Pattern Hatching: Design Patterns Applied (Paperback)

~ John M. Vlissides (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Author John Vlissides is a member of the so-called Gang of Four: writers of the bestselling and influential Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software, a catalog of 23 design patterns. This more recent book delivers considerable insight on using and applying software design patterns--reusable designs for common programming problems--and compiles the author's further experience with patterns.

Pattern Hatching first defends the patterns movement by offering 10 myths about patterns, which provide a framework for thinking about the role of patterns in today's software. (While not a silver bullet, the author argues for the continued importance of patterns throughout software engineering.) The next section shows how to apply several patterns (drawn from the original 23) in a file system; the author uses and describes common patterns such as the Composite, Visitor, Proxy, and Singleton. To help illustrate how to use patterns and how they work together, the author also provides C++ source code for the designs in the book.

Part of the fun of reading Pattern Hatching is getting the author's insight on the origin of thinking about patterns, including several patterns that were actually left out of the original book, such as the Generation Gap pattern and the Multicast pattern.

For readers who are familiar with Design Patterns, Pattern Hatching is a lively behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important recent developments in software design. --Richard Dragan

Review

"This book will help you understand how the GoF book-and, indeed, any collection of design patterns-can be a treasured guide without being a burdensome prescription." -- James O. Coplien, Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs Innovations

Wow! I've never read a technical book written in such an appealing style. John really has surmounted a challenge here: being concrete, correct, and engaging on a technical subject. -- Frank Buschmann, Siemens AG

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (July 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201432935
• ISBN-13: 978-0201432930
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential companion to the GoF book, February 7, 2000

By	Satadru Roy (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A succint and lucid explanation of how patterns can be actually applied. Chapter 2 is a must read where John develops a file system application - he dwells in great detail about which patterns suit best the needs of the application and which do not. He starts with the Composite pattern, then refines the model gradually with Proxy, Visitor, Template method, Abstract Factory, Singleton and Mediator patterns. The 3rd chapter introduces a new pattern called 'Generation Gap' while the 4th chapter is an extremely entertaining read containg numerous excerpts of correspondences between GoF authors where they debate whether the MultiCast pattern is just a refinement of Observer or a pattern in its own right.

IMHO - read the basic patterns in the GoF book first, read chapter 2 of Pattern Hatching, go back and read the GoF book again. Do this a number of times and you'll probably have a much better insight than by just reading the GoF book.

A word of warning for Java developers - it would help to have a decent knowledge of C++ (templates included ;-) ) to understand the code samples.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Book, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This slender volume should be required reading for anyone working on an object oriented system (and if you're using C++, you ought to read it three or four times). This book won't so much tell you how to solve particular problems as much as it will help to develop a way of thinking about programming problems that leads to well-design solutions.

The GoF book's second chapter example is unfortunate: virtually every programmer I've recommended Design Patterns to has expressed frustration over the inaccessibility of the primary example of applying patterns in a system.

The file system example in Vlissides, on the other hand, is a lucid and enaging narrative that everyone relates to and seems to gain immediate insight from. I now recommend this book as a requirement for really understanding the GoF book. It's worth the price many times over.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The key word is "Applied", July 28, 1999

By	Steve Hayes (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although I was familiar with the GoF patterns before I read "Pattern Hatching", John has given me a whole new perspective on their use. "Pattern Hatching" showed me how to use the patterns in a generative way. In the past I used patterns to explain a design I came up with through "intuition". But using the patterns to generate the design has improved the final outcome.

Now I have a better understanding of the role of patterns in the development process.

John has an easy to read style which makes the material very accessible. The length isn't daunting either. You should certainly spare the time to read this.