The first thing I noticed is that this book is almost 25 years old. That’s an eternity in computer science, especially in a non-mathematical subject. It was written under the “waterfall” paradigm of software development, before agile took over most of the software engineering world. Instead of a page or two, waterfall specifications could require a binder of dozens, if not hundreds, of pages. This book describes “use cases” instead of the “user stories” that…
When a software developer is writing code, she/he is often confronted with a problem: How much work should I put into writing “the best” code versus just doing a quick but serviceable job? Kent Beck, pioneer of the influential Extreme Programming: Embrace Change, addresses this question via an in-depth look at the process of “tidying” code. His answer is usually to “tidy first”… but not always. This book seeks to identify exactly when one is…
A software architect foresees potential issues in a design and judges which way will instill the most business success in the long run. Unfortunately, in almost every scenario, trade offs permeate every option. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Learning to anticipate problems with wisdom set great software architects apart from merely experienced ones. In this book, several experienced authors look at those trade offs in the context of distributed software…
Unified Modeling Language (UML) models how software and technology are designed. Unfortunately, its committee-derived specifications are too long and too detailed for most software developers to parse. This book distills that complexity into a series of simple instructions alongside graphics. These graphics can easily serve as starters or quick interpretive guides for thorny situations. Additionally, Martin Fowler, a UML veteran, offers sage advice to help the reader know what’s most essential and what can be…
Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the best standardized way to graphically depict a complex software system. It makes a technical language of glyphs to portray software integrations so that large software efforts can be more easily understood by developers. Certifications exist that allow individuals to support UML professionally. As a developer, the main problem I have with UML is that it itself is complex, often too onerous for my efforts. I deal with complex software,…
Traditionally, companies live and die by a fixed hierarchical approach where power and influence are garnered by climbing to the top of the ladder. However, recent decades have witnessed the rise of digital companies promising an economic disruption. Stereotypically, a smart young kid writes some code to change the way business is done and become rich in the process. We, in the public, then use their software for decades to come. Many companies still have…
Professionally, I write code for web applications in PHP for biomedical use. Thus, data play a central role in my professional life. At first, I tried to design my programs around object-orientated (OO) principles, but soon found that data played a strong role that OO actually restrained. Years later, I found how React divided itself between immutable data, state information, and code. Though I no longer code in React, I find this division still helpful…
UX is shorthand in the software industry for “user experience.” It’s often used in conjunction with UI, or “user interface.” In the world of the web, good user interfaces and user experiences can lead to successful, profitable websites – regardless of their function. Likewise, bad UIUX almost always leads to a website’s failure. Thus, specialists are often paid well to design and implement these aspects with skill. But in a world of ever-changing designs, how…
This work was published in 2004 – a lifetime ago for the field of software design. It tackles issues relevant in 2004 but are standard practice today. Its basic message – learn not just the software but also the domain – is an important one, but most of the insights has been absorbed into computer-programming praxis over the last fifteen years. Its strength is in delineating how the programmer is to relate to the domain…