When a software engineer begins to study design patterns, they can expect several shifts in their approach to software development:
Structured Thinking: Design patterns encourage a more structured approach to problem-solving. Instead of jumping straight into coding, the engineer will start thinking about how common problems have been solved before, leading to more systematic design processes.
Example: Before writing a new system for handling database connections, they might consider using the Singleton pattern for a single instance or the Factory pattern for creating different types of connections.
Reusability: Engineers will become more focused on creating solutions that are not just functional for the current project but are also reusable in future projects. Design patterns promote code reuse by providing templates that can be adapted to various scenarios.
Example: Implementing the Observer pattern for event handling can be reused across different applications where state changes need to be broadcasted.
Modularity and Flexibility: Understanding patterns like the Strategy, Command, or Decorator patterns will lead to designing systems that are more modular. This modularity makes the software easier to modify, extend, or maintain without major refactoring.
Example: Using the Strategy pattern allows for changing algorithms or behaviors at runtime, making the system more flexible to changes in requirements.
Improved Communication: Design patterns serve as a common vocabulary among developers. This can streamline discussions about architecture, design, and implementation, making teamwork more efficient.
Example: Saying "Let's use a Factory Method here" immediately conveys a specific approach to object creation, reducing the need for detailed explanations.
Code Quality: There's often an improvement in code quality. Patterns like Singleton for global resource management or the Facade for simplifying interfaces reduce complexity and enhance maintainability.
Example: Implementing the Facade pattern can simplify the API of a complex subsystem, making it easier for other developers to use.
Problem-Solving Efficiency: With knowledge of design patterns, an engineer can solve problems more efficiently. They recognize when a particular pattern might be applicable, saving time in design and implementation phases.
Example: Recognizing that a problem can be solved with the Adapter pattern to make incompatible interfaces work together.
Scalability: Patterns like the Composite or Proxy help in designing systems that can scale better. They provide frameworks for handling complex structures or managing access to objects in a scalable manner.
Example: The Composite pattern allows treating individual objects and compositions of objects uniformly, which is crucial for scalable designs.
Learning Curve: Initially, there might be a learning curve where the engineer spends more time thinking about which pattern to apply. However, over time, this investment pays off as they become more adept at pattern recognition and application.
Example: Initially, choosing between Factory, Abstract Factory, or Builder might be confusing, but with experience, the choice becomes intuitive.
By integrating design patterns into their toolkit, a software engineer not only enhances their technical skills but also adopts a more strategic mindset towards software architecture, leading to better, more maintainable, and scalable software solutions.
Course Features to improve understanding
This course uses a number of interactive features to help you learn the Gang of Four Patterns.
You may want to review the following features before starting your coursework.
Tooltip Software developer studying design patterns
None of the design patterns in this course describes new or unproven designs.
I have included only designs that have been applied more than once in different systems and most of these designs have been documented before by the Gang of Four. Although these designs are not new, they are captured in a new and accessible way, that is
As a catalog of design patterns having a consistent format".
Despite the size of the course and website, the design patterns on this site capture only a fraction of what an expert might know.
It does not contain patterns dealing with
concurrency,
distributed programming or
real-time programming.
It does contain any application domain-specific patterns. It does not tell you how to build user interfaces, how to write device drivers, or how to use an object-oriented database. Each of these areas has its own patterns and are currently being modeled by various developers.
Quizzes and Exercises
Throughout the GOFPatterns website, (Gang of Four Patterns), you will find multiple-choice quizzes and hands-on exercises.
These learning checks will allow you to assess what you have learned. Some of the exercises in this course require you to copy and paste text between a text editor and your web browser. This is easily accomplished on a Windows, Linux and MAC platforms.
Image Gallery:
A series of images is web component that presents a series of images that you can flip through, either forward or backward.
In this course, we will be using SlideShows to illustrate some of the commonly used Gang of Four Patterns.
Descriptive Diagrams: Whenever you see this graphic within the course, a tooltip that explains or dissects some element of a design pattern will follow. Move your mouse cursor over the elements of the image to display the explanations.
Course Glossary:
Many of the terms used in the course are defined in a glossary. The glossary can be reached from the following link Design Patterns-Glossary
or from the home page Gofpatterns Home Page.
