Design patterns are reusable and proven solutions to common problems that arise during the design and development of software systems. They provide a structured approach to solving recurring design and architectural challenges such as creating objects , structuring code, etc. making it easier to create robust, maintainable, and scalable software. Design patterns aren't specific implementations or code snippets; rather, they are high-level templates that guide developers in making design decisions.
These patterns serve essential purposes which include:
- ReusabilityDesign patterns provide reusable solutions that can be applied to similar problems across various software projects. This helps in reducing redundant code and ensuring consistency.
- AbstractionThey promote the separation of concerns, allowing developers to abstract and isolate specific aspects of the system, making the code more modular and easier to maintain.
- MaintainabilityBy following established design patterns, software becomes more organized, making it easier to understand and maintain over time.
- ScalabilityUsing design patterns often leads to more scalable software, as the solutions are well-structured and can be adapted to accommodate future changes and extensions.
We can group the design patterns into categories according to what their overall goals are:
- Creational Patterns: They deal with object creation mechanisms, trying to create objects in a manner suitable for the situation. Examples include Builder, Singleton and Factory, which we will get into more detail in this article.
- Structural Patterns: They focus on organizing and composing classes and objects to form larger structures. These patterns aim to enhance code flexibility, reusability, and maintainability by promoting class and object collaboration.Examples include Decorator, Composite, Adapter and Proxy.
- Behavioral Patterns: Behavioral patterns focus on communication between objects, helping them interact in a more flexible and extensible way. Examples include Observer, Strategy, Command, State, Visitor, and Chain of Responsibility patterns.
Our focus for this article will be on Creational Patterns and more specifically the Factory Design Pattern.
Here is a code sample to elaborate how this pattern is achieved in java.
