Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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113 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
learn OO in 'design patter' way, December 7, 2001
There are 2 ways of learning new concepts and principles:
1. learn principles first, then try to use them
2. observe good implementations first, then learn to appreciate the principles behind themThe authors successfully convince me that the 2nd way is the better way of learning a paradigm like OO. The authors first give us a little principles (Chapter 1), and then intorduce to us the good designs one by one (Part III, IV, V). While explaining these good design solutions (design patterns), authors didn't forget to stop and show us what we have been through, and the principles we can draw from our experience. This is really a joyful and mind-shifting reading. This book is not trying to teach you everything about design pattern and OO. But it lays a very sold foundation in your brain, and force you to think in a new perspective. Of course, you should read GoF after or along with reading this one. Also recommend:
Craig Larman: Applying UML and Design Pattern (this book puts the things you learned into real developement process)
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108 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Explained thoroughly and concretely, June 2, 2002
I have read the Gang of Four book, which I highly respect and view as a kind of Bible for Patterns. The analogy is apt in that you don't read the Bible once, expecting to "get it" the first time through. You need to read, re-read, read commentaries and explainations. And even so, I found the patterns nebulous. Don't get me wrong! The G of Four book is a must have. But this is the first book that took me from the beginning to the end, explaining in concrete examples that I could understand. One of the key points is applying Patterns to the entire software process, not just design, AND MOREOVER, using many Patterns in the solution of software problems.I also really enjoyed the writing style. Someone else has complained that it is written in first person even though there is more than one author. Personally, I don't care how many authors are involved, I want results. And the first person choice brought me into the inner circle, where someone was explaining things directly to me. It is a great read, with an almost ideal style of writing for my personality. They break out bulleted lists (another complaint from someone) that gives me the highlights of what we are going to cover. I cannot explain what a great difference that made. One great lecturer from JPL said when giving a lexture: "Tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them." A brilliant speaker, this methodology lends itself to writing I think as much as speaking. Design Patterns I have read and done my best to understand, but this book breaks them down into easy to understand, and more importantly, cases where they can apply in simple language. Possibly most importantly, they describe how learning patterns can be used together with learning OO. I have been doing OO design for many, many years. I read the GofFour, but it was soooo dry, and although I tried hard to put them into practice in my software, I was always disappointed with the results. It felt that the Patterns were tacked on to handle some specific portion of the software. This book, OTOH, addresses the issue of teaching OOD and Patterns at the same time. Even though I considered myself a "good" OO person, I found that after reading this book the Patterns began to fit together with my designs. Wonderful! All this may not mean much to you, but if you are interested in Patterns, the Gang of Four, then please do yourself a favor and buy this book. Not only will you not regret it, it will [pull] you in and teach you in ways you never thought possible. Go for it, you will have no regrets. I have read many, many, many, software books, and this one just shines.
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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE Introduction to Design Patterns, August 9, 2001
This sparkling little introduction to design patterns is clear, well-organized, and supplied with sufficient sample code to help you understand and use 14 of the most important design patterns. Best of all, the authors provide insight into how using design patterns meshes with best practices in object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD).They explain the shortcomings of traditional OOAD by supplying an example of a brittle, overly complex design that they themselves had crafted. They identify the culprit as overreliance on specialization. The authors then discuss 14 of the most important patterns from the Gang Of Four book, and how using them made their own design more elegant. Along the way, they elucidate several themes you need to know in order to use design patterns: * Encapsulation can hide more than data. It can hide complexity (the Facade pattern) or an ill-suited interface (the Adapter pattern), for example. * Find what is common and make it an interface; find what varies, and encapsulate it. * Don't get lost by plunging into the details of implementation too early; instead, use design patterns to address your problem space at a conceptual level. As suits an introductory work, the authors do not deal with all the design patterns from the Gang Of Four, and not with the same depth. Fortunately, they supply ample footnotes to provide further reading for those of us who want more depth. Bottom Line: You know that if you just turn nouns in your problem space into objects and verbs into methods, you won't magically get a sound design. On the other hand, it is easy to get lost in the complexity of Gamma's classic. Resolve the dilemma by reading this book first! Footnote: as I feel that the vast majority of potential readers will not have the opportunity to attend Shalloway's 2-day course, I will not use the fact that it duplicates much of the book's content as a reason to lower my rating. It's a 5-star work all the way.
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