UML Distilled: Applying the Standard Object Modelling Language (Paperback)

by Martin; Scott, Kendall Fowler (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley (1997)
• ISBN-10: 0201325632
• ISBN-13: 978-0201325638
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #923,508 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you know OO programming it is a good overview of UML, September 2, 1999

By	[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Huntington Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

Short and to the point. A good working guide if you know OO programming. Examples are clear but not too detailed. If you are into the high ceremony, fill out every form, type of design documentation this book won't be detailed enough for you. If you are a working programmer who wants good ways to think about and communicate your software designs - this is the book for you.

In our company we give it to all programmers we hire as an introduction to the design documentation techniques used within the company.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK, August 20, 1999

By A Customer

As the title states, this book gives you the essence of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). But you should already be familiar with the concepts of Object Orientation, inorder to get the most from this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Substantive and informative, even if poorly typeset, April 5, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Boulder, USA) - See all my reviews

Fowler (with contributions by Scott) gives quick and concise instructions on using the UML replete with example diagrams and example code. His style is wonderfully engaging and easy to approach. I found myself able to draw use cases, classes, activity diagrams, and more in almost no time.

Fowler sized the book on the small side (under 200 pages), yet gives a complete if sometimes merely cursory introduction to all of the components of the UML. After digesting its contents, I found myself wanting more details, particularly on a process to go with the UML diagramming. Despite the small size, Fowler finds space to include mention on related OOA&D issues, such as CRC cards, design patterns, and design-by-contract.

The book suffers from one drawback, which is more than likely not the fault of its authors: the typesetting is terrible. Sudden font changes in the figures and in the text, the use of prime symbols interchangeably with apostrophes (sometimes in the same paragraph), overlapping lines in figures, and a chapter introduction element (two lines that aren't quite the same length) are examples of some of the problems.

Luckily, it's easy to overlook the poor typesetting and focus on the substantive information that Fowler presents, which is of superior quality.