|
|
|
Average Customer Review
Share your thoughts with other customers
|
|
|
The most helpful favourable review
The most helpful critical review
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Required Reading
As you will have guessed from the other reviews this is required reading but if you do find it hardgoing I'd recommend reading "Design Patterns Explained" which is a lighter introduction ("Applying UML and Patterns" by Craig Larman is also useful for this).
Once you get the patterns, and more importantly once you understand why they are good designs, I would...
Published on 29 Dec 2004 by C. Jack
|
› See more 5 star, 4 star reviews |
 |
57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
a must-read that is also a must-rewrite
This book is compulsory reading with no real competition. However it's very badly written. People often mention (without complaining? ) of what a lot of hard work this book is. In fact almost all the patterns are easy to grasp, but rubbish explanations in conjunction with inconsistent use of terminology and weak examples obscures each pattern to the extent that the...
Published on 5 May 2000 by Torquameda
|
› See more 3 star, 2 star, 1 star reviews |
|
|
57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
a must-read that is also a must-rewrite, 5 May 2000
This book is compulsory reading with no real competition.However it's very badly written. People often mention (without complaining? ) of what a lot of hard work this book is. In fact almost all the patterns are easy to grasp, but rubbish explanations in conjunction with inconsistent use of terminology and weak examples obscures each pattern to the extent that the reader's brain soon falls out of their head. I can't point to any one example in the book since they are all as bad as each other. But re-reading the visitor pattern finally inspired this diatribe. I can't understand how these guys have got away with it. It's absurd. There must be an unimaginable number of people who have given up on Design Patterns due to this book, seminal or not. What a shame. The value of patterns is almost incalculable. If only Odell & Martin or Martin Fowler would condescend to give us something readable!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Required Reading, 29 Dec 2004
As you will have guessed from the other reviews this is required reading but if you do find it hardgoing I'd recommend reading "Design Patterns Explained" which is a lighter introduction ("Applying UML and Patterns" by Craig Larman is also useful for this).
Once you get the patterns, and more importantly once you understand why they are good designs, I would recommend looking at "Pattern Hatching", "Agile Software Development (2nd edition)" and "Refactoring to Patterns" which cover the use of patterns.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
You're going to have to buy this book sometime, 15 Jul 1997
By A Customer
The book commonly referred to as just "Design Patterns" begins with an introduction to Object Oriented Programming and continues with a catalog of design patterns. I wouldn't recommend this book as your first OOP book, but I believe that once you have a basic understanding of OOP, you can try to cope with some of the basic Design Patterns in this book. If you are an advanced OO programmer, it's helpful to just quickly review any pattern you're about to implement and examine possible implementation issues.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Essential, but heavy, 20 Jul 2004
This book contains really useful information, and really can benefit you and your job, but it is also a tough read, requiring saintly perseverence (see comments on first half!) or deep concentration (see comments on second half!).The first half of the book is a large example, which reminds me of the mind numbingly boring and irrelevant case studies presented to me at university... in fact, I got bored, and stopped reading it. Maybe there's a twist at the end... I don't know - I got bored. The second half, on the other hand, contains fantastic descriptions of patterns, object model diagrams, and details on how and when to use them. These sections need your full attention, and you need to know something about OO design already, but if you've got all that it's great. And if you're suffering from insomnia, you can always start reading the first half of the book...!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
put down the hatchet - those days are over, 24 May 2001
By A Customer
This book is not an easy read and will only make sense if you know an OO language, understand polymorphism and are prepared to loosen your grip on your hacking axe. If you are hell-bent on smacking your keyboard like a demented monkey then this is not the book for you. The patterns in this book will, however, help you with anything from speeding up build times (try using 'bridge' to insulate commonly used classes) to using polymorphism to implement state behaviour (try 'state'!). Buy the book or a banana - the choice is yours.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The best book for OO designers and developers, 26 May 1999
By A Customer
Starting from what design patterns are, this book then presents how patterns can be used to build a document editor. What follows is a list of great patterns for various purposes. This book is a great tool for anyone who is interested in OO design. You read it, and read it, and read it...and then when you finish you read it again! This book lives on my desk now... I was a bit dissapointed that multi-threaded patterns were not discussed at all in this book, but I'll still give it a 5 because I do think it is excellent.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
a must read, but a very tough read., 2 Jul 1998
By A Customer
The authors define design patterns as: descriptions of communicating objects and classes that are customised to solve a general design problem in a particular context. A design pattern names, abstracts, and identifies the key aspects of a common design structure that make it useful for creating a reusable object-oriented design. The design pattern identifies the participating classes and instances, their roles and collaborations, and the distribution of responsibilities. Easy to wrap your mind around, eh? Design Pattern people are in love with the power of abstraction and generality. You might even say they prefer to impress rather than inform. However, somehow you are going to have to learn this stuff, even if only to get into the heads of the guys who designed the AWT. Try starting with the code samples in the Design Patterns book. You have to read this book at least twice before it begins to make any sense. However, if you want to call yourself a programmer you MUST understand this book. I hope somebody writes a version of this book for Java programmers. It is written from the perspective of C++ and Smalltalk. This is a book where the you want the hardcover version. You go back to it again and again.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
This is the one the others talk about, 10 Oct 2006
I read a couple of design patterns books before this one and quickly realised that I need to get this book as soon as possible. The others I've read all referenced it and as a design patterns catalog it presents patterns in the purest form. It is extremely easy to read in terms of clarity and layout and certainly in a format that will appeal to programmers. Although most examples are either in C++ or SmallTalk you should have no problem keeping up if you specialise in other languages including scripting languages like PHP5.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
A priority for serious OO deigners and developers, 27 Mar 2003
As other reviewers have said, this is not an easy read. However, it is well written and describes some fairly subtle and non-trivial topics in a clear and concise fashion.You will not be able to class yourself as a serious OO designer or developer unless you have a solid understanding of design patterns. This book is the original and the de-facto standard text on the subject and belongs on every serious software engineer's book shelf (actually, it belongs on your desk between the keyboard and the coffee mug). The investiment in time and money will be rewarded rapidly!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
If I could give it 6 stars..., 6 Jun 2007
For the last 5 years I have been writing C++ code, and discovering coding 'patterns' for myself. Each time, I thought that there must be a book out there which documents these 'patterns', and would save me months of work figuring them out for myself. This is that book, and it does not disappoint.
The 23 patterns are built on a set of core principles. I was aware of these principles before, but seeing their application in pattern after pattern has given me a much better and deeper understanding of how and why to apply these principles in my own code.
I would probably have used some of the patterns, some of the time. But after such a clear and deep explanation of each one, I now see opportunities to use the patterns frequently. And in each case, I realise why my code will be better with them than if I hadn't used them.
Reading this book immediately improved my coding skills by an order of magnitude.
This book belongs on the shelf of every C++ coder, alongside Meyers 'Effective C++' and Beck's 'Extreme Programming Explained'.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Amazon Home
