Re: If design patterns are not supposed to produce reusable code then why use them?

At 4:50 PM +0000 12/30/09, Tony Marston wrote:

What is your opinion? Are design patterns supposed to provide reusable code or not? If not, and each implementation of a pattern takes just as much time as the first, then where are the productivity gains from using design patterns? -- Tony Marston

Tony: I don't think reusable code is the main point of "Design Patterns". From what I've read, "Design Patterns" are more of a "If you are faced with this problem, here's a solution" kind of thing. Reusable code is more a by-product of the process. Instead "Design Patterns" are more about identifying and classifying common problems than reusable code. The point is if you can define your problem as a category referenced by "Design Patterns", then you are closer to solving it. With that said, I find "Design Patterns" frustrating because of the level of abstraction most authors use to identify the problem/solution pair. Instead of showing a real world example, their solution are so broad, so encompassing, so abstract, that they lose me. However, I must admit that the newer ways of doing things are bringing to the table ways to do things that were not possible before. So, in the end we all have to keep learning just to keep up. As I've said many times before "I've learned something new every day of my life -- and I'm getting damned tried of it." Cheers, tedd -- ------- http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com