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Object-Oriented Environment in C++ by David Hu Recommended

ISBN: 0-55828-014-6       Publisher: MIS Press (Pitman)       Pages: ?pp       Price: £?

Categories:   object oriented

Reviewed by Keith Standish in C Vu 4-1 (Nov 1991)

The book leads the reader through from the fundamentals of OOP to the specific use of OOP in creating object oriented environments in programs. The book could be read by non C programmers but my own feeling is that they may find it a little hard going and since much of the book is given over to actual code, some understanding of C++ code is desirable to make the book a worthwhile investment. Although the book has many examples and is very readable I think that even novice C++ programmers would be advised to study C++, then return to this book. Chapter 2 is devoted to the object oriented programming language Smalltalk V/286 where the Smalltalk implementation of OOP and some of the Smalltalk classes are discussed in detail. This a most interesting and informative chapter.

Section II (Chapters 3 & 4 ) discuss OOP as applied to the C language. Chapter 3 describes in detail the fundamentals of OOP as applied to C++. The concept of overloading is touched upon but the concepts of data encapsulation and class structure are given more room. In fact the author has tried to compress into one small chapter the fundamentals of C++, a subject which whole books have been devoted to. The chapter works well as a summary but a little prior knowledge of C++ would be a distinct advantage! Chapter 4 discusses OOP and Objective-C, a hybrid language, which has features of Smalltalk added on to C.

Section III (Chapter 5 & 6) is where the real work begins. Using many well documented examples, the technique to use OOP to make programs more friendly is explained. For example, how to code text windows, menus, icons and even a cal- culator are detailed. The reasoning behind the development of each type of class is set out clearly and concisely.

Section IV (Chapters 7 & 8) discuss, again with many well documented examples, the implementation of OOP in coding expert systems in C++. The section discusses in detail data retrieval from these systems and the search strategies to be used. An interesting topic of discussion is the limitation of C++ in expert systems because of its inherent structure inflexibility. The main aim of this section is to explain how your programs can be made intelligent.

Section V (Chapters 9 & 10) build on the classes that were developed in Chapters 5 & 6. These previously built basic classes are used to build an inventory program. The program is built so as to give it the Apple Macintosh or 'MacApp' feel. Chapter 10 develops the integration of intelligent object orientated environments into data bases. The majority of the chapter is spent discussing building intelligent interfaces to data bases, but also discussed are object oriented data bases. The chapter is full of well documented examples. The chapter ends with OOP concepts for databases.

The Appendices include - a list of Smalltalk classes and methods, a list of Zortech variables and functions used, a list of Object Oriented companies; their products and an OOP glossary.

This book covers a lot of ground, but it points the way to making programs more
user friendly with a little more thought at the design stage. There are two types of book on programming that annoy me, one type has no code examples at all, the other has examples which do absolutely nothing useful. This book is of neither type. The book is packed with plenty of useful code.