TABLE OF CONTENTS This book defines design patterns for flexible manufacturing, so it is important to understand what design patterns are, and what they are not.
A pattern can be variously described as
a practice or a customary way of operation or behavior.
a model considered worthy of imitation.
a blueprint intended as a guide for making something.
All of these descriptions apply to design patterns. A design pattern is a blueprint intended as a guide for use in design processes. Specifically in the field of software engineering and programming, a design pattern is a repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem.
A design pattern is not a design. Instead, a design pattern is a template for how to solve complex problems that applies to different, but related, situations. A design pattern can be transformed directly into code.
Design patterns exist in many areas, from architecture and construction, to software design and development.
In architecture, there are design patterns in houses. For example, colonial-style houses have the same first and second floor layout, varying in details and size, but not in overall structure.
In civil engineering, suspension bridges follow design patterns, varying in scale and details, but not in overall structure.
In software engineering, computer-human interfaces follow design patterns for windows and mouse actions, varying in detail for each application, but not in overall structure.
Novels and plays follow design patterns, such as a typical mystery or romance novel plot.
Design patterns are used everywhere in modern society. They allow us to...
