Rating: 
Summary: A good way to teach old programming dogs new tricks
Review: Even though object-oriented programming (OOP) has been around for many years and is taught in the computer science programs at colleges and universities, there are still many developers who do not know it. What this means is that those who are now performing the migration to OOP are primarily old dogs that need to learn the latest tricks. This book is perfect for that task, Ambler writes very clearly and covers all of the major aspects of OOP.
There are two outstanding features of the book. The first is the clear writing style and the second is the completeness of coverage. Not only are the fundamentals of OOP covered, but the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is also introduced. Since the U in UML could now be considered a representative for Universal, most developers need to be able to understand it. Ambler also covers some of the basic features of design patterns, components, use cases, object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design and object-oriented testing. These are generally considered to be advanced topics, but as presented here are well within the level of an introductory book.
The only negative point is the significant amount of duplication that is done. For example, on page 410 there is a boxed region for the definition:
Subject Matter Expert (SME) - A person who is responsible for providing pertinent information about the problem and/or technical domain either from personal knowledge or from research.
An excellent definition, but the problem is that it was already defined on page 35 and was used many times in the pages between 35 and 410, especially in the chapter on gathering requirements. There are many similar situations throughout the book, so many that I often considered segments redundant.
This book could also be used as a textbook in a course on the principles of object-oriented programming without using a specific language. Some Java code is used, but it is very skeletal and is used to demonstrate the initial steps in constructing your application from the design principles.
Rating:
Summary: What is a "primer"?
Review: "primer ... a small introductory book on a subject," Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1994
Rating: 
Summary: Nice and Easy
Review: A completely non-technical intro to OO. Its intentionally cross platform and very american...I find it highly unlikely the Euro-psyche will put up with dishing cards out around the table...we wanted our software yesterday and don't give a .... that its OO !However, I enjoyed it and found the methodology useful and practical as a professional developer. A good buy.
Rating:
Summary: Nice and Easy
Review: A completely non-technical intro to OO. Its intentionally cross platform and very american...I find it highly unlikely the Euro-psyche will put up with dishing cards out around the table...we wanted our software yesterday and don't give a .... that its OO ! However, I enjoyed it and found the methodology useful and practical as a professional developer. A good buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for advanced OO programmers/architects
Review: Before you buy this book, ask yourself what type of reader are you. A) A programmer with no OO experience that wants to learn how object oriented techniques can improve your applications or; B) An experienced programmer with OO development, software patterns understanding and a component-minded thinking for building applications. If you are (A), this book is for you. It will teach you to think and see development from OO point of view. If you are (B), this book is Object Oriented 101. I bought this book because I saw it advertised in several of the Scott's papers, thinking that the book would be an extension to the paper's topic (Persistent Layers for RDBMS). If you own books in Java Patterns, J2EE blueprints, etc, this book will render you hungry for knowledge (not to mention it will be a good pil to put you to sleep), since what it really is, is a brochure to sell you tipical object oriented design techniques that you probably already know. The book covers a lot of topics, but it stays superficial (intro level), with very simple examples. If you are seeking for advanced techniques for implementing or building frameworks and architectures for common enterprise problems, this book is farrrrrr too basic.
Rating:
Summary: Over self-promotion
Review: Hate to be the only one to write a less-than-favorable review, but here goes... The author has taken the opportunity of the written text to elevate himself, for whatever reason. The "Ambler" method, as the author has self-named the diagramming model he teaches in the book, is simply not used. He's taken bits and pieces of other object diagramming standards and formed his own, with no apparent purpose other than to have his name on it. It's not used anywhere, and in my opinion, it's of great concern that colleges use this book due to the fact that the "Ambler" method is throw-away learning. As someone who works in the field, I'd recommend a good book on UML. Other than that, the book does a reasonable job of exploring the uses of the OO approach to programming.
Rating:
Summary: Best practical introduction to OO
Review: I came to The Object Primer from the perspective of someone who has been working in the computer industry for over 10 years, knowing that OO is the wave of the future, but unable to get past the buzzwords thown around in most industry articles. After noticing the practical and readable nature of Scott Ambler's articles in Software Development magazine, I decided to have a look at this title and found it an excellent introduction. Very readable and clear. In particular the book gives you a good start on how to initiate OO analysis (for example, how to determine what classes should be modelled by the OO system in the first place). Provides a good scaffold on which to build a fuller understanding of OO development, and leads naturally to his next book: Building Object Applications the Work.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the purchase
Review: I found this book about an often overlooked topic to be entertaining, well-written and informative. This is a good introduction into object-oriented application design and what I found most pleasing and very rare was the treatment of the subject without the burden of any code whatsoever. All too often this topic is bogged down with coding details and Mr. Ambler avoided that, making a neutral volume that is as applicable for project managers as it is for Java, C++ and SmallTalk programmers. A minor complaint I have is the author's frequent references to his upcoming book. I found it annoying and a bit self-congratulatory. We as readers will seek out future books if we like an author's style and knowledge so there is really no need to repeatedly beat us over the head with upcoming book plugs within the text. Additionally, I found the "pinball metaphor" silly , the frequent Star Trek references embarassing, and the barely original and proudly stated "Ambler Class Diagram Notation" a bit pretentious. These petty gripes aside I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting on the design boat at the entry level.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to OO for us old timers.
Review: I have looked at quite a few books on the subject of OO analysis and design. This is the best book I have found for someone who knows nothing of this subject, but I imagine it would be a good reference and review for experienced OO types. It is concise and clearly written with very good examples. I especially appreciated the information about how to deal with the politics and mechanics of OO in the workplace.
Rating:
Summary: Clarifying the "What, When, Why and How" of OO Development
Review: I probably purchased somewhere upwards of twenty books on the topics of the UML and object-oriented development before buying The Object Primer, 2nd Edition. Yeah, it probably would have been nice to have read this one first, but on the other hand, it may have been just the right book at the right time in terms of my learning process. As a result of my previous efforts, I was getting overwhelmed and confused by the sheer volume of concepts, notations, diagrams, development processes, and tools associated with becoming proficient with UML modeling and object-oriented development. While I had learned lots of important terminology and techniques from the previous books, I found The Object Primer to be enormously practical and useful in terms of putting it all together and breaking through to a working level of proficiency.
Among the aspects of the book that I appreciated are it's easy-to-read style, effective use of diagrams and visual examples, and the "techniques" sections with clear directives about what to do, and what not to do, in specific areas. I was able to use the technique lists in somewhat of a cookbook style as I applied what I was learning to some of my own work. So far, in my growing library of OO development books, this one provides the "biggest bang for the buck".
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