AS A BROAD-FACED INTRODUCTION to object-oriented (OO) technology, this is one of the best books that I have read. It is well written, employing a style that makes it enjoyable to read and easy to understand. Although it covers a diverse range of topics, the coverage is balanced and the topic selection is well chosen.

Topics that usually receive only passing mention in other texts of this kind are included. The first part of the book looks at where we have been in the field and lays a foundation for the rest of the text by introducing general concepts. The second part focuses on architectural issues, and the subjects of object-oriented analysis, design, and patterns are introduced. The author chooses to feature UML notation in the short examples that are presented. The third part introduces OO matrics, user interface design, and OO databases and presents a brief survey of some OO languages. The fourth part of the book focuses on OO testing. All these subjects are covered in much greater detail in more specialized books—but that is to be expected in a book of this kind. Experienced practitioners may object to the omission of important topics and incomplete coverage of some subject areas, but this book is not meant to be a rigorous treatise on object technology; rather, it is a compelling early read for those interested in this area of software development.