Event-Based Programming: Taking Events to the Limit

By Ted Faison

Book Overview

Now available in paperback--

Languages like C#, VB .NET, and Delphi include built-in support for events, and these events become very powerful when they connect the objects and components of a system. Events make it possible for such parts to interact without any coupling. And the resulting parts can be developed and tested individually which keeps the code clean and simple.

Component-based development (CBD) is an extension of object-oriented programming. CBD does away with the language and vendor-specific limitations of OOP, makes software reuse more practical and accelerates the development process. Event-based programming is the next logical step in CBD, and makes components more reusable due to their decoupled nature. But event-based systems are easier to develop, which means they're cheaper and more reliable than traditional OOP or CBD systems.

This book teaches you how to develop software based on parts that interact primarily through an event mechanism. You'll learn howto use events in many different situations, to solve recurring development problems without coupling. The book introduces Signal Wiring Diagram, a novel form of software diagram similar to the circuit diagrams used by hardware designers. The book concludes with a series of case studies, incorporating all featured concepts. In a nutshell, you'll want to pick up a copy of this book because it:

Shows how to use an event-based paradigm to reduce or completely eliminate coupling between classes and components Describes components, including coordinators, workers, builders, binders, and routers Contains three complete case studies that model concepts being used to design small, medium, and large systems

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1430243260
• ISBN13: 9781430243267
• Release Date: December 2011
• Publisher: Apress
• Length: 692 Pages
• Weight: 2.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic book on event based systems!

I have been programming event/message based systems for 25 years and never found a good book on this technique/methodology like this one. Ted does a great job at laying the foundation with a bit of theory (but not maths! So don't be afraid!) and then diving into practice. The text is clear, the diagrams are really good. He also reviews the different types of diagrams: UML state machine, sequence, activity, communication, component wiring diagrams as well as lollipop, SDL, catalysis and espresso diagrams. I was really interested in the chapter on Signal Wiring diagrams, even with my hardware engineering background I didn't know of their use in software engineering. He then quickly reviews a few patterns related to the subject and then dedicates a full chapter on functional roles in a more practical down to the code approach. He finishes the book with 3 case studies that will help understanding the ins and outs of event based programming. Although the example code is supplied in two Microsoft languages (C# and VB Visual Basic) and being a Java person myself, the code is easy to understand and helps a lot. I highly recommend this book and hope that a lot of developers will take on "Event-Based Programming". I do thank the author for the tremendous effort to put together such a good book, with a good balance between theory and practice. In one word: "Bravo!"

A great reference on event based application design

This is the second book I have read from this author and as before I found the book very helpful. The book deals with designing applications more the way electrical engineers have been working all along, design each component as independent as possible(decoupled) and at the end hook them up in a way that it gives you the output you want. The book will be specially very helpful to the developers who desing and develop enterprise applications.

new way of system architecture

This book describes a new way of software system architecture to minimize coupling and increase testability; from the smallest to the largest systems. In an EB system, each part can be developed almost like a separate project, with events hooking everything together at runtime.