Design Patterns

Design patterns are established solutions to common problems in software design. They provide a template for how to solve issues and implement robust, efficient, and maintainable code. These patterns encapsulate best practices and make it easier for developers to understand and reapply successful approaches to similar problems. They are categorized into creational, structural, and behavioral patterns.

But why do we need design patterns? The main reasons include:

• Standardization: Design patterns provide standard terminology and are specific to particular problems. This standardization makes it easier for developers to communicate and collaborate.

• Efficiency: By using design patterns, you can avoid common pitfalls and write more efficient and reliable code. They save time and effort by eliminating the need to solve problems from scratch.

• Flexibility: Design patterns promote code reuse and flexibility. They help in making the code more modular and easier to modify, as the patterns can be adapted to fit different contexts and requirements.

• Maintenance: Well-known design patterns improve code readability and make it easier to maintain and extend. Future developers can understand the architecture and reasoning behind the code more readily.

Let's explore the different types of design patterns and delve into key examples within each category.

Creational Patterns

Creational patterns focus on the best ways to create objects, providing flexibility and promoting code reuse. Here are some essential creational patterns:

1. Singleton Pattern: Ensures that a class has only one instance and provides a global point of access to that instance. It's like having a single remote control for your entire entertainment system—convenient and centralized.

2. Factory Method Pattern: Defines an interface for creating objects, allowing subclasses to alter the type of objects that will be created. Think of it as an abstract vehicle factory where you can create cars, bikes, or trucks based on need without changing the client code.

3. Abstract Factory Pattern: Provides an interface for creating families of related or dependent objects without specifying their concrete classes. Imagine it as a kit where you can create a whole set of related products, such as a modern or Victorian furniture set.

4. Builder Pattern: Separates the construction of a complex object from its representation, allowing the same construction process to create different representations. It’s like following a detailed recipe to make different types of gourmet meals from start to finish.

5. Prototype Pattern: Creates new objects by copying an existing object (the prototype). This is useful when the cost of creating a new object is prohibitively expensive. Think of it as copying a master key to create multiple duplicates.

Structural Patterns

Structural patterns deal with object composition and typically help ensure that if one part of a system changes, the entire system doesn't need to change. Here are some crucial structural patterns:

1. Adapter Pattern: Allows incompatible interfaces to work together. It acts like a translator that enables communication between two devices with different interfaces.

2. Bridge Pattern: Separates an object’s abstraction from its implementation so that both can vary independently. Think of it as decoupling the function of your TV remote from the actual TV to switch manufacturers easily.

3. Composite Pattern: Composes objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies. This pattern lets clients treat individual objects and compositions uniformly, similar to how a file system organizes directories and files.

4. Decorator Pattern: Adds new behaviors to objects dynamically by placing them inside wrapper objects. It’s like dressing up a window with different layers of curtains, each providing additional features.

5. Facade Pattern: Provides a simplified interface to a complex subsystem. It’s like having a universal remote that simplifies controlling multiple devices.

6. Flyweight Pattern: Reduces memory usage by sharing as much data as possible with similar objects. Imagine a scene in a video game where many trees share the same texture to save memory.

7. Proxy Pattern: Provides a surrogate or placeholder for another object to control access to it. It’s like having a front desk receptionist who controls access to the main office.

Behavioral Patterns

Behavioral patterns focus on communication between objects, making interactions more flexible and understandable. Here are some key behavioral patterns:

1. Chain of Responsibility Pattern: Passes a request along a chain of handlers, where each handler decides either to process the request or to pass it to the next handler. Think of it like a help desk ticket system.

2. Command Pattern: Encapsulates a request as an object, thereby allowing users to parameterize clients with queues, requests, and operations. It’s like pressing a button on a vending machine to get a snack.

3. Interpreter Pattern: Defines a representation for a language’s grammar and uses an interpreter to interpret sentences in that language. Think of it as a translator for a programming language.

4. Iterator Pattern: Provides a way to access the elements of an aggregate object sequentially without exposing its underlying representation. It's like flipping through pages of a book without needing to know how the book is bound.

5. Mediator Pattern: Defines an object that encapsulates how a set of objects interact, promoting loose coupling by preventing objects from referring to each other explicitly. Imagine a control tower managing all airplanes at an airport.

6. Memento Pattern: Allows capturing and externalizing an object’s internal state so it can be restored later, without violating encapsulation. It’s like saving a game progress to return to that exact point later.

7. Observer Pattern: Defines a one-to-many dependency between objects so when one object changes state, all its dependents are notified and updated automatically. Think of it as subscribing to a newsletter that notifies you of updates.

8. State Pattern: Allows an object to alter its behavior when its internal state changes. The object will appear to change its class.

9. Strategy Pattern: Enables selecting an algorithm’s behavior at runtime.

10. Template Method Pattern: Defines the skeleton of an algorithm in an operation, deferring some steps to subclasses.

11. Visitor Pattern: Allows you to add further operations to objects without having to modify them.

NOTE: Explanation for each of these design patterns will come soon. Checkout https://jyanshu.hashnode.dev/