The term “Design Patterns” is closely related to Software Architecture and Engineering and connected to the object-oriented paradigm. But what does it mean?
Design Patterns are general solutions to problems that arise frequently throughout software development. That is, they are ready-made, thought-out, tested, and approved solutions for common situations that arise every day.
These solutions are very important in a programmer’s training, as they eliminate the need to constantly reinvent solutions. Simply knowing how to apply one of the Design Patterns to your code’s architecture is enough to ensure that any problem will be solved .
Learn about the origin of Design Patterns, the existing types, and when you should use them.
When did Design Patterns emerge?
Design patterns emerged during the experiments of software projects, primarily after the widespread adoption of object-oriented programming . Indeed, almost everything in software engineering emerged from these experiments and continues to evolve to this day.
Design Patterns came to be when software engineers Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides decided to brother cell phone list establish and catalogue all the common problems and ways to solve them .
In 1994, they released the book “ Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software ,” which became a sort of bible on the subject.
The quartet became known as the “Gang of Four” or simply GoF.
What are the types of Design Patterns that exist?
The GoF members collected 23 patterns, which were divided into three large groups. Learn which ones they are:
1 – Creational Patterns
These are creation patterns and deal with object construction and references. This group is important because it supports the most essential principle, which is: “program to the interface, not to the implementation.”
This includes:
- Abstract Factory : Create object families on the fly with high flexibility;
- Builder : build the product step by step;
- Factory Method : creates objects on the fly with high flexibility;
- Prototype : allows the creation of new objects from the copy of an original model or prototype;
- Singleton : centralizes and shares resources.
2 – Structural Patterns
They are the structural patterns that deal with the relationship between objects and how they interact with each other to become large a designer can prepare your wordpress site for the functionality, usability, and performance you need. and complex objects.
This is composed of:
- Adapter : connects the content to the system;
- Bridge : separates implementations from abstractions for flexibility;
- Composite : Treats all objects fairly;
- Decorator : dynamically adds functionality;
- Facade : simplifies the use of complex subsystems;
- Flyweight : Share small resources to save space;
- Proxy : Makes one object represent another object.
3 – Behavioral Patterns
These are behavioral patterns that deal with communication between objects, especially in terms of responsibility and algorithm.
This includes:
- Chain of Responsibility : Passes requests along to avoid dependencies between the receiving object and the requester. This allows other objects in the chain a chance to handle the request;
- Command : transforms requests into objects;
- Interpreter : defines a grammar and an interpreter;
- Iterator : Iterates through a data set independent of the implementation;
- Mediator : is a simplifier of complex relationships;
- Memento : externalizes states without breaking encapsulation;
- Observer : performs resource sharing actions intelligently;
- State : It is considered important because it simplifies the change of internal states of objects;
- Strategy : separates data from algorithms so they can be reused;
- Template Method : defines extensible algorithms;
- Visitor : Defines a new operation for a class without modifying it.
What is the importance of Design Patterns?
Design Patterns focus on the reuse of solutions . Although not all problems are the same, if you break them down and find similarities with previously solved problems, it’s possible to apply Design Patterns and obtain solutions.
But why should programmers care about using Design Patterns?
Because software changes, and thus requires constant maintenance and evolution. It’s true that designing high-quality, and above all, reusable software isn’t an easy task; but Design Patterns are precisely there to facilitate this activity.
In addition, with them, it’s easier to read other people’s code. During the development stage, it’s common to create specific solutions. However, creating generalizations can support everyone’s work; therefore, understanding other developers’ code becomes much easier.
Once you gain experience applying Design Patterns, your solutions gain a proven, market-approved pattern, and are used by the world’s top professionals.
What are the benefits of using these patterns?
Since the models have already been used and tested, they represent a productivity gain for developers. This is because they avoid wasting time and energy solving common problems.
Their use also contributes to better project organization and control. After all, Design Patterns are based on code standardization.
Furthermore, technical fax list discussions become shorter, as it’s easier to simply name a Design Pattern instead of having to explain and justify all its behavior.
It’s important, however, to exercise common sense when using them. Although their purpose is to assist and facilitate processes, there are cases in which they are not often used. This can force the code to conform to project standards, and in some ways, increase complexity.
Therefore, it’s best to carefully evaluate each situation. When it comes to large projects, using Design Patterns can end up damaging the entire project.
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