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Title: good companion to Gang of Four
Review: I found this book to be more readable but less in-depth than Design Patterns (the Gang of Four book). The Java examples were generally understandable but I felt like the attempt to relate each pattern to fireworks was more distracting than helpful and more forced than natural. In contrast, Design Patterns provided realistic examples of where each pattern naturally fits, and included much more information to guide the decision of when to apply a particular pattern.I found this to be an excellent companion to Design Patterns. It was much easier to read, but I always read the similar section of Design Patterns after each chapter to get a full description. On its own, this book would be good if your goal is to learn the 23 Gang of Four patterns by friendly Java examples, without expecting much explanation regarding the application or common usage of the patterns.
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