As a former manager and currentl member of a CIO subcommittee, my first reaction to this book was favorable. It provides a blueprint for utilizing object-oriented strategies and tactics from several methods and applying them in practice. The author highlights the strategies throughout the book, using a format different from that of the body text. Unfortunately, the book does not include a chapter on component-based development.
The book’s basic purpose is to help “the practicing object-oriented modeler, manager and architect understand how to use object-oriented concepts in practice, not just in theory.” It fulfills its purpose by presenting examples drawn from a variety of real-word application areas, ranging from telecommunication to financial trading.
The book is divided into eight chapters, each including a summary for busy people. Chapter 1, “Objects: Today, Tomorrow, and Some Lessons Learned,” introduces the benefits of objects and presents the caveats (skill sets and the immaturity of the technology). Chapter 2, “The Big Picture,” focuses on the object-oriented development process and development philosophies.
Chapter 3, “Modeling System Structure,” covers system partitioning, working with domain experts, finding and modeling objects and attributes, modeling relationships, modeling rules, testing the object model, and the evolution of the object model. Chapter 4, “Modeling System Behavior,” points out that the models most commonly used in describing system behavior are a high-level scenario table, object-interaction diagrams, and state models.
Chapter 5, “Architecture,” examines the way in which objects are used in constructing systems from three model perspectives: high-level logical software architecture, physical architecture, and component interaction. Chapter 6, “Designing Object Systems,” presents the issues of mapping structure and behavior, using design patterns, and performing the mapping.
Chapter 7, “Client-Server and Object Distribution,” is the most interesting. With the growing need to access information from a wide variety of systems located throughout the world, client/server is the architecture of many distributed systems. This chapter looks at two key issues involved in building object distribution and client/server systems: object distribution and accessing legacy systems.
Chapter 8, “Putting It Together and Making It All Work,” emphasizes that no combination of technical strategies and techniques can guarantee success if a project is not managed correctly. It discusses team structure, organization and managiement of the process, and requirements traceability. This chapter, and the book, conclude with a statement of six critical success factors for object-oriented development projects:
involvement with domain experts;
an iterative and incremental development life cycle;
education and training;
the involvement of someone who has done it before;
a set of object models; and
an architectural vision underlying the system.
Appendix A contains illustrations of object notation.Appendix B lists the strategies presented in each chapter.
The references and index are more than adequate. Overall, the book is an open door to further discussions of object modeling and design strategies. The second edition should include material on the role of object-oriented technology in industrial automation and on interfacing component-based development.
