:
* No architectural patterns have been presented in this book
* Book is merely an introduction to basic patterns using Java language
* Examples are too simplistic and they do not help get the real understanding of patterns
* It is way too expensive

In my opinion, if you have any knowledge of software design patterns or you are looking for a book on architectural patterns - you will waste your money buying this book.
If you're new to design patterns, try buying another book. I'm sure you can find much better book on design patterns for less money.
Try with "Design Patterns - Elements of Reusable OO Software" by Erich Gamma et al, then "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture" by Martin Fowler and "Core J2EE Patterns". Maybe some will argue that the books are outdated, but surely you'll learn much, much more on patterns from any of them that from the "Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java".

My background: I am software developer with 8 years of experience. I bought this book because I hoped that it will be easier to read and understand than GoF book. Not so.
This book is written in extremely boring style, with no explanation of what problems those patterns are trying to solve, bad vague descriptions, longish and unclear examples. If you need a "bed time" book that should put you to sleep it 5 minutes, this may be a right book for you.

Otherwise, do yourself a favor, stick to GoF and Allan Holub's books. I have both and love them.
I heard good things about "Head First" book on patterns, it should be most appropriate book for beginners.

From my perspective, GoF is the best catalog of patterns, and Allan Holub's book contains a lot of "thinking" about patterns, problems they solve, good practical examples and opinions.

This is a great book. It covers a wider range of patterns than the GoF book. There is no getting away from the GoF book but this uses Java and so would be fine for Java and C# people.

I keep coming back to this book and for me this it the sign of a good book.

I notice another reviewer recommending "Holub on Patterns" instead of this book. While I would agree that the Holub book is worth reading, it is tough going and unfortunately it has a number of code errors which, although relatively straightforward to correct, nevertheless do add to the burden of coming to grips with the patterns.

Good concept, bad implementation. After reading a few books on Design Patterns, I wanted to check out something else. Title of this book and decent reviews drew me in. I'm disappointed. After reading 20 chapters, I'm going to stop. I just don't feel the author is doing a good job. There is not enough explanation on the different design patterns. The author gives a quick overview and then gives you an example. There is nothing wrong with that. But it's very light. Each pattern is not explained enough. No benefits/drawbacks. No counter examples. Nothing really that will make the pattern "stick." I just can't learn anything from this book.

If you're looking for a GoF book in Java, I would check out Design Patterns in Java or Design Patterns Explained. Not great, but I think they do a better job of explaining each pattern.

This book provides an excellent reference for many common (and not-so-common) design patterns used today. It presents them using easy to understand examples that any developer will find useful. Each section contains practice questions ideal for study groups or self-paced learning. This book is well suited for anyone wishing to learn about and apply design patterns in a Java environment.

Disclaimer: I was a draft reviewer for this book.

After the reviews 5* i bought it. I did not like the way the examples are set. Most of the time they are confusing.I would recommend reading the GoF book