MFC Programmer's SourceBook : Thinking in C++
Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++, 2nd Ed Contents | Prev | Next

25: Design patterns

“... describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice” – Christopher Alexander

This chapter introduces the important and yet non-traditional “patterns” approach to program design.

[[ Much of the prose in this chapter still needs work, but the examples all compile. Also, more patterns and examples are forthcoming ]]

Probably the most important step forward in object-oriented design is the “design patterns” movement, chronicled in Design Patterns , by Gamma, Helm, Johnson & Vlissides (Addison-Wesley 1995). [64] That book shows 23 different solutions to particular classes of problems. In this chapter, the basic concepts of design patterns will be introduced along with examples. This should whet your appetite to read Design Patterns (a source of what has now become an essential, almost mandatory, vocabulary for OOP programmers).

The latter part of this chapter contains an example of the design evolution process, starting with an initial solution and moving through the logic and process of evolving the solution to more appropriate designs. The program shown (a trash recycling simulation) has evolved over time, and you can look at that evolution as a prototype for the way your own design can start as an adequate solution to a particular problem and evolve into a flexible approach to a class of problems.


[64] Conveniently, the examples are in C++.

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