Object-Oriented Software Construction (Book/CD-ROM) (2nd Edition) Review

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Object-Oriented Software Construction (Book/CD-ROM) (2nd Edition) ReviewA couple of aspects of this book might lead you *not* to read it. That would be too bad, since it contains valuable informaton. Specifically:
(1) it spends a lot of time discussing particulars of the Eiffel language or the considerations leading Meyer to design Eiffel as he did. Observation: Even if you skip these parts, you could find useful information in the rest of the book, and many people may enjoy these insights into Meyer's approach.
(2) the attitude is often rather dogmatic and judgmental. As one authority commented on the first edition, it "tends to confuse Eiffel with universal principles." Observation: though unfortunate, this does not detract from the value of the content.
Further comments:
(3) If you don't know any object oriented language, the book is a natural choice, since it is very clear and does not require prior knowledge of any particular language.
(4) If you know another OO language, especially C++, you may get more for your time and money by choosing another book, at least to start. But you still could find valuable material here. For alternatives, you might check out the comments on Gamma's Design Patterns and Martin's Designing Object-Oriented C++ Applications: Using the Booch Method, or standard books by Booch, etc.Object-Oriented Software Construction (Book/CD-ROM) (2nd Edition) OverviewThis is, quite simply, the definitive reference on the most important development in software technology for the last 20 years: object-orientation.A whole generation was introduced to object technology through the first edition of this book. This long-awaited new edition retains the qualities of clarity, practicality and scholarship that made the first an instant best-seller, but has been thoroughly revised and expanded. Among the new topics covered in depth are: Concurrency, distribution, client/server and the Internet; object-oriented databases; design by contract; fundamental design patterns; finding classes; the use and misuse of inheritance; abstract data types; and typing issues. The book also includes completely updated discussions of reusability, modularity, software quality, object-oriented languages, memory management, and many other essential topics.All software developers and computer science students, worldwide.

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Head First Design Patterns Review

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Head First Design Patterns ReviewAt first I didn't understand how they would apply the Head First formula to design patterns. I'd read two head first before this one and I was impressed with those so I took a look and now, not only is it clear how they approached the topic, it's also clear to me that this is the best way to learn design patterns.
The Gang of Four book laid out the basics. Here is the pattern, here are some examples. The head first book goes a lot further. They show you good and bad examples of the pattern. They give solid reasoning behind the pattern. It's great.
There are times when I would look at a piece of code and have the author explain to me that it was based on one of the GoF patterns. I would come away thinking, if that's the pattern, then that pattern sucks. It's clear that patterns can be misapplied. So understanding the the how design patterns are applied, and how they are commonly applied wrongly, or to an extreme, is just as important as understanding the basic mechanics of the pattern itself.
The example code is in Java, but I think this is an ideal book for anyone passionate about patterns.Head First Design Patterns Overview
You're not alone. At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone struggles with the same software design problems you have. You know you don't want to reinvent the wheel (or worse, a flat tire), so you look to Design Patterns--the lessons learned by those who've faced the same problems. With Design Patterns, you get to take advantage of the best practices and experience of others, so that you can spend your time on...something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun. You want to learn about the patterns that matter--why to use them, when to use them, how to use them (and when NOT to use them). But you don't just want to see how patterns look in a book, you want to know how they look "in the wild". In their native environment. In other words, in real world applications. You also want to learn how patterns are used in the Java API, and how to exploit Java's built-in pattern support in your own code. You want to learn the real OO design principles and why everything your boss told you about inheritance might be wrong (and what to do instead).You want to learn how those principles will help the next time you're up a creek without a design pattern. Most importantly, you want to learn the "secret language" of Design Patterns so that you can hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions his stunningly clever use of Command, Facade, Proxy, and Factory in between sips of a martini. You'll easily counter with your deep understanding of why Singleton isn't as simple as it sounds, how the Factory is so often misunderstood, or on the real relationship between Decorator, Facade and Adapter. With Head First Design Patterns, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking Decorator is something from the "Trading Spaces" show. Best of all, in a way that won't put you to sleep!We think your time is too important (and too short) to spend it struggling with academic texts. If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, Head First Design Patterns will load patterns into your brain in a way that sticks. In a way that lets you put them to work immediately. In a way that makes you better at solving software design problems, and better at speaking the language of patterns with others on your team.


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SQL: Practical Guide for Developers (The Practical Guides) Review

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SQL: Practical Guide for Developers (The Practical Guides) ReviewThis would have been a fair book for a developer's quick reference. It covers many of the broad topics (select, update, nested queries, joins) and does so in a decent fashion. I originally bought this book so that I could have a quick reference nearby that I could look up UNION or other statements that are not used as much.
I was pretty happy with the book as I read through it... that is until the day that I actually had to find a statement in it. I have quite a large collection of computer books and I have never seen anything like it. If you turn to the index page to look up SELECT (I mean... really?) there is no entry there. In fact.. all you see is one page with three columns that have about 20 items per column. And all of this fills about half of the page. Oh wait! There is a little sticker up at the top of this ridiculous page that says "See such and such a webpage for full index".
The worst thing about this index is that it doesn't even have useful entries. It is as if some typesetter had about five minutes before the presses started up and someone said "Hey!!! Billy! We don't have an index! Why don't you randomly look up about 50 words in the book and make a real quick index! No one will know!" Well.. sadly.. Billy didn't have any idea what SQL was except that it starts with an 'S'.
The only reason I give two stars instead of -1 is that it seems that the author made a decent effort to make a simple introduction to SQL for a poor developer who needs a quick source for answers. The only problem is the index will not help someone find that quick answer.
So... I would stay away from this book unless you know that the index which has been posted on the publishers website is actually part of the book.
Bah to MK publishers! All they needed to do was spend two days making an index instead of scrambling and they would have had 4 stars and I wouldn't have tossed this book into the corner behind all of the other disappointing books I have.SQL: Practical Guide for Developers (The Practical Guides) Overview

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Practical API Design: Confessions of a Java Framework Architect Review

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Practical API Design: Confessions of a Java Framework Architect ReviewEnough said.
This and Effective Java by Bloch are the two books every Java programmer should have read. It will change the way you program and you'll be grateful for the change. The examples in this book are in Java but that's because they had to be in some language; I don't think any part of this book is specific to Java. If your code is consumed by other people, or even a future self, then this book will help you think through issues you may not have know you have. It did me.
In my opinion, this is those one of those once in a decade books that changes the game for anyone who reads it.
A totally mature, non-didactic work written by someone with that perfect combination of real-world experience, a high intellect, a no BS attitude, and humility.
This book is like getting a magical time telescope- you can see what the decisions you are making in your coding today will actually lead to in the future and what the inescapable consequences will be for you.
Actually, reading this book is a little like being put into the role of Scrooge being visited by the three ghosts of Christmas. You get to see what's going to happen to you because of your past and present actions before it happens. At it's heart it's a longitudinal study of how code is first consumed, abused and misused by other programmers and how those abuses become dependencies which determine what YOU, the code's author can and cannot do in future releases.
In a very small nutshell- totally innocent innocuous, completely legal and even recommended programming practices which you apply every day in your code can and will completely shut down any chance for your code to evolve in any rational way going forward in future releases. Why? Because you can't see the potential consequences of consumers of your code doing something you never thought they might do in ways you never meant for them to do it.
But here's a guy who did do those things and lived to pay the price.
For example, if you think that using interfaces (in Java) is usually the best way to program, then you might have a nasty surprise coming at you when other people (damn them!) actually start to program against your code.
When the book's over, you might be as happy as Scrooge that there's still time to change things before it's too late.
Like Bloch's Effective Java, the lessons in this book are so important that they're destined to become diffused throughout the general programming culture and become known to people who haven't even heard of the book. But can you wait until all that filters down to you through osmosis?
Practical API Design: Confessions of a Java Framework Architect OverviewThe definitive guide to API design, this book will be required reading for all designers and engineers involved with the development, testing, and maintenance of APIs.

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