The author describes his book as a "unique blend of market and technology coverage, broad and fair coverage of current technologies and a deep discussion of real problems with their solutions where known".The first edition won the "Jolt Award" became the leading book on the market to combine explanations of what the key technologies are, how to use them and why they are important in the software market-place, and look at these in terms of both the technical and business issues. The book was also the first to define components and clarify the key questions surrounding them, show how they are key to software design and offer a historical overview of their development.