I've heard from various colleagues that Grady Booch is either the model to follow for all OO thought, or the worst source from which programmers should learn. Who is right?
EDIT: To be clear, I am not looking for you to tell me to read. I've done that. I am looking for your opinion, but backed up with evidence! of why you think what you do. I'm not looking for flames or religion.
Oooh, horrendously subjective question about a notable figure in the industry? Holy flamewar, Batman!
Why don't you read some of what Booch has to say, and read what some of those who criticise him say, then let it all swirl about in your head for a while and make your own mind up?
[I'm not being deliberately patronising, here; I genuinely think you should probably critically appraise things yourself, rather than following a whole bunch of other people's opinions.]
neither is right. and booch would be the first to tell you to don't be a sheep and use your own judgement
what is the deal with the extremism lately? something is either great or it sucks, so-and-so is either a guru/god or a loser/poser...
get a grip people, it's only programming; save the religious arguments for more important things, like... religion
He's a complete genius... or a complete idiot... or more likely just like most of us somewhere in between.
It is your responsibility as a programmer to question everything that people tell you and find a better, more elegant, more precise, better performing solution than the one you are provided with... and then you should pass your findings on to other programmers whose responsibility is to do the same thing. That's the only way that this crazy environment can advance at a decent pace.
Theories are great, and the large majority of the programming world will tell you that OO is the way it should be done and I'm sure there are sects that think this is the only way it can be done, but just like any theory or paradigm it will eventually be replaced with another. At one time the earth was the center of the universe, until Copernicus came along and moved it, for which he was ostracized as a heretic... that'll teach him to leave things where he found them. You can't just move a whole planet and not expect there to be repercussions... who does that?
So when anyone tells you anything - don't just accept blindly that what they're telling you is correct, that doesn't benefit anyone, least of all yourself... and if you're going to start moving planets around, don't be surprised if there's fallout.