Object Thinking

This is a great book. I wish I had read it a long time ago. It is not for those who are looking for a "dummies" approach or a few quick tips. The title "Object Thinking" is as clear a statement of the content as anything I can say here.

Review of "Object Thinking" by David WestThis is a very interesting work from Professor West for those that want to explore the philosophical underpinnings of Object Oriented Software Development. Early in the text he relates the Greek philosopher Plato's comments to decomposition, dividing a problem along the natural joints. Although it includes good practical examples the philosophical basis for shifting from the deterministic approach of structured methodology in software development to the new agile techniques he so obviously favors is presented in a quite convincing manner.The book ably serves as a reference to the philosophical basis of thinking regarding programming with copious references notes and sidebars. This also helps improve the readability of the book by reinforcing the rationales offered and providing substance to his claims.Professor West we learn early on is a proponent of agile methodologies and still favors the Class, Responsibility, Collaborator (CRC) cards. There is much to recommend this in the early stages of software design. West also points out to no surprise that Object thinking is truly different and attaining this level of sophistication is not merely a matter of experience with Object Oriented languages.As an example West includes an interesting statement "Eliminating centralized control is one of the hardest lessons to be learned by object developers.". My own experience with Java and J2EE bring to mind the example of Sun Microsystem's Pet Store. The example prominently features several classes which function as Controllers; ScreenFlowManager, ModelManager and ShoppingCartClientController. West prefers the use of Coordinator in that the objects register listeners and coordinate rather than actually control the events.The difficulty of creating good Object Oriented software is largely affected by the language and architecture. Throughout the text West alludes to among others, Smalltalk, Java and C++ in terms of the ease with which Object Thinking is expressed in the languages. Professor West points out, via Fred Brooks four difficulties, Complexity, Conformity, Changeability and Invisibility. The relative ability to deal with these difficulties is not so dependent upon the language as long as it is sufficiently object oriented so much as it is with the programmers mindset and familiarity and ability to really think in terms of objects. Professor West also acknowledges the most appropriate place for Object Thinking in that the more complex the problem to be solved the more appropriate Object Thinking becomes. Small problems may not benefit from Object Thinking but almost always large complex systems can be much more effectively expressed in an Object Oriented manner than with traditional structured programming approaches. Any examples to the contrary would be welcome commentary and feedback from the reader.The later part of the book deals much more with examples and less philosophy. It is however an

The criticisms of this book using big words are unfounded. OOAD is a complex idea (after you read this book, this will become crystal clear if it isn't already) and therefore needs and incorporates a robust vocabulary to articulate complex processes and ideas. If you are put off by big words, you will not be able to read about science, philosophy, mathematics or programming, all of whose ideas, by the way, are juxtaposed in Object Thinking.As well, to say this book is "deeply slanted" and that the author "foams at the mouth" reagarding current programming practices is to completely disavow oneself from reality. Take a quick and simple peek and the current state of software design/projects/programs. See anything amiss? How about cost overruns, and projects that either get shelved halfway through, or take 5 times as long to build as planned. Mr. West simply says that true OO is rarely practiced, that there is a better method, and here it is. If anyone has any credible evidence that XP/Agile programming is the same or worse than traditional OO or structured programming practices, be sure to write your own book on it. It will go along ways to disproving theories that Dave West and others put forth.For those who are open to expanding their current views about programming, get this book. Dave West is, at the least, a gifted writer whose book content is profound, and is a must for any serious computer programmer. I thought I knew what OO programing was; I was wrong. It has nothing to do with, at its deepest (and true)level, programming or computers. It has everything to with the human condition and how we perceive and process the world around us.This is a must-have book for anyone who aspires to be, or already is, an OO progammer. Superbly written, with profound content. This is a no-brainer: buy it.

This is one of the first books in Microsoft Press' new "Microsoft Professional" series and first impressions are that it looks a bit dry. If you're as averse to "pretentiously long words" as I am - headings like "hermeneutics", "anthropomorphism" or "A syncretic Approach" leap off the page as you flick through the slim volume - then you're going to find the book a bit of a struggle("Looks like a great cure for insomnia" as a colleague commented after a quick flick through it) and my initial hopes were not high. However persevere, because it's worth it! Although the language and presentation is almost the polar opposite of one of the "companion" titles in this series ("Extreme Programming Adventures in C#") this has a very high signal to noise ratio (which sadly the other much fatter volume doesn't!). So, don't be put off by the long names and endless footnote references to old ACM papers because what's presented here is a thoughtful and convincing book on the history of object-oriented development, the politics and design errors that have caused the "wrong" thinking to take place and a convincing argument as to why so many of us have got object orientation so wrong. The blurb promises "visionary insight" and if you can get through some of the "academic" language, against all expectations the book delivers on that promise. This ISN'T, as you might expect from a Microsoft Press book, a book of code examples and "silver bullet" handbook for the developer who wants to cut and paste code, for reasons that are well explained in the book. It IS a great guide to why current thinking is often wrong and what you, as a developer, need to do to develop your "object thinking" and deliver on the promises that have been made in its name. Frankly I'm amazed and encouraged to see such a great "agnostic" (where Microsoft technologies are concerned) book published by Microsoft Press. This is one of the best titles I've read (and I've read a lot!) in their extensive catalogue. Perhaps the most important advice is that "Object thinking is hard", as the book's author professes, and while there aren't any "silver bullets" this book does guide you through a difficult path that will help you "think objects" and produce better solutions. Highly recommended

This is a great book that goes into considerable amount of historical background on Object Oriented (OO) software development and lays a fertile background for assimilating OO concepts. David West does truly commendable job at explaining the related psychology and philosophy of OO development. He is quite radical in his approach at explaining what is wrong with traditional software development by explaining Agile methodologies (XP in particular). I thoroughly enjoyed the book and strongly recommend it to any .NET or J2EE developers who think they are designing OO software, but most in fact are not.