Pattern Languages of Program Design 4 (Software Patterns) Book

Software patterns are re-usable, higher-order designs that occur over and over again across applications. Pattern Languages of Program Design 4 offers a wide variety of these forms from different areas of computing. Especially valuable to C++ or Java programmers, but useful to anyone designing software for a living, this book is a worthy choice with dozens of designs that you can incorporate into your own projects.Arranged into 23 chapters, each containing multiple patterns, the entirety of the text contains well over 100 software set-ups on a wide variety of topics. Standout sections here include a compilation of C++ idioms by James Coplien which are derived from his well-known text Advanced C++ Programming Styles and Idioms, a book which helped inspire early pattern-makers. A chapter on managing limited memory provides tips for working with embedded systems on today's hand-held devices. Those with a background in engineering will also appreciate the catalogue of patterns for Finite State Machines (FSMs).One of the tendencies for designers is to make patterns out of what is familiar to most everyone. Several chapters here look at patterns used by Web sites (for example, navigation bars) and wiring together multimedia content. The book also groups management patterns, some of which can be used for improving customer relations and managing software development. (The last section, surely the most entertaining, is devoted to software management, and describes why most code, over time, devolves into a "Big Ball of Mud".)There is certainly a lot to take away for any designer who reads Pattern Languages of Program Design 4, a particularly rich collection of recently "discovered" patterns that will get you thinking about re-usable design in your own software. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.comTopics covered: object-oriented software design patterns, C++ idioms, patterns for managing limited memory, patterns for Smalltalk prototyping, patterns for history and time, security patterns, report patterns, feature extraction patterns, finite state machine (FSM) patterns, patterns for websites and multimedia systems, patterns for re-usable multimedia artefacts, patterns for telecommunications, patterns for choosing publishable papers for conferences, patterns from writers' workshops, customer interaction patterns, patterns for better software project management.Read More