Reviews for Visual Modeling with Rational Rose and UML (Object Technology Series)

1. Distilled UML not sumarised UML

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2004

   I'm an IT professional who has been using modelling languages in general for 15 years and UML in particular for the last 6. I have read a number of texts on UML but find myself returning to this one regularly.

   As other reviewers (and the book itself) points out, this is not a comprehensive guide to UML. It doesn't pretend to be. It is an introduction. However, Ms Quatrani has not summarised the methodology or skipped details, she has distilled it down to its very fundamentals.

   So, although the book provides an easy to understand introduction it does not simplify and therefore does not mislead. If you use this book as your introduction to UML, you will be building your future knowledge on very strong foundations and you may, as I do, find yourself returning to it time and again to get yourself back to basics and back on track.

2. Accomplishes what it sets out to do

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, December 12th, 1999

   An appropriate subtitle of this book would be "Rational Rose Distilled". It's a quick read that introduces the new Rose user to the main features of the tool. Quatrani writes well and includes a lot of her own opinions and recommendations. It's not simply a rehash of the manual, the way so many books about computer applications are these days.

   Quatrani has her head together with regard to OOP, and the example application she presents serves to let the reader explore Rose satisfactorily. She also gives some tips that a new user might not automatically discover (drawing reflexive relationships, naming entities simply by typing, e.g.)

   There are some errors that closer editing would have corrected, and I disagree with a couple of her design decisions, but there's nothing that's too confusing.

   I think the book is overpriced for its relatively small scope and page count. However, this may not be relevant to purchasers of Rose 2000...

3. I teach the UML and will be using it in my into class.

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, September 12rd, 1999

   This book has just enough detail to illustrate the process, without confusing the reader. It also has a good explaination of why and when the various artifacts are useful.

4. If you are looking for good tutorial on Rational Rose?

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, August 12nd, 1999

   This a very good tutorial on Rational Rose 98, UML notation understanding is not necessary as it is intorduced as you go along, but understanding the Objectory Process is necessary because it is poorely introduced in this book. There is one problem with this book, the books claims that a course registration system for a university is employed to illustrate the analysis and design of an application, however in reality this example is totally marginalize as if inserted by force after the book was finished, this is why you need to understand to Objectory Process.

5. Good Introduction Book to UML and Rational Rose

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 1999

   When I first embarked on learning UML and Rational Rose, I searched for a book that might help expedite the learning process. Visual Modeling with Rational Rose and UML certainly accomplished that as I reference the book often. UML is difficult to master (Anybody who says otherwise is not telling the truth), and this book kept things fairly simple. If you are trying to learn Rational Rose and UML, then I recommend this book. If you are allready advanced in UML, you might be better served by the UML books recently published by Booch, Rumbaugh and Jacobson.

6. A very poor book to learn from, please try again.

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2002

   I found this a complete waste of time. I do not like to "trash" a book, as I appreciate the hard work it must take to write one, but I feel compelled to file this one under the "waste of time" section. If you are seeking a book that teaches you the UML and Rational Rose 2000, which you can apply in the real world, then you should look elsewhere. If you are looking to learn UML/Rose, for a purely academic purpose, the book satisfies some introductory concepts, though you would do better getting the "Unified Modelling Language User Guide" by Grady Booch.

   The idea of one 'simple' example (case study) as a theme throughout the book is a very good idea, but unfortunately poorly executed with imprecise and incomplete explanations as to "why" things are analysed and done a certain way in the UML and/or Rational Rose. Sections of the book leave you asking "but why and what if" questions, for which the book's content provides no answers. The author is a trainer, and it seems this book is a supplement to her training courses. Unfortunately there is no trainer to answer questions, leaving the book to seem little more than beefed-up "course notes", paying no regards to careful and complete explanations of either the UML, Rose nor expounding the case study to its true full potential. As such this book is NOT for the "teach-yourself" would-be 'UML'ers, and falls short of satisfying the requirements of practicing Systems and Business Analysts/Designers.

   The back cover claims of "comprehensive introduction and tutorial providing guidance . . ." are not met.

   - 'Comprehensive': It is not. Perhaps if you triple the size and content of the book it might then be considered 'comprehensive'. The price, by contrast, is definitely comprehensive.
   - 'Introduction': From an academic viewpoint only. For example, only one wordy page is give to introducing Rose, with no information on installing, starting, exiting, saving or opening models etc in Rose; not even a paragraph on describing Rose's initial screen, let alone a screen shot. Basically, the book assumes you have Rose installed and you know your way around it already - clearly not an introduction then.
   - 'Tutorial': The example's too incompletely covered to make this claim; for instance, only some of the Use Cases are given descriptions, the others (I guess) you make up yourself - clearly lacking in the tutorial department then.
   - 'Providing guidance': More like the author's 'rule of thumb' than precise and applicable analysis & design 'doctrine' of the Unified Modelling Process. When words such as "The following questions may be used to help identify the use cases of a system.", 'may be used to help'? Come on, that is not guidance. Guidance in this case would be an accepted 'rule' to apply to identifying use cases, otherwise you have different versions of the 'truth' from different people and confusion follows - something the UML and Visual Modelling is supposed to avoid.

   In summary: A very poor book to learn from, please try again.

7. Definately worth a look!

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2001

   This was the recommended text for my Systems, Analysis and Design module... I was a bit unsure about whether it was a worthwhile investment. After searching for it in the library I realised it was very difficult to get hold of a copy - so I decided to buy it. I was surprised when it arrived - a fairly small book in comparison to some computing books I have purchased over my year of studying IT, I was a bit horrified at the price.

   So what is the book about? As the title briefly outlines, this book provides an introduction to Rational Rose 2000 (a tool) and a language known as UML (Unified Modeling Language), with which a user can visualise and construct a software system. The book also contains an excellent tutorial that runs alongside each section, providing step-by-step instructions on how to carry out everything. This book has been very well written - it starts from the very basics and each chapter progresses logically into the next. How many of you have read computing books that cannot be read from beginning to end in a logical manner? I know I certainly have - usually being referenced to another part of the book constantly. Well with this book this is kept to the very minimum, allowing a very easy read.

   Starting at the beginning of this text, the first chapter introduces you to Visual Modeling and the history of UML - an excellent start for any beginner! The book progresses with a chapter on how to begin your project and then goes on to explain Use Cases, Classes, Object Interaction, Relationships, Inheritance, Object Behaviour amongst others.

   Along with the excellent tutorials a case study runs throughout the book illustrating the development process and UML in practice.

   This book is perfect if you require a book on using Rational Rose, even though the full retail price I feel is a bit high.