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title = "Things I Learnt The Hard Way - Design Patters Are Used to Name Solution, Not Find Them"
date = 2019-06-25
[taxonomies]
tags = ["books", "things i learnt", "design patterns"]
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Most of the times I saw design patterns being applied, they were applied as a
way to find a solution, so you end up twisting a solution -- and, sometimes,
the problem it self -- to fit the pattern.
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My guess is that the heavy use of "let's apply _this_ design pattern" before
even understanding the problem -- or even trying to solve it -- comes as a
5 years ago
form of [cargo cult](/books/things-i-learnt/cargo-cult): "We saw that people
used this pattern and solved their problem, so let's use it too and it will
solve our problem". Or, worse: "Design pattern is described by _Famous
Person_, so we must use it".
Here is the thing: Design pattern should _not_ be used as a way to find
solution to any problems. You may use some of them as base for your solution,
but you must focus on the _problem_, not the _pattern_.
"Do a visitor pattern will solve this?" is the wrong question. "What should we
do to solve our problem?" is the real question. Once you went there and solved
5 years ago
the problem you may look back and see if it is a visitor pattern -- or whatever
pattern. If it doesn't, that's alright, 'cause you _solved the problem_. If it
did... well, congratulations, you now know how to name your solution.
I've seen this happening a lot: People have a problem; people decided to use a
pattern; the pattern doesn't actually solve the problem (not in the 100% mark,
but above 50%); what happens then is that people start twisting the problem to
fit the pattern or, worse, add new layers to transform the problem into the
pattern.
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