Head First Design Patterns 1 Edition  (English, Paperback, Elisabeth Freeman, Bert Bates, Kathy Sierra, Eric Freeman)

Head First Design Patterns teaches object oriented design and techniques, using Java.

Summary Of The Book

This is one of the Head First series books that teaches concepts in an easy and interactive manner, with lots of visuals. Head First Design Patterns, as the name suggests, deals with software design patterns. These design patterns can be considered as templates that can be used as a base to develop new code.

According to the authors, it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel when it already exists. Just use it and concentrate on building other things instead. So, this book shows how software design can be made easier by taking advantage of the patterns already out there in the digital universe. Studying some of the best design techniques can really cut down on the development time of new software.

Head First Design Patterns starts with a farcical project - building a duck simulation program. This section is told from the viewpoint of the programmer, Joe, who has to build a virtual duck, with all its appearances and behavior. Using this object model, he has to populate the virtual duck pond.

Using this base, the authors get across concepts like designing and implementing behavior, and encapsulation. In a similar vein, the book progresses, with each chapter taking up a different kind of project to get across different design concepts, and each chapter discussing design patterns that can be used.

Interspersed with the design discussion are many Java techniques, which are also clearly explained in relation to the concept being discussed.
Head First Design Patterns is written in a light style using puzzles, jokes, and visuals to highlight the points being taught.

Head First Design Patterns covers object-oriented concepts, design patterns, and relevant Java features so that at the end of the book, the reader gets a good practical understanding of the subject.

About The Authors

Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates have worked with Sun Microsystems and developed the Java certification programs. Kathy Sierra started JavaRanch.com, a large Java user community. Bert Bates is also involved in that website as a subject matter expert. Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates created the Head First series and wrote a series of books on Java.

Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Freeman have several years experience in the software industry. They work as coaches, consultants, and technology experts. They are also authors who have written other books in the Head First series.

Some of the other books by these authors include Head First HTML With CSS & XHTML, Head First HTML5 Programming: Building Web Apps with JavaScript, Head First Java, Head First Servlets And JSP, and SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide (Exam 310-065) (with CD-ROM).