Work And Object

Work and Object : Explorations in the Metaphysics of Art

Work and Object is a study of fundamental questions in the metaphysics of art, notably how works relate to the materials that constitute them. Issues about the creation of works, what is essential and inessential to their identity, their distinct kinds of properties, including aesthetic properties, their amenability to interpretation, their style, the conditions under which they can go out of existence, and their relation to perceptually indistinguishable doubles (e.g. forgeries and parodies), are raised and debated. A core theme is that works like paintings, music, literature, sculpture, architecture, films, photographs, multi-media installations, and many more besides, have fundamental features in common, as cultural artefacts, in spite of enormous surface differences. It is their nature as distinct kinds of things, grounded in distinct ontological categories, that is the subject of this enquiry. Although much of the discussion is abstract, based in analytical metaphysics, there are numerous specific applications, including a study of Jean-Paul Sartre's novel La Naus--eacute--;e and recent conceptual art. Some surprising conclusions are derived, about the identity conditions of works and about the difference, often, between what a work seems to be and what it really is.

Object-Oriented Construction Handbook

Object-oriented programming (OOP) has been the leading paradigm for developing software applications for at least 20 years. Many different methodologies, approaches, and techniques have been created for OOP, such as UML, Unified Process, design patterns, and eXtreme Programming. Yet, the actual process of building good software, particularly large, interactive, and long-lived software, is still emerging. Software engineers familiar with the current crop of methodologies are left wondering, how does all of this fit together for designing and building software in real projects? This handbook from one of the world's leading software architects and his team of software engineers presents guidelines on how to develop high-quality software in an application-oriented way. It answers questions such as: * How do we analyze an application domain utilizing the knowledge and experience of the users? * What is the proper software architecture for large, distributed interactive systems that can utilize UML and design patterns? * Where and how should we utilize the techniques and methods of the Unified Process and eXtreme Programming? This book brings together the best of research, development, and day-to-day project work. "The strength of the book is that it focuses on the transition from design to implementation in addition to its overall vision about software development." -Bent Bruun Kristensen, University of Southern Denmark, Odense

Art and Industry