Table of Contents

1. Introduction.
Decomposition and Abstraction. Abstraction. Abstraction by Parameterization. Abstraction by Specification. Kinds of Abstractions. The Remainder of the Book. Exercises.

2. Understanding Objects in Java.
Program Structure. Packages. Objects and Variables. Mutability. Method Call Semantics. Type Checking. Type Hierarchy. Conversions and Overloading. Dispatching. Types. Primitive Object Types. Vectors. Stream Input/Output. Java Applications. Exercises.

3. Procedural Abstraction.
The Benefits of Abstraction. Specifications. Specifications of Procedural Abstractions. Implementing Procedures. Designing Procedural Abstractions. Summary. Exercises.

4. Exceptions.
Specifications. The Java Exception Mechanism. Exception Types. Defining Exception Types. Throwing Exceptions. Handling Exceptions. Coping with Unchecked Exceptions. Programming with Exceptions. Reflecting and Masking. Design Issues. When to Use Exceptions. Checked versus Unchecked Exceptions. Defensive Programming. Summary. Exercises.

5. Data Abstraction.
Specifications for Data Abstractions. Specification of IntSet. The Poly Abstraction. Using Data Abstractions. Implementing Data Abstractions. Implementing Data Abstractions in Java. Implementation of IntSet. Implementation of Poly. Records. Additional Methods. Aids to Understanding Implementations. The Abstraction Function. The Representation Invariant. Implementing the Abstraction Function and Rep Invariant. Discussion. Properties of Data Abstraction Implementations. Benevolent Side Effects. Exposing the Rep. Reasoning about Data Abstractions. Preserving the Rep Invariant. Reasoning about Operations. Reasoning at the Abstract Level. Design Issues. Mutability. Operation Categories. Adequacy. Locality and Modifiability. Summary. Exercises.

6. Iteration Abstraction.
Iteration in Java. Specifying Iterators. Using Iterators. Implementing Iterators. Rep Invariants and Abstraction Functions for Generators. Ordered Lists. Design Issues. Summary. Exercises.

7. Type Hierarchy.
Assignment and Dispatching. Assignment. Dispatching. Defining a Type Hierarchy. Defining Hierarchies in Java. A Simple Example. Exception Types. Abstract Classes. Interfaces. Multiple Implementations. Lists. Polynomials. The Meaning of Subtypes. The Methods Rule. The Properties Rule. Equality. Discussion of Type Hierarchy. Summary. Exercises.

8. Polymorphic Abstractions.
Polymorphic Data Abstractions. Using Polymorphic Data Abstractions. Equality Revisited. Additional Methods. More Flexibility. Polymorphic Procedures. Summary. Exercises.

9. Specifications.
Specifications and Specificand Sets. Some Criteria for Specifications. Restrictiveness. Generality. Clarity. Why Specifications? Summary. Exercises.

10. Testing and Debugging.
Testing Black-Box Testing. Glass-Box Testing. Testing Procedures. Testing Iterators. Testing Data Abstractions. Testing Polymorphic Abstractions. Testing a Type Hierarchy. Unit and Integration Testing. Tools for Testing. Debugging. Defensive Programming. Summary. Exercises.

11. Requirements Analysis.
The Software Life Cycle. Requirements Analysis Overview. The Stock Tracker. Summary. Exercises.

12. Requirements Specifications.
Data Models. Subsets. Relations. Textual Information. Requirements Specifications. Requirements Specification for Stock Tracker. The Data Model. Stock Tracker Specification. Requirements Specification for a Search Engine. Summary. Exercises.

13. Design.
An Overview of the Design Process. The Design Notebook. The Introductory Section. The Abstraction Sections. The Structure of Interactive Programs. Starting the Design. Discussion of the Method. Continuing the Design. The Query Abstraction. The WorldTable Abstraction. Finishing Up. Interaction between FP and UI. Module Dependency Diagrams versus Data Models. Review and Discussion. Inventing Helpers. Specifying Helpers. Continuing the Design. The Design Notebook. Top-Down Design. Summary. Exercises.

14. Between Design and Implementation.
Evaluating a Design. Correctness and Performance. Structure. Ordering the Program Development Process. Summary. Exercises.

15. Design Patterns.
Hiding Object Creation. Neat Hacks. Flyweights. Singletons. The State Pattern. The Bridge Pattern. Procedures Should Be Objects Too. Composites. Traversing the Tree. The Power of Indirection. Publish/Subscribe. Abstracting Control. Summary. Exercises.

Glossary.


Index. 0201657686T04062001

Promotional Information

Of all the books that have sought to explain object-oriented, component-based development, this one is unique in its clarity. MIT Professor Barbara Liskov presents a start-to-finish methodology for constructing reliable, understandable, easy-to-maintain Java software. Developers will learn exactly how to decompose a programming problem into its key elements, and then build an optimal program from independent modules -- crucial for success in large-scale, team development projects. Liskov masterfully introduces key concepts of abstraction, specification, and object-oriented design in the context of small programs; then scales the techniques up to enterprise-class development, where they work equally well. The book includes detailed coverage of developing and writing accurate specifications; optimizing tradeoffs between simplicity and performance; and making code easier to evaluate, debug, and test. In the second half of the book, Liskov focuses on modular development of large-scale programs: discovering useful abstractions, program design, analysis, implementation, testing, and the value of design patterns. All examples are based on Java (though the concepts are equally applicable to any object-based language).

About the Author

Barbara Liskov is professor of computer science at MIT. Well known for her contributions to programming methodology and software engineering, she is co-author (with John Guttag) of the influential book, Abstraction and Specification in Program Development. 0201657686AB04062001