Customer Reviews

UML in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

UML is yours for free in a 700+ page specification available as a pdf download from the OMG management group. I was attracted by the fact that what I expected would be a torturous journey could be reduced to the 260 pages by O'Reilly in an inexpensive handbook,"UML in a Nutshell" . I was also curious if the book was being 'thumbs downed' by Amazon customers reviewing the book because of the difficult nature of UML or because of how the topic was being presented in the book. I haved concluded it has been a bit of both.

I took a careful look at the comments of reviewers who have all extensive experience with UML.Most conclude that the text is comprehensive, not a small feat in 260 pages. Of these pros, not one stated the diagrams were inaccurate. (Of the 140 pages I read I found the presentation of the diagrams very instructive). I conclude that the experienced user is so happy to have a comprehensive 'pocket handbook' for UML and is so confortable with the UML syntax that they find the weakness in the writing style of minor consequence.

On the other hand, the mass of technophiles that have various intermediate levels, who always expect a book to present information in a clear fashion hits headlong into what they perceive as serious weaknesses in the writing style. Mix this with a dastardly hard subject matter and you have a recipe for a closed book and bad review.

On reading further into the text I found that the writing style problems occured with varying frequently but were not pervasive throughout the text. Some of the most annoying aspects of the presentation were unfortunately placed right where first impressions would turn many readers off.

The book gets off to a bad start in the Intro using the patronizing approach popular in some training camps, colleges and modular courses where the first paragraph is dedicated to telling you what you'll understand after reading the module. I never liked being told what I will know after reading something. I'll know what I'll know!" This approach to the chapter header is only used in the first three chapters.

Then there's the big criticism of the text being bulleted to death. This is most evident in the Intro which probably should be bulleted to the appendix or beyond. Better though, would be to rewrite the Intro chapter in carefully worded prose. When the author uses this bullet style, he does so with way too many points attached. As c_barron put it "After reading a dozen bullet points, all incomplete sentences that don't even sound right unless you make a mental note to repeat "The UML" before it, you tend to lose track of what the author's point was to begin with".

// c_barron is a customer/reviewer of the book at the Amazon site

The UML Big Picture is the second chapter, is bulleted less and is easier to read. This would probably have been better as the first chapter. Here the author uses another technique that is distracting. As _rread put it, "I completely (totally) concur (agree) with the other reviewer's assessment (review) of the book in listed on this page. If you find this style of writing annoying (aggravating) then you will not enjoy (like or appreciate) this book."

// _rread is also a customer/reviewer of the book at the Amazon site

What _rread is describing is the provision of another term meaning the same as the first in brackets. I think we know where the author is coming from. In this highly defined verbal environment he is giving in brackets a formally accepted alternative word to describe the same thing. This can be good or annoying depending on your perspective. I found on reading sections a second time I was able to ignore these brackets. Let me find you a real quote so you can judge for yourself. I'll use a bullet from what I think was a not too popular Intro chapter.

"The UML - Is a language. It is not simply a notation for drawing diagrams, but a complete language for capturing knowledge (semantics) about a subject and expressing knowledge (syntax)regarding the subject for the purpose of communication. "

When a subject is so 'languagey', it might be better to pick a word, go with it leave the alternatives out.

In some chapters the author sounds like he is studying for admission to the bar using a form of repetition. This is a long but good quote to show this. [page 112]

"The Class concept is an instance of the metamodel Thing concept. Classes are a description of a set of objects with common structural features, behavioral features, relationships and semantics. They are used to model a set of entities with common characteristics. The Object concept is an instance of the meta-metamodel Thing concept. Objects are instances of classes. They are used to model particular entities. The Association concept is an instance of the meta-metamodel Thing concept. Associations are descriptions of a set of links with comon structural features, behavioral features, relationships and semantics. They are used to model a set of relationships that relate two or more other entities where the relationships have common characteristics. The Link concept is an instance of the metametamodel Thing concept. Links are instances of associations. They are used to model instances of relationships that relate two or more objects. Associations relate classes and Links relate objects. "

Although there is some merit in this technique would it not be better to collect similarities where convenient and get the relationship between the concepts out front. For instance,

In UML, the concepts of the Class, the Object, the Association and the Link are all instances of the meta-metamodel Thing concept. Associations are used to relate classes and Links to relate objects.

Classes are a description of a set of objects (with common structural features, behavioral features, relationships and semantics). They are used to model a set of entities with common characteristics. Objects are instances of classes. They are used to model particular class entities.

These are the author own words, just less of them and focused differently..

Another chapter that was good was the Tutorial. The chapter on Object Orientation was a little weak. I teach object-oriented programming, but still had a hard time relating what I knew to the what being conceptualized in this chapter. In fairness to the author, I believe this is due to the terminology the 'three amigoes' have selected to package generic object-oriented programming in the UML.

But there my criticism ends. I'm glad I have the book. The one chapter I read from the Quick reference section was just right. I know if I was trying to design something in UML the Quick Reference chapters 6 to 16 would be a quick, concise and handy summary of the rules and details of the given topic area which would assist in getting the diagrams and symbols of UML right.

Conclusion

In conclusion I think 'UML in a Nutshell' is an excellent effort to provide a synopsis of a very large and difficult subject area. I think the book was ready for prime time in terms of content. Perhaps out of haste or exhaustion or who knows, the book went out the door in a somewhat beta condition from a language point of view, another small irony.

I had an amusing afterthought. The manuscript was submitted to proof reader's at O'Reilly to review but none of them could stand UML enough to get through to discover the grammarical weaknesses! I, for one, would not blame them for failing in such a quest!

This is a great book, still in the rough, and I would encourage the author (or one of the O'Reilly editors) to refine it into a classic for the next edition.

Every time I ... buy a technical book without checking Amazon.com for the reviews I end up kicking myself, and this time is no exception. This book is almost completely impossible to read - it is a tangle of repetitive bullet points torn from some cursed corner of academia. When the author does take the time to write a complete sentence it is riddled with odd parenthetical notes that are less than helpful. And the diagrams, at least in the initial chapters, are arcane, in my opinion rather silly, but mostly just needlessly confusing.

I found myself skipping larger and larger sections of the text at a time looking for some island of clarity from which I could learn something valuable without too much squinting and ended up skipping all the way through the book.

Of all the topics that should be treated in a clear, straightforward manner, coverage of a modeling language designed to facilitate communication pretty much tops the list - so if you are a collector of irony, this book would make a nice addition to your collection. Otherwise, I'd select another title.

I don't normally write reviews but this book was just too much to pass up. I swear I have seen this skit on SNL where some guy just explains something an absurd degree and confuses everyone. This is that skit in book form.

For example (I was laughing when I read this) on page 52 where the author is describing objects, the 4th bullet says, "Objects - May be of a simple or complex data type (should have stopped here) Simple data types are not reducible to any subordinate parts. Complex data types are conglomerates reducible to subordinate parts."

I think someone published his dissertation at O'Reilly.

Let me say to the folks who gave this book five stars and think that these other people just don't know enough to be in the ballgame, I respectable disagree with you. I have worked with OOA&D and the UML for several years now and I just found this book to be a mediocre reference at best. You are correct, it is not for beginners but a book still needs to be interesting, provide concrete examples and in-depth analysis into the most important aspects of good object-oriented analysis and design. In my opinion, this book really offers none of that.

If you really want a great book that will keep you reading like a Tom Clancy novel (okay that is stretching it a bit) you should get Fundamentals of Object-Oriented Design in UML by Meilir Page-Jones. Now I have seen some reviews that say it is for beginners but I do not agree. The first section on fundamentals of OO yes, however the subsequent parts of the book get into some very well written detailed analysis about not only best practices with the UML, but also object-oriented software design principles in general.

O'Reilly, I am disappointed. I have several titles (Java Network Programming, Java and XML, EJB, Servlets etc.) and this is by far the worse. I think O'Reilly should leave OOA&D and the UML to the Addison-Wesley Booch-Rumbaugh-Jacabson series. Just my two cents :-)

I own most of the O'Reilly books, so I'm a bit biased: I think they are great. Except for this one. I keep checking to see if the publisher really is O'Reilly.

Here are the major problems with the book:

1) The title says "In A Nutshell", yet the book is 273 pages long. Which would be fine if all of that space was needed to cover the material in nutshell fashion. It isn't, by a long shot. To fill that much space, the text resorts to repeating the same thing sentence after sentence. Here's an example: "Problems and solutions occur within a context. The solution to a problem must be understood in order to be constructed and utilized. The solution must be organized in order to facilitate its realization and adhere to the various constraints of the context (available computer systems, development time, etc.) in which it will be realized. To solve the problem, appropriate knowledge about the problem and solution must be captured, organized around decisions regarding the problem and solution, and...." Shall I go on? It could be summarized with "You need to understand the problem and proposed solution". Which is better, but for that matter why is *any* of this found in a book called UML In A Nutshell?

2) The writing betrays a lack of knowledge on the part of the author of what is important and what is not. As a result, everything is included and nothing seems important. Here's the author's biography from the back of the book: "Sinan Si Alhir has breadth and depth in all phases of the systems development life cycle. With experience in high-level and low-level project work, and his broad and deep knowledge of technology and methodology, he focuses on delivering quality solution-oriented results within various application domains using a multitude of technologies and methods." This is absurd, and could be reduced to "Knows everything about everything." Is that what they really were trying to say? I'm sure the author is skilled in some specific areas. But you'll never discover what those are from this bio.

3) Perhaps you are thinking that criticing the bio is unfair. It would be, but the text is even worse. Here's an example: "Our effort will be organized (life cycle) as a series of (possibly concurrent) steps (activities) so that it may be managed to develop the resulting information system." Huh? This takes obtuse to such a level that I can't even think of a simple sentence to summarize what they are trying to say.

4) Now when I tell you that about 80% of the text is in the form of bulleted lists you may be thinking "Good, who cares if the text is bad when most of the book is bulleted lists". OK try this example, which gives just a few of the dozens of bullet points that follow the heading Models:

* Are blueprints of systems used for system construction and renovation

* Are used to understand and manage complexity within systems

* Are used for communication and assurance of architectural soundness

* Capture knowledge regarding a system or context

* Represent knowledge of problems, solutions, and the contexts in which they exist and are addressed ....

You can't assimilate that many bulleted items without supporting text, and if you could you just download the spec and save the $30.00.

My suggestion is either save the $30.00 or spend it elsewhere.

I own plenty of programming-related books, and I think I can recognize a good book when I read one. This is not one of those books, which is surprising in an O'Reilley Nutshell book. Certainly it covers the basics and essentials of UML, but most of the substantive information is in bulleted lists, surrounded mounds of useless prose. Here's a typical example:

"To deliver valued solutions (maximum quality and minimum cost within the minimum time), organizations must capture (acquire), communicate (share), and leverage (utilize) knowledge. The value of a solution is determined by the quality of the product or service, the cost of the product of service, and the time needed to produce the product or deliver the service."

This paragraph may seem rather innocent by itself, but after about ten pages of this I began to feel physically ill. Nothing life-threatening, mind you -- just a little nausea. Closing the book for several minutes made the feeling go away, and reading the book again cause my symptoms to return. Reading a different programming book did not cause my illness to return. So I placed "UML in a Nutshell" on the shelf and have felt fine ever since.

I then purchased a different book to lean UML.

O'Reilly in many ways defines a technology. If there is a O'Reilly book that means it is something you probably want to know. Most of the "In A Nutshell books" have become invaluable and essential for me, but unfortunately this book misses the mark. In many ways this book does more to hurt UML than increase its use. When confronted with this confusing mess, more often than not, people will walk away thinking, UML is too confusing and not a helpful tool.

The author babbels on for two chapters without giving any concrete examples, showing the concepts, or demonstrating how it helps you. The diagrams are confusing, for example, the software life cycle diagram. I think the objective of the was author to prove he was smarter than the rest of us rather than trying to help us understand.

I want the second edition (assuming it comes out and fixes the major problems) of this book for free because it was a waste of money and is not up to O'Reilly standards. I have certainly bought enough O'Reilly books to make them quite wealthy.

`UML in a nutshell' is a book I do not like. The terminology used deviates from what is commonly used in all other books on the subject. I disagree with the sequence in which the author presents the material and find his introduction to OO one of the worst ones I have ever come across. Trying to capture all of the UML in such a small book resulted in the book containing information that is only mentioned and not explored, leaving the reader confused rather than enthused. Finally, what does not help at all is the heavy use of bullet points throughout the book, which is a characteristic of the bad style this book is written in. I apologise to the author, maybe he is brilliant at what he does for a living (one never knows), but a technical writer he is not. END

I bought this book, without reading any reviews, on the basis it would demonstrate the usual lucidity of the "In a Nutshell" series. Alas no. It is a fine example of a pedantic, overly qualified academic book; almost comical in its lack of clarity. Vague diagrams followed by long lists of overly precise bullet points are the preferred mechanism of imparting knowledge (one can imagine the author sweating to impart maximum exactitude in the minimum word count). I'm sure the author knows the subject, however, I would defy any generalist to make head or tail of it. The last book I read as staggeringly incomprehensible as this was Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - and at least you know with Wittgenstein it's going to be incomprehensible before you part with your cash. So in a nutshell, no.

This book is horrible. It tries to be a tutorial, and a reference but succeeds at neither. Instead we get a dense book consisting mostly of bullet points, complicated diagrams and a rambling format which never gets to the point or tells you concisely what you want to know. It is like someone has just cut and pasted the bullet points of their UML training course (extra complicated edition) into book format.

I don't suppose UML is *that* hard to understand assuming an author takes you through it in reasonable learning steps, but unfortunately this book doesn't.

This is a very poor O'Reilly title.

Are you looking for a book on UML, go somewhere else...

Using bullets are good for making points clear, but not as default font for a book. And content should be refined if this book is to deserve the nutshell title from Oreilly. This is probably the worst book on computing that I have ever read, and hopefully it will be for some time. It was very disappointing compared to the usual Oreilly standard.