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Structure of A Design Pattern: Term Description
Structure of A Design Pattern: Term Description
Design pattern documentation is highly structured. The patterns are documented from a template that
identifies the information needed to understand the software problem and the solution in terms of the
relationships between the classes and objects necessary to implement the solution. There is no uniform
agreement within the design pattern community on how to describe a pattern template. Different authors
prefer different styles for their pattern templates. Some authors prefer to be more expressive and less
structured, while others prefer their pattern templates to be more precise and high grain in structure. We
will use the template first described by the authors of Design Patterns to illustrate a template.
Term Description
Pattern Name Describes the essence of the pattern in a short, but expressive, name
Motivation Provides an example of a problem and how the pattern solves that problem
Structure Set of diagrams of the classes and objects that depict the pattern
Participants Describes the classes and objects that participate in the design pattern and their
responsibilities
Collaborations Describes how the participants collaborate to carry out their responsibilities
Consequences Describes the forces that exist with the pattern and the benefits, trade-offs, and the
variable that is isolated by the pattern
This template captures the essential information required to understand the essence of the problem and
the structure of the solution. Many pattern templates have less structure than this, but basically cover the
same content.