Read more
The best way to learn design in any field is to study examples, and some of the best examples of software design come from the tools programmers use in their own work. Software Design by Example: A Tool-Based Introduction with Python therefore builds small versions of the things programmers use in order to demystify them and give some insights into how experienced programmers think. From a file backup system and a testing framework to a regular expression matcher, a browser layout engine, and a very small compiler, we explore common design patterns, show how making code easier to test also makes it easier to reuse, and help readers understand how debuggers, profilers, package managers, and version control systems work so that they can use them more effectively.
This material can be used for self-paced study, in an undergraduate course on software design, or as the core of an intensive weeklong workshop for working programmers. Each chapter has a set of exercises ranging in size and difficulty from half a dozen lines to a full day's work. Readers should be familiar with the basics of modern Python, but the more advanced features of the language are explained and illustrated as they are introduced.
All the written material in this project can be freely reused under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution license, while all of the software is made available under the terms of the Hippocratic License. All proceeds from sale of this book will go to support the Red Door Family Shelter in Toronto.
Features:
- Teaches software design by showing programmers how to build the tools they use every day
- Each chapter includes exercises to help readers check and deepen their understanding
- All the example code can be downloaded, re-used, and modified under an open license
List of contents
1 Introduction
2 Objects and Classes
3 Finding Duplicate Files
4 Matching Patterns
5 Parsing Text
6 Running Tests
7 An Interpreter
8 Functions and Closures
9 Protocols
10 A File Archiver
11 An HTML Validator
12 A Template Expander
13 A Code Linter
14 Page Layout
15 Performance Profiling
16 Object Persistence
17 Binary Data
18 A Database
19 A Build Manager
20 A Package Manager
21 Transferring Files
22 Serving Web Pages
23 A File Viewer
24 Undo and Redo
25 A Virtual Machine
26 A Debugger
27 Conclusion
A Bibliography
B Bonus Material
C Syllabus
D License
E Code of Conduct
F Contributing
G Glossary
H Credits
Index
About the author
Greg Wilson is a first time author aged 71, who resides in the beautiful Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. Leaving school early, soon led to a 20 year career in the Australian Army, spent serving throughout Eastern Australia, with Active Service in Vietnam. Much more knowledge was acquired during his service and as this was the pre-computer era, prolific reading and regular diary keeping, laid the basis for his autobiography.He is an accomplished distance runner with a marathon career which has spanned fifty years. Most recent has been the pursuit of Australian Age Group Records including those held by "folk legend" Cliff Young.
Summary
Software Design by Example: A Tool-Based Introduction with Python builds small versions of the things programmers use in order to give some insights into how experienced programmers think. This material can be used for self-paced study, in an undergraduate course on software design, or as an intensive workshop for programmers.
