Pattern Languages of Program Design 4 (Software Patterns Series) (Paperback)

~ Neil Harrison (Editor), Brian Foote (Editor), Hans Rohnert (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Software patterns are reusable, higher-order designs that recur repeatedly across applications. Pattern Languages of Program Design 4 offers a wide variety of these forms from different areas of computing. Especially valuable to C++ or Java programmers, but useful to anyone who designs software for a living, this book is a worthy choice containing dozens of designs that you can incorporate into your own projects.

Arranged in 23 chapters, each containing multiple patterns, the text contains well over 100 software setups on a wide variety of topics. Standout sections here include a compilation of C++ idioms by James Coplien, which are derived from his well-known Advanced C++ Programming Styles and Idioms, a book that helped inspire early pattern-makers. A chapter on managing limited memory provides tips for working with embedded systems on today's handheld devices. Those with a background in engineering will also appreciate the catalog of patterns for finite state machines (FSMs).

Designers have the tendency to make patterns out of what is familiar to most everyone. Several chapters look at patterns used on Web sites (for example, navigation bars) and in wiring together multimedia content. The book also groups management patterns, some of which can be used for improving customer relations and managing software development. The last section, surely the most entertaining, is devoted to software management and describes why most code, over time, devolves into a "Big Ball of Mud."

There is certainly a lot to take away for any designer who reads this book. It is a particularly rich collection of recently "discovered" patterns that will get you thinking about reusable design in your own software. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Object-oriented software design patterns, C++ idioms, patterns for managing limited memory, patterns for Smalltalk prototyping, patterns for history and time, security patterns, report patterns, feature extraction patterns, finite state machine (FSM) patterns, patterns for Web sites and multimedia systems, patterns for reusable multimedia artifacts, patterns for telecommunications, patterns for choosing publishable papers for conferences, patterns from writers' workshops, customer interaction patterns, patterns for better software project management.

Product Description

Design patterns have moved into the mainstream of commercial software development as a highly effective means of improving the efficiency and quality of software engineering, system design, and development. Patterns capture many of the best practices of software design, making them available to all software engineers. The fourth volume in a series of books documenting patterns for professional software developers, Pattern Languages of Program Design 4 represents the current and state-of-the-art practices in the patterns community. The 29 chapters of this book were each presented at recent PLoP conferences and have been explored and enhanced by leading experts in attendance. Representing the best of the conferences, these patterns provide effective, tested, and versatile software design solutions for solving real-world problems in a variety of domains. This book covers a wide range of topics, with patterns in the areas of object-oriented infrastructure, programming strategies, temporal patterns, security, domain-oriented patterns, human-computer interaction, reviewing, and software management.Among them, you will find: *The Role object *Proactor *C++ idioms *Architectural patterns for security *Reports *Composing multimedia artifacts *Customer interaction As patterns evolve beyond the realm of research into the world of practical software development, more and more developers are discovering that reusable design patterns (such as those contained in this volume) can help them achieve faster, more cost-effective delivery of their applications. 0201433044B04062001

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Product Details

• Paperback: 762 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company; 1 edition (December 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201433044
• ISBN-13: 978-0201433043
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,100,320 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Okay, February 8, 2000

By	Jeff Benson (Aurora, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Some of the chapters are uninspired formalizations of basic object-oriented concepts, like "Abstract Class" - however, there are a few gems in this book like "Essence" and "Role Object" . . . definitely not as rewarding as the Gang of Four book, however. I hope someone else reviews the rest of it because I'm certainly not going to read the whole thing all the way through.