In OBJECT THINKING, esteemed object technologist David West contends that the mindset makes the programmer--not the tools and techniques. Delving into the history, philosophy, and even politics of object-oriented programming, West reveals how the best programmers rely on analysis and conceptualization--on thinking--rather than formal process and methods. Both provocative and pragmatic, this book gives form to what's primarily been an oral tradition among the field's revolutionary thinkers--and it illustrates specific object-behavior practices that you can adopt for true object design and superior results.

Gain an in-depth understanding of:

• Prerequisites and principles of object thinking.
• Object knowledge implicit in eXtreme Programming (XP) and Agile software development.
• Object conceptualization and modeling.
• Metaphors, vocabulary, and design for object development.

Learn viable techniques for:

• Decomposing complex domains in terms of objects.
• Identifying object relationships, interactions, and constraints.
• Relating object behavior to internal structure and implementation design.
• Incorporating object thinking into XP and Agile practice.