Product Description

The phenomenal increases in processing power and memory capacity of computing hardware over recent years have allowed manufacturers to produce smaller and smaller computer systems such as palmtop PCs, smart cards and embedded control systems on domestic and industrial appliances. New techniques such as dynamic memory management and object-orientation help programming but tend to require additional memory. Standard programming techniques do not cope with these limited memory-capacity environments. This book will provide practical help for programmers developing software for this kind of environment. The major content is a series of patterns developed by the authors based on solutions which have been found to work in real-life situations. They range from small system design patterns and process management patterns, to patterns for User Interface development, compression and memory storage. This book will appeal to developers using Windows CE or building mobile telephones, smart cards, embedded devices, set-top computers - in short, all programmers working with memory-constrained systems.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #904172 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Another triumph in practicality for the Pattern paradigm
This book is an excellent working companion for any software developer. A very readable addition to the growing volume of literature on Software Patterns.

While it focuses tightly on situations where memory is a major constraint, the authors' vision extends much further. A read through the discussion of the wide range of Forces addressed by the Patterns the book describes is very illuminating. Speed, reliability, usability, programmer effort and discipline - even security are all there.

I've never worked on software for mobile phones, embedded devices, PDAs . . . but, with hindsight, I can readily recognise all the Patterns described - and have even used quite a few! More important, I now have a better understanding of the consequences of using Pooled rather than Variable Allocation, the benefits (and drawbacks) of using Embedded Pointers, the ways in which Secondary Storage can assist . . .

The range of practical examples of Known Uses testifies to the authors' breadth of experience - and the relevance of the Patterns described to almost every software environment. From the Sinclair ZX-81 (and earlier) to the latest mobile technologies - with DOS, UNIX, VMS, Windows and many others in-between - and all the applications they support.

Read it like a novel, browse it or use it as a reference book as you please (or, as the authors suggest, leave it open on a radiator for 3 days so that it looks well read and put it on your desk to impress your boss).

I'm just waiting for the launch of the Strap-It-On wrist mounted PC with morse code keypad, coindisc, voice output (with vocal emotions), RainSight weather prediction system and all the other memory-challenged applications invented for it!