🎯 Why Should You Learn Design Patterns?

A lot of devs discuss design patterns, and a lot of companies ask about them in the hiring process. I think they’re right, it’s really important because design patterns are solutions to common problems in Software Engineering, and they are always developed with the best practices that have been refined over time.

If you have no idea about design patterns, it’s similar to a professional football player having no idea about football tactics, like 4-3-3. Or a professional player of League of Legends not knowing the best way to play well in the jungle when he’s playing as a jungler. Maybe you don’t know about football tactics or about the best practices in your favorite game, but probably you’re not a professional. As a developer, if you earn money by coding, you’re a professional or would like to be. If you are a Software Engineer or want to improve your skills, you should know about it, especially if you’re working on an OOP project.

At least try to understand some design patterns: what problems they're trying to solve, what their pros and cons are, and how to use them accordingly. It's a good idea to consider them as guidelines rather than fixed solutions. It shouldn't mean you cannot tweak them to match your current requirements.

Design patterns are like having different keys to open a lot of different gates quickly. So just know which ‘gate’ it is and use the best 'key’ for it. This way, you can leverage an existing concept rather than reinvent it, increasing quality and decreasing the time spent on it. Regarding maintenance, it’s easier to support our code because many people are familiar with them, so it can be easier to maintain.

🟢 Types of Design Patterns

Below are the different types of design patterns with their meanings:

🏭 Creational Design Patterns

These patterns focus on the process of object creation. They abstract the instantiation process, making it more flexible by decoupling the client from the specifics of object creation. This helps in managing how objects are created, ensuring they are created in a controlled and consistent environment.

As a quick example, we can use the Singleton Pattern, which focuses on limiting the number of instances of a class to just one, sharing this instance with whoever needs it. It’s common in database connections, logging services, and other services. It's a good idea to ensure consistency and reduce resource usage.

🏗️ Structural Design Patterns

Structural patterns deal with relationships between classes or objects. They simplify the structure by identifying relationships between entities, allowing for easier maintenance and flexibility in object composition. These patterns ensure that if changes are made, they can be handled smoothly without altering the whole structure (low coupling).

As a quick example, we have the Adapter Pattern, which provides a common solution to connect two different interfaces as a link. Imagine you’re from the US and you're traveling to Europe. You need to buy a plug adapter to use your phone charger; this plug adapter could be our Adapter pattern in this context.

🎭 Behavioral Patterns

Behavioral patterns focus on object interaction and responsibility. They define how objects communicate and cooperate with each other while maintaining low coupling. These patterns help manage algorithms, responsibilities, and communication between objects effectively.

As a quick example, we have the Observer pattern, which provides us with a common solution to ‘listen’ for modifications to an object. So if there are any updates, it can notify all subscribers.

📝 In Summary

In summary, it’s really important that you know more about this. You can use these patterns when you face a specific problem instead of reinventing a solution, probably spending more time and increasing the difficulty of maintenance because many developers know about these patterns. They have been refined using the best practices of Software Engineering.

Let’s Stay in Touch:

Hi guys,

After leaving my startup and traveling around the world, I am now more at peace and recently focused on diving into my knowledge of Software Engineering. I would like to share this knowledge as a way to learn more and meet new people.

I will write about some design patterns and create code to solve common problems. If you’re interested in these topics, follow me, and let’s stay in touch to share knowledge! :)

If you have any tips, please let me know.

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