Title:Software Engineering with C++ and CASE

tools

Author: Michael Pont
Pub: Addison Wesley

ISBN: : 0-201-87718-x

Price £24.95

Disk CD included

I was extremely interested in reviewing this book as I have just gone through, at work, a 10 vendor comparison of OO CASE tools for a project using OMT and C++. I was therefore delighted and worried to find a fully functional CASE tool from Select on the included CD. Worried because whilst Select produce a range of very good CASE tools, the Select Yourdon tool is no exception, the Yourdon method is a structured method. It is not an OO or C++ tool. (My CASE tool comparison did include the Select OMT/C++ offering which is very good. Select did not recommend the Yourdon tool to me for OO/C++ use.)

 

It was with some caution I approached the 1000 page book to read in the section “The Origins of C++” that whilst Ada and C are third generation languages C++ is a fifth generation language! That should make the Ada people happy! It then goes on to say that C++ is a superset of C, C++ is a “better C” and that it is easier for new programmer to develop C style programs in C++ than C. Later the book maintains that classes are simply Abstract Data Types. Reading further I am of the opinion that this book is using somewhat confused ideas from five years ago. Since then C and C++ have developed into separate languages with a common root (I mean K&R C not Algol 66 :-)

 

I looked for the promised comparisons of OO methods to find 20 lines (and one diagram) for OMT, Shlaer-Mellor and ironically Coad-Yourdon. Ironically because Coad-Yourdon is Yourdon’s offering for OO because his original method does not properly support OO. The main thrust of the book is the author’s own method called SADIE which uses the Yourdon diagramming method.

 

I keep dipping in to the book hoping to find something I like about this book but I have found nothing, just more things that worry me. Particularly in the section on programming embedded systems.

 

I can not recommend this book for the contents but at £25 it is well worth buying for the Select Yourdon CASE tool alone. Though I would use it with C and a structured design not C++ and an OO design. Whilst the CD contains the full package do note this is an educational licence for NON COMMERCIAL use only.