The Handbook of Programming Languages (HPL): Object Oriented Programming Languages

A definitive reference guide explains the history of each language, describes its syntax and semantics, gives how-to information and tips, and points out potential traps so that programmers can evaluate which language is appropriate for their own use. (Advanced).

Object-Oriented Programming Languages, the first volume in the Handbook of Programming Languages series, is the largest of the four books in the set. The text comprehensively surveys the object-oriented universe of languages and adequately discusses the paradigm and history of each language.

Volume 1 begins with a concise yet useful introduction to object-oriented programming (OOP) and states the benefits of this powerful development approach. The second chapter discusses object-oriented communications software--in particular, the Adaptive Communication Environment (ACE) framework. This latter chapter is more technically challenging, but both of these chapters lay a good foundation for OOP.

The book continues with a section on Smalltalk--one of the most "pure" object-oriented languages around. A chapter entitled "Smalltalk: A Developer's Perspective" puts the language in high-level context, explaining its importance and its benefits for real-world implementation.

A brief history and detailed discussion of the architecture of C++ follows, along with a chapter on common C++ traps and pitfalls. Next, the text presents Eiffel--an object-oriented development lifecycle and language--and two single chapters on Ada 95 and Modula-3. The book wraps up with three chapters on the latest object-oriented language to take the development community by storm--Java. This section features a detailed introductory discussion coauthored by James Gosling--the chief creator of Java. --Stephen Plain