image_credit ? Software Design Patterns: Best Practices for Software Developers
Design patterns are an essential topic for object-oriented programmers, like Java and C++ developers. It becomes even more important as your experience grows because everybody starts expecting a lot more from you in terms of writing quality code.
I often receive emails from intermediate and senior Java developers about progressing to the next level, like how to become Tech Lead, Team Lead, or a software architect; knowledge of design patterns play an important role in taking more technical responsibility.
While the GoF Design Pattern book is the bible for object-oriented design patterns, in my opinion, it is a bit too dry and academic. Many of you might have already read it, but I doubt you have enjoyed it a lot. The first real book I read on the design pattern was the head first book. It?s full of exciting stories, cartoons, UML diagrams, fireside chats to analyze the pros and cons of each design pattern, fill in the blanks, exercise, and most importantly, some non-trivial code examples. Another good thing is that instead of focusing on all the patterns, it focuses on a good set of core patterns, like Decorator, Observer, Factory, Command, Strategy, and Facade patterns. I also found that the Head First book is far readable than the GoF book. It?s a great book and quite informative, but it?s not the best read.
Since now I have read several books on design patterns, I kind of know which are the best books and why and this list is a collection of that experience. You can choose one or a couple of books to refresh your knowledge on design patterns or start learning them from scratch.
Top 7 Design Patterns Books for Java Programmers
So, what are we waiting for, here is my collection of some of the best books to learn object-oriented design pattern and general design patterns in Java EE developers.
1. Head First Design Patterns
This is probably the best book if you are a Java developer of 2 to 3 years of experience and never heard of the design pattern. You can start learning and making sense of them after reading this book.
This book introduces a design pattern by first explaining the problem and how the design pattern solves the problem. It is not academic and, instead, much more readable. You will learn about some of the most important design patterns, like the Decorator, Command pattern, Facade pattern, and Observer pattern. The book is also updated for Java 8. If you want to purchase just one book to learn the design pattern, then this should be the one.
The only problem with this book is that it doesn?t cover all the design patterns. So, if you want to learn more patterns after reading this book, I suggest you take a look at the Design Pattern Library course on Pluralsight. It?s very comprehensive and provides interactive, real-world examples to understand many more design patterns.
Here is the link to buy this book online ? Head First Design Patterns
2. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
This is the classic GOF design pattern book, which is referred to everywhere. This is the first book which compiled the list of 24 objects oriented pattern and instantly got popular. This can be an excellent reference book of a design pattern as it covers all of them and probably in the most detailed way. The only thing I didn?t like about this book is that it?s not very readable, which means you will get tired after reading a couple of pages. On the other hand, you can read many chapters in one go on the previous book like Head First Design Patterns.
Here is the link to buy this book online ? Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
In case, you have some trouble understanding the text, you can combine this book with the From 0 to 1: Design Patterns ? 24 That Matter ? In Java course from Udemy, which also covers all of these design patterns. After joining that course and reading this book, my understanding of design patterns improved significantly.
From 0 to 1: Design Patterns ? 24 That Matter ? In Java
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of Java Taught by a Stanford-educated, ex-Googler, husband-wife team More than 50?
udemy.com
3. Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
This is another excellent book on object-oriented analysis and design from the Head First series and of my all-time favorite. If you can read this book before reading the Head First design pattern. This will teach you OOP basics like why composition is better than Inheritance and why should you program for interfaces then implementation. You should actually read this book before reading any book on Design pattern because it will teach you object-oriented basics which is the core of any design principle and patterns. If you have a good idea of what is a class, object, function, and how to use Abstraction, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Encapsulation, you can understand any pattern. In order to get the best result, I also suggest you combine this book with the Design Pattern in Java course by Dmitri Nestruk from Udemy. I have personally tried that it works really great. The course also provides a lot of practice material that you can use to reinforce the concept you learned in the book and vice-versa.
Here is the link to buy this book online ? Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
If you want to have a quick look at design principles, you can also check my post about 10 essential Object-oriented principles for programmers here.
4. UML for Java Programmers By Uncle Bob
The UML is an essential skill for any serious Object-oriented programmers, particularly for Java programmers, Why? Because one picture is worth of thousand words, and UML lets you convey the design, which is in your mind to all team members. When you use UML to design your system, you will also gaps and issues in your design early, and you can address them without rewriting your code. It also helps you to develop design skills and improves the clarity of thinking. The UML for Java programmers by Uncle Bob is what you need to know about UML. It also comes with some design problems, like designing a coffee machine, similar to our Vending machine design problem.
Here is the link to buy this book online ? UML for Java Programmers By Uncle Bob
5. Java EE Patterns and Best Practices
This is one of the essential books for JEE programmers and probably the latest, up-to-date, and relevant book for JEE developers. The author Adam Bien is well-known the name in Java JEE world, a Java Champion, and also holds training for JEE developers.
This book is much of his experience in the JEE world. It will teach you why you should use the DAO design pattern and what is different in J2EE and JEE.
Here is the link to buy this book online ? Java EE Patterns and Best Practices
6. Design Patterns in Java by Steven Metsker
One book which is not included in this list becuase I found it later is the Design Patterns in Java by Steven Metsker and William C. Wake. It?s an awesome book that teaches you design patterns with the learn-by-doing method.
There is no book like this which present you scenarios and ask how do you solve this using a particular design pattern. If you really want to master the design pattern, I highly recommend this book as well.
Here is the link to buy this book online ? Design Patterns in Java by Steven Metsker
7. Game Programming Patterns
This is another of my favorite book to learn GOF design patterns in a more clear and practical way. Game Programming Patterns book is written by Robert Nystrom and he has modeled all design patterns on their usage on creating games which makes the topic very interesting.
This book is much better than a technical book because it decouples itself from technology, and focuses on addressing how code is designed.
Also, all content is available for free on the author?s website but you can also both the physical book and the Kindle version to support the author?s awesome work. You can purchase a paperback or Kindle version on Amazon.
Here is the link to buy this book online ?Game Programming Patterns
That?s all in this list of a couple of good books to learn design patterns in Java. If you?re looking to learn them, nothing?s better than Head First Design Patterns ? it?s not such an excellent reference text, though. I wouldn?t get too hung up on design patterns. As most of the good ones, you?ll write anyhow if you?re a good software developer. Bad developers may follow the book and turn simple problems into disaster areas. In the era of online courses, you can also combine these books with the Design Pattern in Java course by Dmitri Nestruk, one of my favorite courses to learn patterns. He really explains patterns well and also suggests the modern implementation of classic patterns.
Design Patterns in Java for Engineers, Designers, and Architects
This course provides a comprehensive overview of Design Patterns in Java from a practical perspective.
udemy.com
Hungry for more? Here are some more programming books and resources to explore
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Thank you for reading so far, if you have any book to add to this list of object-oriented analysis and design pattern books, then please let me know via comments, and I?ll add them for everyone?s benefit. P. S. ? If you like free resources and looking for an excellent free online course to learn the Design Pattern in-depth, you can also see Java Design Patterns and Architecture, a free course on Udemy. It?s completely free, you don?t need to pay for anything. All you need is to create a Udemy account to access this course.
