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Reviewer: Pavol Navrat

The first edition of this work [1], which appeared in 1988, has been very successful. For a decade, it has been the book from which to learn about object orientation for countless disciples. Reflecting developments in the computing field in general, and in the object-oriented world in particular, Meyer, one of the pioneers of modern software engineering, has created a completely reworked second edition. Its 36 chapters and five appendices are grouped into eight parts. In Part A, the issues of software quality and the criteria for object orientation are introduced. Part B prepares readers for object orientation by describing concepts such as modularity and abstract data types. Part C introduces the concepts central to the method: classes, objects, genericity and typing, inheritance, and design by contract. Part D discusses methodological issues of analysis and design, the role of design patterns, the use of inheritance, and the life cycle model. Part E presents advanced topics: concurrency, distribution, persistence, object-oriented databases, and techniques for graphical interactive applications. Part F shows how to implement the method in various languages and environments. Part G describes an environment designed to support the ideas developed in the rest of the book. The environment combines the underlying method, the language used in the book (which is not named until the very end; in the last sentence, Meyer reveals that it is Eiffel), a set of tools, and libraries of reusable software components. Part H consists of the appendices. A time-limited version of the environment is provided on an accompanying CD-ROM; the CD also includes a complete hyperlinked version of the book. The text distinguishes itself by having exceptional clarity and incisive formulation of each idea, along with a literary style that one seldom encounters in books of this kind. Reading this book is both an aesthetic pleasure and a breath taking intellectual adventure. All concepts are perfectly motivated, described, and put into the proper context. The book is unrivalled in both the breadth and the depth of its coverage of object technology. I recommend this book to students who wish to learn object-oriented software construction, lecturers who teach it, and professionals working in the field. It is a must for all of them.