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Hernán Chilabert
Hernán Chilabert

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Understanding Design Patterns in Software Engineering: A Python Perspective

[UPDATED 12/7/2023]
✨ GitHub repo with real-world use cases: https://github.com/herchila/design-patterns

Introduction

In the realm of software engineering, design patterns are fundamental, offering solutions to common problems encountered in software design. These patterns provide a template for how to solve a problem in a particular context, making software design more efficient and maintainable. This post delves into the world of design patterns through the lens of Python, a language known for its simplicity and readability.

What Are Design Patterns?

Design patterns are standardized solutions to common problems in software design. They represent best practices, evolved through the collective experience of skilled software developers. Design patterns offer several benefits:

  • Solve complex problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable parts.
  • Improve code readability and reusability, making it easier for other developers to understand and use your code.
  • Facilitate communication among developers, as they provide a common language to describe solutions.

Types of Design Patterns

Design patterns are generally divided into three categories:

  1. Creational Patterns: These deal with object creation mechanisms, trying to create objects in a manner suitable to the situation.
  • Abstract Factory
  • Builder
  • Factory
  • Prototype
  • Singleton
  1. Structural Patterns: These are concerned with object composition and typically deal with the relationship between entities.
  • Adapter
  • Bridge
  • Composite
  • Decorator
  • Proxy
  1. Behavioral Patterns: These focus on communication between objects, how objects interact, and fulfill duties.
  • Chain of Responsibility
  • Observer
  • Strategy
  • Visitor

Design patterns are an invaluable tool in a software engineer's arsenal. They help create scalable, maintainable, and efficient code. Python, with its emphasis on readability and simplicity, provides an excellent environment for implementing these patterns. By familiarizing yourself with these patterns and their applications, you'll be well-equipped to tackle a wide range of software design challenges.

[UPDATED 12/7/2023]
✨ GitHub repo with real-world use cases: https://github.com/herchila/design-patterns

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