Entries by Rainer Grimm

Classification of Design Patterns

Patterns can be classified in various ways. The most prominent ones are the ones used in the books “Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software” and “Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture, Volume 1“.

The History of Patterns

Most software developers assume that the book “Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software”, published in 1994, stands for the birth of patterns. No. The term was coined by Christopher Alexander in 1977.

The Advantages of Patterns

Before I write about patterns in my upcoming posts, I have to answer one question first. What are the advantages of patterns? As you may assume, I see many advantages, but I boil them down to three points: well-defined terminology, improved documentation, and learning from the best.