I started learning design patterns a good number of years ago. I learned a few. Probably around half. But others I just kept forgetting. Or I should say, never learned.
C’mon, you did not learn design patterns!
Knowing design patterns is important. Very important. It’s probably the best “tool” in your toolbox as the developer. Not only the Gang of Four (GoF) patterns, which are the most known, but others as well.
But learning design patterns is hard.
It’s not that the design patterns are hard, it’s the process of learning and retaining that’s hard. Why? If you don’t use it… you’ll forget it.
So a month or two ago, I decided to revisit the subject. I decided to learn the Gang of Four (GoF) patterns. Learn it in a way so I can remember. As I said, not an easy thing to do. (I guess I will really know if I learned it after a few months. )
There is probably only one way to really “learn” it. Use it in code. That’s when you see the context, problem, solution, etc. That’s when you really know all the details about the pattern. And most likely it will “stick” with you and you will not forget it.
If you really want to learn a pattern, use it!
If you can…
I have a few that I have used: Observer, Factory, Builder, Singleton, Facade, Strategy, Template Method, Iterator, Command… I think that’s about it.
OK, that’s less than half of the 23 GoF patterns. What happened to the others?
Blame it on my memory.
On the other hand, I don’t want to just use it because it would be cool. It has to be the right fit. And that does not happen often… But when you do see the opportunity, you should be ready!
BE PREPARED
How do you prepare? Here are some ways.
Read the GoF book several times. OK, that might work for you. For others, it probably will not.
Read multiple books. Yes, that’s probably better, but it still could not work for some of the patterns.
Read multiple books and other references at the same time. Yes, I think this is better. Much better. Why? In How To Read A Book the author explains that this is the highest level of reading, Syntopical Reading. By reading multiple authors on the same subject you have trouble understanding, in this case, it might be a particular pattern, you gain the highest level of understanding.
So that’s what I did: I started reading mutliple resources on GoF Patterns at the same time.
Of course, it would be ideal to have ALL the books available on the subject. I don’t. But I have several and that’s a big help. I also have a subscription to Safari (as part of being ACM.org member), and they have a few books there as well. And of course there is the Internet, loaded with many great references.
I started with the classic GoF book. As I read a pattern, let’s say Abstract Factory, I picked up another book or looked at another website. I read a few until I really “got it.” I also looked at code samples. I read some more. Eventually, I got the “aha” moment.
I’d like to share the resources I have used and that I find valuable on the subject of the Design Patterns. Just so your learning will be, let’s say, a bit simpler.
It’s already taken me a long time to get to this point. So without further ado, here they are.
BOOKS
Design Patterns by Gamma,Helm,Johnson,Vlissides
There is a reason it’s the classic book. Start your learning from this book. The explanations, reasoning and usages are the best in this book. But it’s not an easy book to read. In fact, I think it’s hard if you’re not a C++ programmer. Still, it’s a great book.
Refactoring to Patterns by Kerievsky
I appreciate this book more now than when I first bought it. Filled with very good advice. However, it only covers a few of the GoF patterns.
Agile Software Development by Martin
My favorite book. Not on Design Patterns in specific, as it also does not cover all GoF patterns, but still worth checking out the few that it does cover.
Head First Design PatternsAvailable on Safari, this book is loved by many, not so by others (including me). But still a great book on the subject.
WEBSITES
Wikipedia: Design Patterns
More than anything, it contains great examples.
dofactory
(claims to be #1 in design patterns). Valuable resource.
Houston Design Patterns
Great resource on design patterns.
Examples of GoF Patterns
Lists places in the JDK where the patterns are implemented.
INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS
Bridge vs Strategy
If you get stuck like I did, check out this url.
Factory Method
Good examples on how to implement the pattern.
A few years ago, Cedric Beust, had a blog entry with the same title. I saved it. Here’s a summary of what he recommended for staying sharp:
- Reading (a lot of reading) is certainly a great way to accelerate your skills
- Studying other languages is also a fantastic and fascinating way of learning new concepts that change the way you think.
- Spend time with “curious” colleagues.
- Practice. Find the time!
It’s a very good entry. You should take the time now and read it.
How do you stay sharp?
I think it’s safe to say that you are not going to stay sharp by not doing anything. But that, I mean, just going to work and doing what’s required of you. Sure, it can happen, but imagine how much sharper you would be if you did something in addition to that.
To be honest, I don’t know a definite answer on what’s the key to staying sharp. There are different ways that can work for you. Rather than trying to tell you what you should do, I’m just going to explain what I do.
I’ve tried many things over the years. I would say that I’m an aggressive type. I spend a lot of time on learning and improvement. And I’m trying to adjust as I go along.
So, he’re what I do to stay sharp.
Reading. I think reading is critical. I try to read at least an hour every day. Book reading, that is. Sure, there is a lot of good and helpful material/articles on the web that you can read. I do that as well. I have my list of blogs that I read. I find reading them very helpful. It helps me to know the state of things. But reading books requires you to put the effort and spend some quality time with the book. It also means that the author had put some quality time to make the book. This combination means is more valuable than just reading an article.
Over the years, I have changed the way I read books. I have converted to reading most of the books in the PDF/electronic format. I find that much more useful. And easier. I can take notes. I can read the same book at work without actually carrying it to work. Sure, I still buy a hard copy from time to time, but only the select few.
Practicing. Reading will only take you so far. It’s easy to read. I know. I’ve done that for a few years. I was on a roll, reading 300+ pages per month. But I noticed that I am not learning that much. Certainly not as much as I’d like. Plus, the rate at which I started forgetting things concerned me. Why is that? Just reading is not enough. Reading something just once might not be enough as well. I am in the process of modifying this cycle. It looks more like this now: Read. Take notes. Practice. Re-Read. Notes. Practice. Do what works for you. One thing is clear: by reading alone you’re not going to grow. You’ve got to practice. The more the better.
Doing more with less. This is a recent revelation for me. It’s exciting to constantly move to new things. Have you noticed that getting a new book is very exciting? But after you put the book on a shelf and it sits there for a while, something happens. Your interest in that book decreases after a while. It’s not new anymore. Not in your mind. You have discovered something else that’s new. Maybe you got a different book. So you focus shifts, that new thing is more “interesting.” It’s the same with reading. Once I am almost at the end of a book, I’d like to move on to the next. Even writing a review for that book seems tedious. I’d like to start reading a new book right away. But I have to break that cycle. I noticed that this is one of the BIG reasons why I don’t learn as much as I’d like. I’m trying to do too many things. Not good. Here’s what I am trying to do now to break this cycle. Before I move on to the next great thing, I have to make sure that I really learned it. And that means re-reading the book. That means writing a project based on the new information. That means writing a blog entry. That means creating a wiki/learning page. You see: that means doing more with less!
I know that the old way didn’t work for me. It’s something that I had to change. It’s still too early for me to report the results. It’s not easy to adjust. But I believe it’s the right path for me.
Staying sharp is not easy. But if you read a few books a year, you will learn more than most. Steve McConnell is Code Complete says: “One book is more than most programmers read each year (DeMarco and Lister 1999). A little reading goes a long way toward professional advancement. If you read even one good programming book every two months, roughly 35 pages a week, you’ll soon have a firm grasp on the industry and distinguish yourself from nearly everyone around you.” You just have to remember to do something with that knowledge to make it “stick.”