Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications (2nd Edition) ebook

Pros:
It's a good overview of object-oriented analysis and design and its connection to the sometimes esoteric UML diagrams that accompany the process of analyzing and designing object-oriented systems.
I think the book is good for anyone looking to learn the basic reasoning behind object-oriented analysis and design and see some brief examples relating to the theory.

Cons:
I expected more from a book that comes recommended from so many people. The feeling I had at the end of each chapter is difficult to describe, but most closely resembles that of hopelessness. I was thinking to myself that maybe I didn't read it right, or maybe I accidentally skipped a page (or ten). Overall, I felt like I had learned something, but had no idea how to apply it. The book leaves you with more questions than when you started.

The author specifies many times throughout the book that he truncates or condenses information because it would be too long to fit in the book. This sacrifice of detail comes at a cost; an unnecessary cost considering how much repetitious filler information (borderline double-talk) is included in the book. The book could have been 200 pages shorter if they eliminated the fluff, and 200 times better if they used the space to take an example to completion.

I found myself wanting more information at the end of each chapter. Just when the author starts to get into finer details of an example is the moment when he condenses everything, wraps it up into something ambiguous and indecipherable, and begins on some new example. One specific case I can offer is the part of the book that uses the satellite navigation system example, and the black-box/white-box analysis with use cases and activity diagrams. When I started reading it I thought it was great. I expected by the end of the chapter I'll finally have a grasp on how to use these UML tools and analysis techniques to better organize projects and create clearer preliminary designs. He ends up condensing the diagrams, i.e., diagrams that would have been separate are now part of one big diagram. Furthermore, he only shows you partially how to create the diagram and then lists the things he would continue to do from that point, but doesn't actually show it to you. What's worse, is he tells you that he condensed the diagrams and in a real life situation he wouldn't have done this, rather he would have created separate diagrams and detailed them differently and performed the analysis in a different order.

I think the end result of reading this book is that you've gained no new skills that you can practice and incorporate into your work, because you only have this partial condensed idea of analysis and design. I got this book because I was looking for more detailed information on how to build object-oriented systems as opposed to the multitude of vague and worthless mantras found all over like, "just make everything cohesive and loosely coupled", and "SOLID". This book ended up being a very wordy version of the same vague and worthless mantras.

Really, this is an outstanding book on object oriented analysis and design. In many instances of my work and projects I took advantage of using it, especially the section with applications. It is outstanding because it gives the science behind object oriented analysis and design with citations on previous and current research specifically in software development, and software engineering in general. For example, do yo know why software is complex? What are the elements that make software so hard and so complex to develop? But you should first ask: what is complexity at all? You will find the answer to this and many other important questions with awesome cristal clear explanations on concepts, and methods used in constructing industrial-strenght sofware.
Together with this book, I recommend this companion books: Clean Code (Robert C. Martin), Agile Software Development - Principles, Patterns, and Practices (Robert C. Martin), UML 2 and the Unified Process 2ed. (Arlow and Neustadt).

This 3rd edition is the eagerly and long awaited update to the 2nd edition which was published in 1994. It provides thorough and practical coverage of concepts, techniques, notations and examples for modern object-oriented analysis and design. The material cov-ered draws upon a solid foundation of theoretical work but is con-sistently pragmatic in approach. This book provides an essential body of knowledge for professionals responsible for the analysis and design of complex systems.

As with the second edition, the book is organized into three major sections - Concepts, Method and Applications. Concepts intro-duces the fundamental principles of object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) such as creating abstractions, objects and classes, and how to address the complexities found in a variety of systems. The Method section focuses on how to analyze and design com-plex systems with an emphasis on using UML 2.

This edition follows a similar format and addresses many of the same topics as its predecessor but varies in several areas. Most noticeably, the famous "clouds" and other Booch notations used in the 2nd edition have all been replaced with UML. The UML dia-grams also make frequent use of the newer UML 2 notations such as frames on sequence diagrams and ports on component diagrams.

As a whole, the new set of applications nicely cover a variety of challenges found in modern systems design. There are also few-er code examples in this edition. However, as the frequent use of Courier font suggests, the text still sits conceptually just slightly above code level when that is necessary.

This book is very well organized, written and edited. For example, in the Methods section, the chapter on Notation doesn't merely plod through the syntax of various shapes and line styles but ex-plains each diagram set with regard to intended use and contribu-tion to object-oriented models. There are also clear and informative distinctions between essential techniques and more advanced concepts. Though some concepts clearly build upon each other, the reader is not forced to read the material in a certain order - e.g., references to material in other chapters are clearly marked and summarized.

Diagram styles vary somewhat from chapter to chapter but, as ex-plained in the preface, this is deliberate in order to familiarize the reader with the output of commonly used tools. More extensive or sharply defined distinctions between what is common practice as compared to alternative approaches, including the risks or benefits of either, would have been nice to have but this omission doesn't detract from what is a great book overall.

Though intended primarily for developers and architects of soft-ware systems, the material presented would also be highly valuable to analysts in non-engineering roles such as business systems ana-lysts. It is also a worthwhile read for those working on systems without a software emphasis.

Analysts, designers and architects of complex systems, will find this text provides broad and deep coverage in the current practice of OOAD. As a result, it should regarded as mandatory reading for professionals in those fields.

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I love this book. And this is my opinion: I bought it the first time back in the late 90s when I was in college and recently I got the latest edition for kindle format so I can access it from my phone. This is not a book that if you read it, you will be an OOP expert, but it helps to understand many concepts. In my case it is part of the foundation of my knowledge as an IT professional. It is so clear and well explained the concept of Class; Object; Polymorphism; Encapsulation, Abstraction, Inheritance, etc..