Designing Object-Oriented Software

by Lauren Ruth Wiener, Brian Wilkerson, Rebecca Wirfs-Brock, et al.

Practical and down-to-earth in approach, this bestseller explores the art of designing object-oriented software. It offers basic design principles and a specific design process that can be applied to any software programming effort -- even those not using object-oriented programming languages or environments. KEY TOPICS: Covers the concepts of object-oriented technology, presents a process to apply those concepts, the tools to use...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0136298257
• ISBN13: 9780136298250
• Release Date: June 1990
• Publisher: Pearson
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.0" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

The best book for learning OOD

When I started learning Object Oriented Design, I was a C programmer with some COBOL experience. I was having a hard time making the paradigm shift to object orientation. This book was the best of several that I read. It was while reading this book that "the light came on". Since then, I've been recommending this book to anyone who is trying to make that paradigm shift themselves.The book is language neutral - just as design should be. So you won't get hung up on examples in a language that you don't have. Wirfs-Brock takes you through the design process, from the requirements to finished design, helping you understand how to discover your objects and assign responsibilities to them (Responsibility Driven Design (RDD)). She uses Class/Responsibility cards (similar to if not the same as CRC cards) to illustrate the documentation of information. Though there are more modern tools (UML) to capture some of this information, I still use these cards early in a design process because of the ease of changing/correcting them.

All-timer

When the book is more than 10 years old and still a required literature in the area, that really tells you a lot. Especially if the area is software engineering where things tend to change quickly. After more than 10 years this book is still a fundamental reading from OO design. Even IBM recommends this book for it's Object Oriented Programming exam. First several chapters are really classic - everything is there: why OOP?, objects, classes, responsibilities, collaborations, hierarchies. If you read this first and then go for any C++/Java/put_your_favorite_oop_language_here book, everything is going to be much much easier and more clear even if you have a decent OO design background. There are even couple of presentations of complete implementations of fair software projects using the terminology and techniques described in the book (last two chapters). If you are beginner in OO design or you have to read just one "theoretical" book from OO design or don't know where to start concerning OO design, I recommend this one. The only drawback is that book is still pretty expensive, but I am sure that you will not regret...

The clearest & simplest introduction to OOP

I am a veteran lecturer of object oriented programming> Unfortunately, despite the popularity of the subject and the (seeming) abundance of books in the discipline, I still have a difficulty in providing my students with a comprehensive source of information. This book, however, covers more than any other book I know of, in the clearest form.

The best intro for the uninitiated I've seen

First, I'll tell you what this book isn't: a detailed discourse on the inner Zen of object-oriented development, a la Booch, Jakobsen, Rumbaugh, Nielson et al. It IS, however, the best single introduction to the subject I've ever seen. In my experience with computer-related books, it is virtually unique, not only in that it is clear and concise, but actually a pleasure to read! My best testimonial: I dropped my computer science major in college (my BA's in English) because the subject bored me stiff. This book rekindled my interest in the field, and led me to a major career change - and how many books can I say THAT about?