Design Pattern How to spot them and why they matter
Design patterns are commonly used in software development and can provide an efficient and effective solution to software design problems. They are a set of repeatable solutions to commonly occurring problems in software development, and understanding and recognizing them is an important part of developing robust and maintainable software. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the 23 design patterns, how to spot them, and why they are important. By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of how and when to use them in software development.
The 23 Design Patterns
The 23 design patterns are a collection of techniques that are commonly used to solve problems in software development. They are divided into three categories: creational, structural, and behavioral.
Creational patterns focus on the instantiation process, ensuring that objects are created in a manner that is convenient and logical. These patterns help make code more robust, reusable, and extendable. The five creational design patterns are: Abstract Factory, Builder, Factory Method, Prototype, and Singleton.
Structural patterns focus on how classes and objects are composed together to create larger structures and systems. These patterns provide flexibility by allowing developers to customize how objects and classes interact with each other. The seven structural design patterns are: Adapter, Bridge, Composite, Decorator, Facade, Flyweight, and Proxy.
Behavioral patterns focus on how objects interact with one another and distribute responsibilities between them. These patterns help ensure that objects interact in a safe, consistent manner. The eleven behavioral design patterns are: Chain of Responsibility, Command, Interpreter, Iterator, Mediator, Memento, Observer, State, Strategy, Template Method, and Visitor.
The 23 design patterns provide a set of established solutions to common problems in software development. They can be used as guidelines for constructing software that is reliable and efficient. By understanding these design patterns and applying them correctly, developers can create applications that will have fewer bugs and maintainable code.
How to Spot Them
Design patterns are universal solutions to common software engineering problems, and they can be identified in both code and architecture. Generally, design patterns have three defining characteristics: a solution to a common problem, a recognizable structure, and a set of best practices.
When it comes to spotting design patterns in code, there are certain traits you should look for. Some key traits to watch out for include:
- Reusability: The code should be easily reusable, meaning it is easy to transfer from one project to another.
- Abstraction: The code should be abstracted so that it can be adapted to a variety of different situations.
- Modularity: The code should be modular, meaning it should be divided into small, independent components.
- Portability: The code should be portable, meaning it can run on different operating systems and hardware platforms.
In terms of architecture, some of the most common design patterns include Model-View-Controller (MVC) and Representational State Transfer (REST). With MVC, the data is separated into models, views, and controllers. This makes the code more organized and easier to maintain. With REST, the architecture is based on stateless communication between clients and servers. This allows for flexibility and scalability.
When it comes to spotting design patterns in architecture, there are a few key traits to watch out for. These include:
- Separation of Concerns: The architecture should be designed in such a way that each component has its own distinct purpose and responsibilities.
- Reusability: The components should be designed in such a way that they can be reused in multiple applications.
- Scalability: The architecture should be designed in such a way that it can scale up or down depending on the needs of the application.
- Fault Tolerance: The architecture should be designed in such a way that if one component fails, the entire system will not collapse.
By familiarizing yourself with the key traits to look for when spotting design patterns in code and architecture, you can identify them more easily and use them to build better software.