Dan Clark starts his book in exactly the right place (especially for a programmer). He clearly states the problem: "It has been my experience … that … what perplexes and frustrates many people are the higher-level concepts of object-oriented programming …"

A-Men Brother! Especially for VB 6 programmers who think an object and a component are the same thing.

Take UML, for example. It's a "good news/bad news" situation. The "good news" is that Clark recommends a pretty nice UML freeware package (Objecteering) and those parts of it that he has explained are done pretty well. The bad news is that he never mentions even the existence of any other way of thinking about the problem. At a minimum, he might have mentioned that the OMG organization claims UML itself as a trademark. The "Three Amigos" of software engineering who invented UML, Booch, Jacobson, and Rumbaugh are pretty frank in their book about the hostile, warring factions in this biz. He also doesn't really get to the bottom of his chosen methodology, either. Heck, his section on UML is to software engineering as snorkling is to ocean exploration.

In his introduction, Clark notes that, "It is my hope that by reading this book your first experiences in object-oriented programming will be enjoyable, comprehensible, and instill a desire for further study." Clark is aiming at introductory programmers who would never consider reading a 1000+ page monster book. A lot of great divers started out with snorkling gear!

I got a lot out of reading this section and for this target audience -- programmers new to the concept -- will too!

Applications: UML

About the Author

Dan Clark is new to the technical book writing game and this is his first book. He was recruited for APress by none other than the VB guru Dan Appleman so he's gotta be pretty good. His "day job" is working as a trainer and consultant which he has been doing for seven years now. He's accumulated a string of certifications and the appreciation of his customers. After you read his book, he'll have your appreciation too!