Take Up Code

The decorator structural pattern allows you to add new behavior to object instances dynamically. That means an object can change its behavior at run time. The interesting thing is that your objects do not even know they have been changed.

What is the rule of three? And related to this: What is the rule of five? And what is the rule of zero?

The composite structural pattern allows you to build elaborate objects from smaller objects and not worry about how big they get. You can treat your composite objects as if they are all the same.

The bridge structural pattern allows you to separate an interface from its implementation. Maybe you want to start out doing something one way and then change later. Or maybe you want to share an implementation. Or, if you're using C++, you can hide how you're doing something. This is a subtle pattern with a lot of potential.

The adapter structural pattern allows you to change the interface of an object. This lets you reuse code that would not normally fit into your design.

The abstract factory creational pattern allows you to organize different sets of classes that work together so they get created together. This lets you change from one group of classes to another by configuring a different abstract factory.

What is the best way for somebody to learn another programming language?

The builder creational pattern allows you to hide all the details needed to create a complicated object behind simple steps that another object will direct. This lets you change either how things get built or the steps that are used independently of each other.

The prototype creational pattern is great for creating objects that you may not know about ahead of time. If your program allows users to build complex objects from simpler components and then needs to build more of these complex objects or if your program loads plugins at runtime, then it can benefit from this design pattern.

The singleton creational pattern is simple and often used. It is actually used a bit too often so this episode will give you some caution and provide some ideas to modify this pattern when needed.