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Design Patterns
I thinks this is a great book for anyone wanting to learn or have a reference on design patterns. It does expect the user to know OO C++. It is definetly a book for software engineers to have on their collection.

If you are a programmer, this is a must read
The concept of design patterns transcends programming languages. If you wish to think "outside the box" yet be effective and efficient, either this book will provide the answer or help you think in ways that you can develop our own design. A must read.

A bit old school, but an excellent starting point...
I would say this book was a bit old school in it's approach and content, but was exactly what i needed to get a good starting point in understanding how to use design patterns in my software designs. The case studies it presented were simple problems but contained practical elements I could apply to my next big project.

The One book you absolutely must read if you develop with object oriented languages.
This is the most recommended book on object oriented design. I can see now.what all the hype is about. I have been a developer for almost six years now. I have been using object oriented languages for some time. Despite the experience with the technologies, I didn't have a good working knowlege of how to effectively implement the technology and methodology in my own code. That is, until I read "Design Patterns". It has opened my eyes and I understand the concepts of polymorphism and code reuse much more clearly now.

"Design Patterns" is easy to read, easy to understand and has great code examples that facilitate understanding. It is my opinion that if you haven't read this book and you develop with OOP, you are probably working harder and not smarter. So do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

Why are people still buying this book?
I give this book a 3 because it was great when it was written. But now, it is not a very good book to read. Most people who read it acknowledge they can't understand it. There are two excellent books on the market that should be read if you want to learn design patterns.

Head First Design Patterns (Head First) - is the best book to read on what patterns are as solutions to a problem in a context. Fun to read, useful, really wonderful *****.

However, if you want to learn what patterns really are - the thought process behind them, read Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design (2nd Edition) (Software Patterns Series) *****

A related book that would also be a good read is Scott Bain's Emergent Design: The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development (Net Objectives Product Development Series) *****

Let's give tribute to the acknowledged #1 classic in the modern software industry. But it is not the book to read to learn patterns anymore.