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Summary: Not just for SmallTalkers
Review: Although I've never used SmallTalk and have read only a couple of on-line introduction chapters on Dolphin SmallTalk, I had no problems reading it and applying the patterns in another language like Java, C++ or Python.Let me put it simple: If you want to learn to think in objects, don't just read the book, do it! If you have read "Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code" by Martin Fowler et al. then you'll recognize the thougts presented in this book. In this book the patterns are close to refactorings with a bunch of simple, good, readable and understandable advices to just about every little thing - it's more than a simple style guide: You'll always get told what the raison d'etre is - and if not, where to look for it. I'm currently using the book as a reference for style of OOP. From a teaching point of view, the book is also extremely useful. Kent Beck likes to ask quistions in a heuristic manner. Because of the simple approach to every day experiences of developing, all the way down to the experiences of beginners, you won't have any trouble answering these quistions. In fact you'll probably start asking quistions to yourself likewise because of the magnicifent way this mind trick works for your way of thinking in objects (or otherwise). As a developer - doing these patterns - you'll be amazed at how much little things can mean in a much bigger and more complex context, when you develop systems applying OO - especially huge systems. I am compelled to repeat: Don't just buy it, do it!
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Summary: Useful coding guidelines for beginners and the experienced
Review: Before I read Kent's book, my team had a Smalltalk coding guidelines document, a boring, cluncky text that didn't seem to help beginners write good code (mostly there so project quality plans could reference it). After I read Kent's book, I wrote a few team-specific points in the margins and declared it our new coding guidelines document. Kent's book is a pleasant, readable mix of the obvious that beginners need to know and the clever that experienced Smalltalkers can still learn from. I was surprised at the absence of Booby Woolf's strategy for classifying instance variables (as identity, status or cache; see The Smalltalk Report, June 96) and at how little there was on protocol naming. Otherwise, it seems to cover almost everything at its chosen level (which complements, instead of competing with, that of books like the Smalltalk Design Patterns Companion).
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Summary: Must read for Smalltalkers
Review: Every Smalltalker should use this book as a style-guide or to help with refactoring.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! One of my favorites.
Review: I bought this book years ago from McGraw-Hill in NYC,...but I'd gladly pay double...for it today - don't be fooled by the fact that there are only 240 pages to this small, softcover book. The patterns are concise and the examples, priceless. Although I love Gamma's Design Patterns, if I were forced to be stuck on an island with one choice, it'd easily be Beck's BPP. I currently use C++ on UNIX in practice (wish there were more Smalltalk & Objective-C jobs out there), but I would still highly recommend this book for any OO-Practitioner: the lessons here can be applied to many different scenarios. Take this chance to observe the beauty of PURE OO - concise code with the semantic richness and clarity reminiscent of poetry... ...alas, if only code at work were so well crafted! This is a handbook of OO Programming. Patterns are broken into the following categories: Behavior, State, Collections, Classes, and Formatting. Each pattern is given a question/problem that the pattern answers/solves and references to other patterns are shown with page numbers. It's definitely one of those rare books that I return to over and over again... ...a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! One of my favorites.
Review: I bought this book years ago from McGraw-Hill in NYC,...but I'd gladly pay double...for it today - don't be fooled by the fact that there are only 240 pages to this small, softcover book. The patterns are concise and the examples, priceless. Although I love Gamma's Design Patterns, if I were forced to be stuck on an island with one choice, it'd easily be Beck's BPP. I currently use C++ on UNIX in practice (wish there were more Smalltalk & Objective-C jobs out there), but I would still highly recommend this book for any OO-Practitioner: the lessons here can be applied to many different scenarios. Take this chance to observe the beauty of PURE OO - concise code with the semantic richness and clarity reminiscent of poetry... ...alas, if only code at work were so well crafted! This is a handbook of OO Programming. Patterns are broken into the following categories: Behavior, State, Collections, Classes, and Formatting. Each pattern is given a question/problem that the pattern answers/solves and references to other patterns are shown with page numbers. It's definitely one of those rare books that I return to over and over again... ...a classic.
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Summary: Learn clean and Simple OO Programming
Review: I have recommened that people learn Smalltalk (if for no other reason) just to read this book. On the other hand, one could probably read the book without a Smalltalk background since it uses fairly simple examples. It gives clear explainations for style of codeing that is simple and understandable. Very helpful! Whatever OO-language you eventually code in.
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Summary: Real OO, not just for Smalltalkers
Review: I wish I had read this book when I started getting into OO programming. This is OO to the max, at maximum granularity. Beck's style is clear and concise, the patterns are understandable even by a non-senior Smalltalker like me.
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Summary: Excellent, even for non-Smalltalkers
Review: I've never programmed in Smalltalk and probably never will. Actually, I'm not able to write the most primitive program in Smalltalk. Nonetheless, I highly recommend the book to anyone who has (or wants to develop) a sense for understandable and aesthetic code. Most of the advice applies to any programming language and even the parts specific to Smalltalk provide interesting food for thought.
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Summary: a beautiful little book -- all Smalltalkers should have
Review: Idioms, patterns ... all programmers' minds should be imprinted with them. Why work hard, with these solutions at your fingertip? Kent Beck is probably one of the best thinking developers in the industry, appropriately combining theory and practice to produce results with elegance. All Smalltalkers should own this book, and programmers in other languages can probably find a lot of inspiration too.
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Summary: This is the bible of Smalltalk.
Review: In this book, Kent Beck sets down the rules of software development by which all Smalltalk coding should be done. All Smalltalk projects will benefit by the developers following this book.
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