Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications, 3rd Edition

Chapter 4Classification

Classification is the means whereby we order knowledge. In object-oriented design, recognizing the sameness among things allows us to expose the commonality within key abstractions and mechanisms and eventually leads us to smaller applications and simpler architectures. Unfortunately, there is no golden path to classification. To the reader accustomed to finding cookbook answers, we unequivocally state that there are no simple recipes for identifying classes and objects. There is no such thing as the "perfect" class structure, nor the "right" set of objects. As in any engineering discipline, our design choices are a compromise shaped by many competing factors.

Fortunately, there exists a vast legacy of experience with ...