Book Reviews
I read a lot. Or at least I used to. Now I commute about 40 minutes each way to work and I listen to audio books on my iPod. I’ve got a monthly subscription to Audible.com, so that’s where my most of my reading comes from these days.
IntelliJ IDEA in Action
My latest book is now available at Amazon, and other fine book sellers everywhere. This book covers the ins and outs of IDEA, the amazing Java IDE from the folks over at JetBrains.
It’s current through the 5.X release, and covers everything from debugging to project management. If you haven’t tried this IDE I recommend you do so. You can get a free evaluation at the JetBrains website.
Even though I’m currently doing .NET development, I’ve been using this IDE for about 4 years, and can honestly say it doubled my productivity. While it’s got oodles of great features, the best has got to be its refactoring capabilities.
Read More... 
|
Permalink | Comments[0] |
Refactoring
Your class library works, but could it be better? Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code shows how refactoring can make object-oriented code simpler and easier to maintain. Today refactoring requires considerable design know-how, but once tools become available, all programmers should be able to improve their code using refactoring techniques.
Besides an introduction to refactoring, this handbook provides a catalog of dozens of tips for improving code. The best thing about Refactoring is its remarkably clear presentation, along with excellent nuts-and-bolts advice, from object expert Martin Fowler. The author is also an authority on software patterns and UML, and this experience helps make this a better book, one that should be immediately accessible to any intermediate or advanced object-oriented developer. (Just like patterns, each refactoring tip is presented with a simple name, a “motivation,” and examples using Java and UML.)
|
Read More...
|
Permalink | Comments[0] |
The Pragmatic Programmer
Programmers are craftspeople trained to use a certain set of tools (editors, object managers, version trackers) to generate a certain kind of product (programs) that will operate in some environment (operating systems on hardware assemblies). Like any other craft, computer programming has spawned a body of wisdom, most of which isn’t taught at universities or in certification classes. Most programmers arrive at the so-called tricks of the trade over time, through independent experimentation. In The Pragmatic Programmer, Andrew Hunt and David Thomas codify many of the truths they’ve discovered during their respective careers as designers of software and writers of code.
Some of the authors’ nuggets of pragmatism are concrete, and the path to their implementation is clear. They advise readers to learn one text editor, for example, and use it for everything. They also recommend the use of version-tracking software for even the smallest projects, and promote the merits of learning regular expression syntax and a text-manipulation language. Other (perhaps more valuable) advice is more light-hearted. In the debugging section, it is noted that, “if you see hoof prints think horses, not zebras.” That is, suspect everything, but start looking for problems in the most obvious places. There are recommendations for making estimates of time and expense, and for integrating testing into the development process. You’ll want a copy of The Pragmatic Programmer for two reasons: it displays your own accumulated wisdom more cleanly than you ever bothered to state it, and it introduces you to methods of work that you may not yet have considered.
|
Read More...
|
Permalink | Comments[0] |
Design Patterns
Design Patterns is a modern classic in the literature of object-oriented development, offering timeless and elegant solutions to common problems in software design. It describes patterns for managing object creation, composing objects into larger structures, and coordinating control flow between objects. The book provides numerous examples where using composition rather than inheritance can improve the reusability and flexibility of code. Note, though, that it’s not a tutorial but a catalog that you can use to find an object-oriented design pattern that’s appropriate for the needs of your particular application—a selection for virtuoso programmers who appreciate (or require) consistent, well-engineered object-oriented designs.
|
Read More...
|
Permalink | Comments[0] |
Web Development with JavaServer Pages
I co-authored this book with Mark Kolb. This was one of the best selling books on JSP and has been well received by a number of publications, the development community, and several major universities who are using the book as their classroom text. It has been translated into seven languages.
You can download the Sample Code, but keep in mind it was writtein in 2000, and has not been updated to the latest and greatest version of JSP.
|
Read More...
|
Permalink | Comments[0] |
