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Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
(Martin Fowler Signature Book)
by
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The practice of enterprise application development has benefited from the emergence of many new enabling technologies. Multi-tiered object-oriented platforms, such as Java and .NET, have become commonplace. These new tools and technologies are capable of building powerful applications, but they are not easily implemented. Common failures in enterprise applications often oc
...more
Hardcover, 533 pages
Published
November 15th 2002
by Addison-Wesley Professional
(first published November 5th 2002)
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Showing 1-30

In comparison to other patterns books that I have read, Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture is one of the weaker ones. I'm afraid that many of the patterns described are now out of date or anti-patterns. The book is now 12 years old and the technology field is a different place.
Many of the patterns in the book focus on dealing with relational databases or non-distributed systems. Relational databases still play a large role in many enterprise applications, but this material either pr ...more
Many of the patterns in the book focus on dealing with relational databases or non-distributed systems. Relational databases still play a large role in many enterprise applications, but this material either pr ...more

I think this is a great book. Most developers should have it on hand as a reference. I say that in spite of the fact that I'm seriously annoyed by patterns fashionistas and Fowler fanatics.
This is not a collection of esoteric design patterns or capital-A architectures. This is a collection of tricks, schticks, and small-A architectures that just tend to show up repeatedly in the wild. Martin Fowler, with his perspective as an idea man and his position as a consultant and thought leader, has obse ...more
This is not a collection of esoteric design patterns or capital-A architectures. This is a collection of tricks, schticks, and small-A architectures that just tend to show up repeatedly in the wild. Martin Fowler, with his perspective as an idea man and his position as a consultant and thought leader, has obse ...more

This book will be more relevant for that ambitious architect who is willing to dedicate a lot of time to comprehensively brush through the basics of basic web design pattern. Since this book was written 15 years before and given that the information technology field is a rapidly changing one, the relevancy and newness is lost. However, I would still recommend it for those who want find the roots and sources of the existing design patterns especially those deal with the enterprises.
One more thin ...more
One more thin ...more

As with other books by Martin Fowler, the writing style is unstable. Some idea are well-explained, some are in dire need for more explanation.
Even though some examples are out-dated (we now use JSON over XML), the patterns presented in this book can still be useful in modern project.
Must read for those who want to design architecture
Even though some examples are out-dated (we now use JSON over XML), the patterns presented in this book can still be useful in modern project.
Must read for those who want to design architecture

It's one of the best sw engineering books I've read recently.
What I liked the best? The ELI5 (explain like I'm 5) stuff. Yes, it's all known and battle-tested truths out there, most of it found (to my shame) independently, and oh boy, how much time & effort has burn out and flew into the pipe doing so. Still it's so refreshing to get some good and clear read on this ELI5 style; I feel like I'm finally up to the point to be able to explain database isolation levels to 7th grade student mysel ...more
What I liked the best? The ELI5 (explain like I'm 5) stuff. Yes, it's all known and battle-tested truths out there, most of it found (to my shame) independently, and oh boy, how much time & effort has burn out and flew into the pipe doing so. Still it's so refreshing to get some good and clear read on this ELI5 style; I feel like I'm finally up to the point to be able to explain database isolation levels to 7th grade student mysel ...more

I had a hard time understanding the examples because I don't know C# or Java.
However, that's probably the only downfall I found to this book. Still being youngin' in the programming sphere, this book explained many concepts that you won't see explained in other places, and if they are, not nearly as well. I like how the book organizes the patterns, it makes them easier to find. The best way I found to read the book was looking up certain patterns I already knew or heard of, but wanted to learn ...more
However, that's probably the only downfall I found to this book. Still being youngin' in the programming sphere, this book explained many concepts that you won't see explained in other places, and if they are, not nearly as well. I like how the book organizes the patterns, it makes them easier to find. The best way I found to read the book was looking up certain patterns I already knew or heard of, but wanted to learn ...more

Another one for us techies...
First off, I don't think you can go wrong with Fowler. I know that many will argue with me on that statement, but at least he gets you thinking and defending the points on which you disagree.
This patterns book is a must have on your shelf as well. Great thing this hard back has a built in bookmark because it is heavily used. This isn't a great read from cover to cover, but it is a wonderful reference book. Anytime that I try to design a new architecture, this book co ...more
First off, I don't think you can go wrong with Fowler. I know that many will argue with me on that statement, but at least he gets you thinking and defending the points on which you disagree.
This patterns book is a must have on your shelf as well. Great thing this hard back has a built in bookmark because it is heavily used. This isn't a great read from cover to cover, but it is a wonderful reference book. Anytime that I try to design a new architecture, this book co ...more

This book shows its time by now. A lot of this patterns are well implemented inside the most common frameworks or even provided as core language feature which allow you to solve that problem in clearer way.
But the main advantage of the PEAA I think is: terminology. Give the right name to the right things is one of the most common problem in software design specially in new formed teams without great experience.
And this book, even though its age, still helps in this.
edit:
After some time I noticed ...more
But the main advantage of the PEAA I think is: terminology. Give the right name to the right things is one of the most common problem in software design specially in new formed teams without great experience.
And this book, even though its age, still helps in this.
edit:
After some time I noticed ...more

A bit dated, but still a very good read.
Although most modern frameworks already adopt most of these patterns, it's useful to internalize the motivations as well as the inner workings of each.
Also, as with any patterns book, it establishes a language that makes discussing architecture with peers easier; and it's pretty clear that the naming put forth here transcended.
Looking forward to reading Integration Patterns.
Although most modern frameworks already adopt most of these patterns, it's useful to internalize the motivations as well as the inner workings of each.
Also, as with any patterns book, it establishes a language that makes discussing architecture with peers easier; and it's pretty clear that the naming put forth here transcended.
Looking forward to reading Integration Patterns.

Although many of the described patterns are either deprecated or already implemented in most popular enterprise frameworks, it was still very thought-provoking and educational to read about the motivations for their use and ways to implement them - after all, every worthwhile computer science curriculum teaches us how to implement linked lists and a whole other range of data structures that already come out of the box with most languages. Similarly, after reading it cover to cover I tend to cons
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As programming books go, this one is overly boring, and is really meant as a reference. The patterns are important however, and many systems have been implemented with them in mind. The author is very big into Java and Enterprise Architecture and you'll be a bit lost if you're not in those spheres of thinking.
You pick it up when you have to implement something or understand a system that follows the patterns contained within. Each pattern is annotated with references to other patterns so its eas ...more
You pick it up when you have to implement something or understand a system that follows the patterns contained within. Each pattern is annotated with references to other patterns so its eas ...more

This book certainly shows its age. Some patterns remain quite relevant, but in the year since this was published, IDEs and databases have improved dramatically, which renders some patterns totally useless.
And even if this were a more recent book, the format just doesn't lend itself to easy digestion. In fairness to this book, I can't think of a better way to present the material. But there just has to be a better way. Part of the problem is that the examples are based on 14-year-old tech at this ...more
And even if this were a more recent book, the format just doesn't lend itself to easy digestion. In fairness to this book, I can't think of a better way to present the material. But there just has to be a better way. Part of the problem is that the examples are based on 14-year-old tech at this ...more

TL;DR
Worth reading, even being "old"
(Not so) Long Version
It covers some things in an "outdated" way like:
- Several patterns on the relational/OO mismatch are covered nowadays by JPA, ActiveRecord and friends, so we don't necessarily need to study them in depth;
- The patterns on Web Presentations which were mostly superseded by frontend frameworks;
However, most patterns are still valid, since the challenges of large enterprise systems (even with newer tech stacks / architectures) still have a lot ...more
Worth reading, even being "old"
(Not so) Long Version
It covers some things in an "outdated" way like:
- Several patterns on the relational/OO mismatch are covered nowadays by JPA, ActiveRecord and friends, so we don't necessarily need to study them in depth;
- The patterns on Web Presentations which were mostly superseded by frontend frameworks;
However, most patterns are still valid, since the challenges of large enterprise systems (even with newer tech stacks / architectures) still have a lot ...more

This is the definitive reference on patterns in application development. The Gang of Four book is a classic reference on patterns, but the patterns there are lower level. And they are useful, but never had as much of an impact as this book. When reading this book, I immediately recognized many of the patterns and really value having a vocabulary to talk about application design decisions. This is a must read book for advanced application developers and architects.

Disappointing. The book was written in times when SQL databases were an exciting innovation starting to dominate the market. As result many problems described are no longer faced by the majority of programmers, for many we know better solutions than those suggested. This makes the signal to noise ratio rather low. Some patters no longer need to be implemented, as they have become a basic functionality of popular frameworks - all you get is that you understand better why frameworks do some things
...more

A fantastic book, both from a historical and technical context. A required read for anyone working with a legacy system or building their own. The patterns mentioned (while not all completely relevant in 2018) can still resonate in many situations and can be applied to any architecture built today (from monolith to serverless).
At times, it's humorous reading Fowlers assumptions about system design and message passing, but one must put it in context of 2001.
I would recommend this book to any int ...more
At times, it's humorous reading Fowlers assumptions about system design and message passing, but one must put it in context of 2001.
I would recommend this book to any int ...more

Book has a good catalog of various patterns. Most of the patterns are explained even too deeply to read when reading the whole book. My recommendation is to read beginnings of each pattern. And if you someday need that pattern then you can read the whole chapter about that pattern.
From some parts, book is maybe little outdated. For example, web presentation patterns have changed a lot since 2003.
The book contained some patterns that I was already familiar with but I just hadn't recognized them a ...more
From some parts, book is maybe little outdated. For example, web presentation patterns have changed a lot since 2003.
The book contained some patterns that I was already familiar with but I just hadn't recognized them a ...more

Долго-долго хотел почитать эту книгу. В итоге, когда прочитал, скорее, разочаровался. Она достаточно сухая, с кучей перекрёстных ссылок и, скорее, справочник. Т.е. если хочется посмотреть, что такое ActiveRecord, чем он отличается от DataMapper и какие ещё есть похожие решения, то можно посмотреть в книгу. Можно, наверное, и в Википедию посмотреть вместо этого. С другой стороны, из этого всего выстроена какая-то система, поэтому книга скорее понравилась, чем "ну книга и книга".

Another great book from Martin Fowler. This book is in my eyes basically a continuation of GOF. The first part of this book is a short tutorial on developing enterprise applications. The second part is about patterns used in the first part. You will learn a lot about ORM patterns. Book also talks about Distribution patterns, Web Presentation Patterns, Concurrency Patterns, Approaches to organizing Business logic.

The practice of enterprise application development has benefited from the emergence of many new enabling technologies. Multi-tiered object-oriented platforms, such as Java and .NET, have become commonplace. These new tools and technologies are capable of building powerful applications, but they are not easily implemented. Common failures in enterprise applications often occur because their developers do not understand the architectural lessons that experienced object developers have learned.
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Martin Fowler (b. 1963) is a software engineer, Chief Scientist at ThoughtWorks, and an outspoken advocate for best practices in enterprise software design, particularly in regard to agile software development methodologies, including extreme programming.
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