Ron Mak

Ronald Mak is a highly rated instructor of object-oriented analysis and design in C++, Java, and Python at San Jose State University in Silicon Valley. As a senior computer scientist at NASA and JPL, he developed software for major space missions, including the Mars rovers, the International Space Station, cubesats, and the Orion spacecraft. He was a research staff member at IBM Research, where he helped develop systems software for a supercomputer and software for an advanced data science project. He was the enterprise software strategist for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is making important breakthroughs in fusion energy. Earlier in his career, he was a software developer and engineering manager at various Silcon Valley companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Apple, and several startups. He has degrees in the mathematical sciences and in computer science from Stanford University. He is an inventor on seven software patents. He has written books on compiler writing, software engineering, and numerical computation, which have been translated into several languages. Despite having done work on the relative motions of planets and calculations that involved Einstein’s theory of relativity, Ron is still amazed that the sun comes up each morning and that bicycles don’t tip over.

books & videos by Ron Mak

Object-Oriented Software Design in C++ Video Edition
Included with a Manning Online subscription

Object-Oriented Software Design in C++ introduces object-oriented design principles, practices, and patterns in clear, jargon-free language. The instantly-familiar before-and-after examples highlight the benefits of good design. Each chapter is full of friendly conversations that anticipate your questions and help point out the subtleties you might overlook. Along the way, you’ll pick up tips about idiomatic C++ style that will set your code apart.

Software Design for Python Programmers
  • January 2026
  • ISBN 9781633439498
  • 456 pages
Included with a Manning Online subscription
  • printed in black & white
catalog / Software Development / Software Engineering / Software Architecture and Design / Software Design
print book available Jan 26, 2026
ePub + liveBook available Jan 26, 2026
resources: Source code Book forum Source code on Github Register your pBook for a free eBook

Software Design for Python Programmers is a practical guide for creating maintainable, well-structured software in Python. By investigating clear “before and after” examples, you’ll discover how even small design choices can have a huge impact on an application’s clarity and reliability. As you go, you’ll learn how to gather requirements, shape a program’s architecture iteratively, create clean and reusable abstractions, and select design patterns that solve the real problems you’ll face on the job.

Object-Oriented Software Design in C++
  • May 2024
  • ISBN 9781633439504
  • 520 pages
Included with a Manning Online subscription
  • printed in black & white
catalog / Software Development / Software Engineering / Software Architecture and Design / Object-Oriented Design
resources: Source code Book forum Source code on GitHub Register your pBook for a free eBook

Object-Oriented Software Design in C++ introduces object-oriented design principles, practices, and patterns in clear, jargon-free language. The instantly-familiar before-and-after examples highlight the benefits of good design. Each chapter is full of friendly conversations that anticipate your questions and help point out the subtleties you might overlook. Along the way, you’ll pick up tips about idiomatic C++ style that will set your code apart.