Smalltalk best practice patterns
by Kent Beck · first published 1997
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Concise, practical catalog of object-oriented coding patterns that carries over to Ruby, Java, C#, Python and more. Suits programmers wanting to write cleaner, idiomatic OO code, and Smalltalk or Pharo learners.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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This is the kind of thing sorely missing from other language teaching - once you learn the basics, how to write good, idiomatic code? Btw, I can also recommend Kent Beck's Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns is you are learning Pharo Smalltalk.
on “How to Program Racket” ↗Check out "Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns": http://www.amazon.com/dp/013476904X/ Lots of OO classes use it and Smalltalk is a great language to learn OO with (but even if you don't use it, the general information will be a big help).
on “ Ask HN: What are some good books for understanding OOP? ” ↗Kent Beck’s Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns is a great book. In Smalltalk, but it works rather well for good OO languages, in general. Very easy to read. http://amzn.com/B00BBDLIME?tag=hboon-20
on “MVC is dead, it's time to MOVE on (2012)” ↗…enjoyable, concise. Practical Object Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz is a fun read packed with good principles for working in Ruby that are applicable in general to object oriented programming. Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns by Kent Beck is worth a read because the general principles are applicable to any OOP language. Clean Code by Robert Martin is excellent but a time commitment. (If you had to pick between SICP and Clean…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best written programming books?” ↗I haven't read many books on or using Smalltalk, but I can definitely recommend Kent Beck's "Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns" https://www.amazon.com/Smalltalk-Best-Practice-Patterns-Kent...
on “Computer Programming Using GNU Smalltalk (2009)” ↗…the best inoculation against being suckered by Barnum statements like “no one really agrees on what <concept> is” or “no-one says <thing readily found in books>”. Further reading: Refactoring (Fowler), Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns (Beck).
on “Data-oriented design or why you might shoot yourself in the foot with OOP (2009)” ↗…code. I've worked through Domain-Driven Design Distilled, Domain-Driven Design, Implementing Domain-Driven Design, Design Patterns, The Art of Agile Software Development, 2nd Edition, Clean Architecture, Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns, and Tidy First?. I'm a far better software engineer than I was in 2024. I've also vibe coded [1] a whole lot of software [2], some good and some bad [3]. You can choose to grow in both areas. [0]:…
on “Breaking the Spell of Vibe Coding” ↗And that book is Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns (http://www.amazon.com/Smalltalk-Best-Practice-Patterns-Kent/...). Not anything like the design patterns book in case anyone wonders, and it's a good read even if you don't do Smalltalk.
on “"Joel Spolksy is wrong about my work" - Kent Beck” ↗No idea about his programming skills, but I have read Kent Beck's Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns and it is pretty useful and it was often recommended to both Smalltalkers and non-Smalltalkers. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Smalltalk-Best-Practice-Patterns-Kent/... (it's not a gang-of-four-type patterns…
on “We Tried Baseball and It Didn't Work” ↗"Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns" by Kent Beck (240 pages). K&R weighs in at 274 pages.
on “Blunt and necessary review of programming language books.” ↗Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns, by Kent Beck Smalltalk is object oriented from the ground up and this book is full of advice and examples of good OOAD. Even if your every day language is Java, C++ or something else, this book will…
on “Ask HN: What are some good books to improve on object oriented design?” ↗A remarkable classic http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Obje... And Kent Beck's http://www.amazon.com/Smalltalk-Best-Practice-Patterns-Kent/...
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best written programming books?” ↗Have you read Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns by Kent Beck? I'd throw it in that mix if you haven't. It and the Pragmatic Programmer are my two favorites. Code Complete is too verbose imho.
on “Tips from the Pragmatic Programmer (2000)” ↗I've learned a lot from building a system in Smalltalk and these books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_Patterns https://www.amazon.com/Smalltalk-Best-Practice-Patterns-Kent...
on “Ask HN: How to Learn OOP” ↗Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns by Kent Beck. Refactoring by Martin Fowler. Design Patterns by the Gang of Four. Domain Driven Design by Eric Evans.
on “Ask HN: What books had the greatest effect on how you structure your code?” ↗