Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)

clearly defines design patterns, how and when they should be used, and factors to consider when using them. a very useful book for any software development work. the only disadvantage with this book is that its examples of each design pattern are sometimes convoluted and confusing.

Not even having cracked into the actual patterns yet, this book has already helped me in the way I think about object-oriented design.

As I read I keep thinking back to past projects and thinking about the techniques being described and how much they would've helped me at the time.

Buy it now, don't hesitate.

If you are a software developer, buy this book, period. It is expected that any professional developer has read this book front-to-back!

I think every Solution Architect or Software Engineer must have this book. It's the start of all.

This book is overrated, but it does have utility in bringing to your attention design patterns --which should be obvious to any good programmer--such as the Singleton (object only capable of instantiation once).

Why do I say obvious? Because any programmer worth their salt will over time develop their own home-grown library of patterns and exemplars to reuse. This book merely calls attention to this habit.

Also, as other reviewers have pointed out, the text is too generic and abstract, unless you're into that. Donald Knuth anybody?

Plus the book is too expensive--if you must, buy it used like I plan to. That's right, I haven't read it yet. But I know enough just reading these reviews; sometimes you CAN judge a book by the cover. I am over the age of 13, yes.