Are design patterns now an essential part of the developer's toolbox? Are you comfortable solving everyday problems with an existing pattern, rather than original thought and code? Tell us how design patterns fit into your professional training needs in the Talk to the Editors discussion group.
Design Patterns: Basic Building Blocks or Passing Fancy?
At DevX, we've seen an increasing use of design pattern terminology in the articles we publish. It's an obvious trend, but is it a useful trend? Are design patterns a practical way to encapsulate and capitalize on programmer experience or are they simply new terminology applied to old problems?
by A. Russell Jones
September 28, 2004
everal years ago, Bill Watterson wrote a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip where Calvin asked: "How do they know the load limit on bridges, Dad?" and his father answers: "They drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge." That may be humorous when applied to bridge-building, but when applied to programming, it's a little too close to the truth to be funny.
Engineers who build bridges can draw from a wide range of resources that help them design with advance confidence that their products will withstand the required loads. The programming profession needs the same level of confidence. We need to be able to build applications that, when designed according to specifications, will unequivocally withstand their planned loads.
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everal years ago, Bill Watterson wrote a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip where Calvin asked: "How do they know the load limit on bridges, Dad?" and his father answers: "They drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge." That may be humorous when applied to bridge-building, but when applied to programming, it's a little too close to the truth to be funny. 
