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Title: AntiPatterns: Refactoring Software, Architectures, and Projects in Crisis by William J. Brown, Raphael C. Malveau, Hays W. "Skip" McCormick, Thomas J. Mowbray ISBN: 0-471-19713-0 Publisher: Wiley Pub. Date: 20 March, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $44.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.24 (37 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Fun, sketchy, and abstruse
Comment: My experience in reading this book has been very much like: (1) Reading Dilbert -- It's a somewhat fun look at problems all to familiar to experienced developers and managers. (2) Reading someone's viewgraphs after missing the presentation -- The authors attempt to catalog the AntiPatterns, so many ideas are presented in bulleted form. Buzz words are perhaps overused, too. (3) Reading the Bible -- Many sentences are just too abstruse for me. A lot of effort is required to get the (apparently) *deeper* meaning.
The book's greatest, lasting value will be in codifying the many recurring software development problems, and establishing a vocabulary for discussing them. I hope a later edition will correct some of the recondite language.
Rating: 4
Summary: A good start
Comment: Now that Design Patterns have been in the main stream for a decade or so, the idea is ready for rejuvenation. "Antipatterns" does a good job at its part of that update. The full analytic technique should include
-- patterns (what works well)
-- antipatterns (what fails miserably, sooner or later), and
-- refactoring or reengineering (connecting the two).
So far, that trio hasn't been put together in a systematic way. This book is a fair first stab at the list of common offenders, though. It has an exploratory style - it distinguishes major and minor (mini) problems, while trying out different ways of expressing evils of different scales. It proposes a systematic way to diagnose each problem, identify causes, and overcome the problem that left the mess in the first place. This is all good, even if Brown et al. haven't left the study in its final form.
This book may have lasting value, if only because it's the first to use the "patterns" methodology in studying what not to do. It's good for beginners who haven't seen the messes first-hand, and good for experienced developers who want to systematize their scars and war stories.
Rating: 2
Summary: A good idea, a very boring and dissapointing implementation
Comment: I was very anxiuos about reading this book. Before of purchasing it, I had already read some info and presentations on the web (c2 wiki, antippaterns site, etc.). I already knew the catalog and i'd like it very much.
But the book...what can i say of the book? first of all, I found it quite boring and verbose. The same could have been sayed using half of the words or maybe less...
In the book I've found a couple of annoying things:
- The authors quote themselves ALL the time
- The solution to ALL architecture antipatterns (and software as well) includes a reference to CORBA, OMG IDL or open systems...There are more things in the world! What can we, developers in sin, that don't use open systems or corba do?!?!
- They never do quote the GoF work, altough in same cases it would be very helpful, instructive and fair. In turn, they quote to their CORBA patterns book
- They only quote the GoF to say that their patterns are complex and that antipatterns are easier and funnier. Couldn't disagree more on this!
- There are some contradictory ideas throughout the book
- They are doing themselfs in some of the antipatterns (I would not say which ones, but after a quick read is easy to guess ;))
- The second chapter, the reference model, is very boring and with lots of unnecesary rethoric
- In fact, all the book is full of unnecesary and unpleasant rethoric stuff
- After reading the book from cover to cover, I realized that just reading the "Appendix A" I would had enough
- The name of the book is tricky. They don't say nothing about CORBA, but inside the book they say that this is the companion book of "CORBA Design Patterns"
- Many of the solutions are biased
- Their concept about refactoring is quite "fuzzy"...
There are some good points on the book:
- The catalog is quite interesting.
- Some patterns are nicely developed and fun to read
- Being familiar with the catalog allows to find easily antipatterns in everyday work
- The final appendix is a very nice compilation that offers a good view to the catalog
Anyway, the point is: don't buy this book. You can get the same in the web for free, saving money and time
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Title: Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler, Kent Beck, John Brant, William Opdyke, Don Roberts ISBN: 0201485672 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co Pub. Date: 28 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $54.99 |
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Title: Design Patterns by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides ISBN: 0201633612 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional Pub. Date: 15 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $54.99 |
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Title: AntiPatterns in Project Management by William J. Brown, Hays W. "Skip" McCormick III, Scott W. Thomas ISBN: 0471363669 Publisher: Wiley Pub. Date: 18 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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Title: The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt, David Thomas ISBN: 020161622X Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional Pub. Date: 20 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $39.99 |
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Title: Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler, David Rice, Matthew Foemmel, Edward Hieatt, Robert Mee, Randy Stafford ISBN: 0321127420 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co Pub. Date: 05 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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