Good software starts with good design, and implementation subtitle UML and Patterns, "Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA / D) and the Unified Process" confirms that that this book is about. The first edition of Applying UML and Patterns became standard. Other changes have been made to reflect the growing consensus on the most effective ways to work with OOA / D and patterns. Although you will learn UML, this is not what Applying UML and Patterns is all about. In practice, you will need a basic understanding of OO programming to benefit from the application of UML and Patterns, though you need not know Java - you can implement the designs in the OO language of your choice with equal facility. When it comes down to it, Application of UML and Patterns is all about providing you with the language to think about software design. This is very different from learning the language in which to code design. The facility with OOA / D will enable you to design and discuss programs independent of code, to produce more elegant and maintained software, and to take the 30,000-foot view of how your software interacts with the world.