Object Oriented Design Patterns

DESIGN PATTERNS :-

•         The best designers in any field have an mysterious ability to see patterns that characterize a problem and corresponding patterns that can be combined to create a solution.

•         These patterns solve specific design problems and make object-oriented design more flexible, well-designed, and ultimately reusable. They help designers reuse successful designs by basing new designs on earlier experience.

•          A designer who is familiar with such patterns can apply them immediately to design problems without having to remember them.

•         Throughout the OOD process, a software engineer should look for every opportunity to reuse existing design patterns (when they meet the needs of the design) rather than creating new ones.

a)     Describing a Design Pattern :-

•         older engineering disciplines make use of thousands of design patterns. For example, a mechanical engineer uses a two-step, keyed shaft(arrow) as a design pattern. Inherent in the pattern are attributes (the diameter(distance) of the shaft, the dimensions(scope) of the keyway, etc.) and operations (e.g., shaft rotation, shaft connection). An electrical engineer uses an integrated circuit (an extremely complex design pattern) to solve a specific element of a new problem.

•          All design patterns can be described by specifying the following information.

1) the name of the pattern

2) the intent(objective) of the pattern

3) the “design forces” that motivate the pattern

•              Design forces describe the data, functional, or behavioral requirements associated with part of the software for which the pattern is to be applied. In addition forces define the constraints that may restrict the manner in which the design is to be derived.

4) the solution that mitigates(reduce) these forces

•            In real meaning, design forces describe the environment and    conditions that must exist to make the design pattern applicable.

5) the classes that are required to implement the solution

6) the responsibilities and collaboration among solution classes

•           The pattern characteristics (classes, responsibilities, and collaborations) indicate the attributes of the design that may be adjusted to enable the pattern to accommodate a variety of problems.

•          These attributes represent characteristics of the design that can be searched (e.g., via a database) so that an appropriate pattern can be found.

•      7) guidance that leads to effective implementation

•      8) example source code or source code templates

•      9) cross-references to related design patterns

b)    Using Patterns in Design :-

•         In an object-oriented system, design patterns can be used by applying two different mechanisms: inheritance and composition.

•         Using inheritance, an existing design pattern becomes a template for a new subclass. The attributes and operations that exist in the pattern become part of the subclass.

•         Composition is a concept that leads to aggregate objects. That is, a problem may require objects that have complex functionality (in the extreme, a subsystem accomplishes this).

•         The complex object can be assembled by selecting a set of design patterns and composing the appropriate object (or subsystem). Each design pattern is treated as a black box, and communication among the patterns occurs only via welldefined interfaces.

•         object composition should be favored over inheritance when both options exist.

•         Rather than creating large and sometimes unmanageable class hierarchies (the consequence of the overuse of inheritance),composition favors small class hierarchies and objects that remain focused on one objective. Composition uses existing design patterns (reusable components)in an unaltered form.