Monday

C++ Design Patterns

Anyone who is not already familiar with design patterns may, after a brief survey of the field, come away with the impression that design patterns are a lot of marketing hype, are just some simple coding techniques, or are the playthings of computer scientists who really must get out more. While each of these impressions carries a grain of truth, design patterns are an essential component of the professional C++ programmer’s toolkit.

A “design pattern” is a recurring architectural theme that provides a solution to a common design problem within a particular context and describes the consequences of this solution. A design pattern is more than a simple description of a technique; it’s a named capsule of design wisdom gleaned from successful existing practice, written in such a way that it can be easily communicated and reused. Patterns are about programmer to programmer communication.

From a practical perspective, design patterns have two vital properties. First, they describe proven, successful design techniques that can be customized in a context-dependent way to new design situations. Second, and perhaps more vital, mentioning the application of a particular pattern serves to document not only the technique that is applied but also the reasons for its application and the effect of having applied it.

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