CSC/ECE 517 Fall 2009/wiki2 11 sv

Design patterns

The idea of design pattern was first introduced by the architect Christopher Alexander in the field of architecture. Later it has been adapted for various other disciplines, including computer science.

A design pattern is a formal way of documenting a solution to a design problem in a particular field of expertise. In software engineering, a design pattern is a solution to a general and commonly occurring problem in software design. A design pattern is not a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. But it is a description or template for how to solve a problem that can be used in many different situations.

e.g.

We can find some common steps or building blocks in any process. Suppose we have to build a home. Then high level of disign 
will be based on how many rooms do we wish to have on each floor. once we are done with this then its just the matter of 
duplicating it for the other floors. This is very common and basic design for construction.

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Design patterns in ruby

Almost every design patterns of ruby are borrowed from the GOF book. Following is the list of common pattern used in ruby.

1. Template
2. Strategy
3. Observer
4. Composite
5. Iterator
6. Commands
7. Adapter
8. Proxy
9. Decorator
10. Singleton
11. Factory
12. Builder
13. Interpreter

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Introduction:

The observer pattern (sometimes known as publish/subscribe) is a software design pattern in which an object, called the 'subject', maintains a list of its dependents, called 'observers', and notifies them automatically of any state changes, usually by calling one of their methods. It is mainly used to implement distributed event handling systems.

Example Scenario where Observer Pattern is Used:
Consider a personnel system where an employee's salary changes and the payroll department needs to know when these changes take place. Here, How can one make the Employee object spread the news about salary changes without tangling it up with the payroll system? In such a situation, Observer pattern is used. Initially, an object is created that is interested in the state of a person's(any employee's) finances. This object then needs to simply register with that person's 'Employee Object' ahead of time. Once registered, that object would receive timely updates about the ups and downs of the person's paycheck.

Here is a basic version of an Employee object that tracks an employee. It does not have any code that tells about any salary updates.

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See Also

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References

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