General talk about software patterns

[Pascal Costanza <pc AT p-cos.net>]

On 6 Jul 2005, at 14:55, Ralph Johnson wrote:

> The only way to know for sure which patterns are used most is to
> look at every system in the world.  Some people use some patterns
> more than other people do, so if you just look at the output of one
> group or one person, you will get a different answer dependig on
> who you talk to.

There is also an (unhealthy) feedback loop. Some people use patterns  
just because they happen to be in the Design Patterns book. (That's  
probably one of the reasons why Singleton and Visitor are still cited  
as good examples.) This means that a high number for those patterns  
doesn't necessarily mean anything. In order to get citeable numbers  
you would need a control group of programmers who haven't read that  
book (or other pattern-related material).

Also note that patterns are about achieving the quality without a  
name, not the quantity without a name. ;)


Pascal

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