Reliable Object-Oriented Software: Applying Analysis and Design

This is in my opinion the most helpful modern book on analysis and design you can read -- and I've been studying and practicing these fields for over twenty years. It offers an incredibly good synthesis, combining the most useful ideas and notational elements of other object-oriented work with the best earlier approaches to analysis and design. The book is very strong on the essentials of software development method. The authors also point to subtle distinctions or variations in methods and techniques and explain why they prefer one variant over another (usually for, in my view, very good reasons of simplicity of notation, or ease of transition from analysis to design). Finally, the book is very clearly written. Ed Seidewitz and Mike Stark's experience stems from Goddard Space Flight Center, considered by many to be one of the best software development organizations in the world. However, methods and techniques illustrated here are shown to work in any domain, not only for space or real-time problems but also for management tools and administrative information systems (which is my field). This book never leaves my desk.

As an introduction to and guide for the practical application of object oriented system design, this book is outstanding. The writing is clear, the subject matter is thoroughly covered and the examples are practical and robust. Essential for anyone interested in effectively applying the principles of object oriented design. Useful for both the novice and the already indoctrinated.