Design Patterns and

ColdFusion
Sean A Corfield
Consultant

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 Patterns describe problems and
solutions

“Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and

over again in our environment, and then describes the
core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that
you can use this solution a million times over, without ever
doing it the same way twice.”
-- Christopher Alexander, architect

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Alexander is not a software architect - he is a building architect!
1. Hierarchy of Open Space - big space in front, small space behind
2. Intimacy Gradient - enter into public areas, navigate into private areas
 Who am I?

• Freelance Consultant

• Previously:

• Mgr, Adobe Hosted Services

• Sr Architect, Macromedia IT

• Sr Consultant, various web co.

• Architect / Developer:

• ColdFusion since 2001

• Java since 1997

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Also manager of Bay Area ColdFusion User Group!
 What is this about?

• Common problems

• Common solutions

• Trade offs

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Show of hands:
1. Who’s using ColdFusion 8? 7? 6.1? 5 or earlier?
2. Who’s using CFCs? Who thinks they’re writing OO code? Patterns?

I want to remove some of the mystery around patterns by showing you how pervasive they are - you're
probably already using some patterns without even realizing it. I hope that you will come out of this
session with a better understanding of what patterns are how they can help you in your day-to-day
programming work - and that you will be inspired to learn more about patterns and extend yourself to
become a better developer.
 Our roadmap

• Some simple, common patterns

• Patterns and languages

• Selecting and using patterns

• Frameworks and patterns

• Recommended reading

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Simple, common pattern
examples

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 A common problem

• My web site has the same stuff at the top and

bottom of each page and I don't want to duplicate
that in every page!

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 A common solution

• Put the common stuff in separate files (header.cfm

and footer.cfm) and include them on every page.

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This is just one possible solution - a simple one.
 Trade offs

• No duplication of header and footer code now (+)

• Still have boilerplate text (includes etc) in every page

(-)

• If some pages need a different header / footer, you

either make new header / footer files for that page
or add conditional logic to the header / footer files
(-)

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Again, there are other possible solutions, more sophisticated solutions, that have different trade offs.
 Including header and footer

<cfinclude template="header.cfm" />

<h1>Welcome to my site!</h1>

<p>Let's learn about design patterns in ColdFusion!</

p>

<cfinclude template="footer.cfm" />

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Another solution might be to use content variables and a layout but we’re keeping things simple here.
 Patterns provide a common vocabulary

“An important part of patterns is trying to build a

common vocabulary, so you can say that this class is a
Remote Facade and other designers will know what you
mean.”
-- Martin Fowler

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If we use different names for the same things, we cannot communicate effectively with each other
 Pattern: Composite View

<cfinclude template="header.cfm" />

<h1>Welcome to my site!</h1>

<p>Let's learn about design patterns in

ColdFusion!</p>

<cfinclude template="footer.cfm" />

• A composite view is a view that includes other views

(conceptually or literally - as with all patterns, there are
many, many ways to implement this!)

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From Core J2EE Patterns - specifically gives the example of JSP includes.
 What is a pattern?

• Patterns have four parts:

• Name - the common vocabulary

• Problem - “forces” that determine when the

pattern is applicable

• Solution - a template for solving the problem

• Consequences - “pros and cons”

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It's important to remember that a pattern is all four parts together. A pattern is not just a solution.
Patterns may help us figure out one or more possible solutions to any given problem. The
consequences should allow us to figure out better solutions in specific circumstances.
 A common problem

• I need a single instance of an object and I need it

easily accessible everywhere in my application!

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 A common solution

• Create it at application startup and put it in

application scope so you can get at it anywhere.

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 Trade offs

• Initialization is all in one place (+)

• Easy access to objects application-wide (+)

• Application scope is referenced directly everywhere

which breaks encapsulation to some degree (-)

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We can resolve the negative and avoid having objects refer to application scope by “injecting”
dependencies - passing in the other objects they need - when those objects are created.
 APPLICATION scope usage

• This is a common idiom in ColdFusion:

• In Application.cfc’s onApplicationStart():
application.logger = createObject("component","LoggingService");

• Global access:
application.logger.info("This is a common idiom.");

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Show of hands: who is using Application.cfc?

Still using Application.cfm? You have to use conditional logic and locking to perform initialization at
application startup.
 APPLICATION / onApplicationStart()
is a pattern
• Name - Singleton

• Problem - some classes require that only a single

instance exists and that it is accessible from a well-
known place

• Solution - provide a way to create the single instance

and a global way to access that single instance

• Consequences - controlled access; ability to use

subclass; complexity of ensuring only one instance...

• ...in some languages!

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Subclass - or *any* class that provides the same API!

Java has no global variable scope and no built-in infrastructure for initialization at startup (static
members don’t have quite the same semantics). C++ also has different static member semantics. Both
languages require specific code to provide on-demand initialization and prevent multiple instances.
 Java Singleton (one possible solution)

import java.util.HashMap;
public class Singleton {
   private static HashMap map = new HashMap();
   protected Singleton() {
      // Exists only to thwart instantiation
   }
   public static synchronized Singleton getInstance(String classname) {
      Singleton singleton = (Singleton)map.get(classname);
      if(singleton != null) {
         return singleton;
      }
      try {
         singleton = (Singleton)Class.forName(classname).newInstance();
      }
      catch(Exception e) {
         e.printStackTrace();    
      }
      map.put(classname, singleton);
      return singleton;
   }
}

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This is a slightly biased comparison - this Java code is more than just a singleton: it is really a factory
that creates a single instance of any class you need. It uses a cache of objects (“identity map” pattern)
to ensure it only creates one instance of each object. But it does not really solve the problem of unique
instances since you can create, say, a MyClass instance independently of the Singleton. “synchronized”
is required - the equivalent of <cflock> in CF.
 A common problem

• I have several components that make up my user

security logic but I don't want to expose them to
other code, in case I want to change how I
implement it!

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 A common solution

• Create a new component that has a nice, simple,

high-level API (set of methods) and have it call all
your security components for you.

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 Trade offs

• Application code no longer needs to know about the

internals of your security system (+)

• Application code can still get at the “low-level”

components if it needs to (+/-)

• Some redundancy of methods between the API and

the underlying components (-)

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 Service objects and APPLICATION
scope

• Authentication system contains

• User, Credentials, Group, Permission components

• AuthenticationService provides an API:

• login(username,password), logout(), getUser()

• AuthenticationService object stored in application scope

success = application.authService.login("[email protected]","xxx");

if ( success )
name = application.authService.getUser().getFirstName();

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 That’s another pattern!

• Name - Facade

• Problem - as a subsystem grows, it becomes more

complex with a large number of smaller objects

• Solution - introduce a single component that

provides a simple API to the set of components
within the subsystem

• Consequences - shields clients from the inside of the

subsystem, reducing complexity and coupling; does
not prevent access to subsystem if needed

• Often only one instance of a facade is needed

(singleton)
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In this pattern we see another common pattern - a pattern of patterns: that many patterns depend on
other patterns. Whilst some patterns are small and self-contained, many patterns involve several
objects and interactions and their implementation usually poses problems that other patterns can help
solve.
 A common problem

• I need to apply standardized security logic to every

request in my application!

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Show of hands: who uses an application framework like Fusebox, Model-Glue or Mach-II? You’ll
recognize this...
 A common solution

• Make all requests go through a common piece of

code and apply that logic centrally, using URL
parameters to indicate what the request is really for:

• Before: /catalog.cfm and /product.cfm

• After: /index.cfm?page=catalog and /index.cfm?

page=product

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 Trade offs

• Full control over every request (+)

• All URLs look very similar (+/-)

• index.cfm may get complicated (-)

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As before, we can resolve the negative by applying additional design patterns to help simplify the code
(by refactoring and encapsulating the logic elsewhere - such as a framework).
 Flying without a framework

<cfif not structKeyExists(session,"user")>

<cfinclude template="login.cfm">

<cfelse>

<cfinclude template="#page#.cfm">

</cfif>

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login.cfm displays a form where users login (and also contains the processing code for logging in,
setting up the user (object) in session scope etc).
 Another pattern (of course)

• Name - Front Controller

• Problem - need to apply consistent logic across all

requests in an application (security, layout etc)

• Solution - route all requests through a single file that

decides how to process the request

• Consequences - centralized control, easy to change

how requests are handled in a consistent manner,
moves logic out of individual pages into controller
(which can become complex)

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Pretty much all the application frameworks implement this pattern - ColdBox, Fusebox, Mach-II,
Model-Glue.
Patterns and languages

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 Patterns are not code!

“The examples are there for inspiration and

explanation of the ideas in the patterns. They aren't
canned solutions; in all cases you'll need to do a fair bit
of work to fit them into your application.”
-- Martin Fowler
“... the code examples ... are deliberately simplified to
help understanding, and you'll find you'll need to do a
lot [of] tweaking to handle the greater demands you
face.”
-- Martin Fowler

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If you look in the books, magazines and blog articles, you will almost always see explanations of
patterns accompanied by code. A lot of people need to see code to “get it” - show of hands: who feels
they learn best by seeing example code?

Unfortunately, with patterns, this can be misleading at best and sometimes downright dangerous.
Patterns inherently have trade offs and each specific implementation of a pattern has additional trade
offs. The example code for any given pattern may just not be a good solution for you - even if the
pattern itself *is* applicable to your situation!
 Patterns and languages

• Design patterns are usually generic

• Can be applied during the design phase

• Can be applied to any implementation language

• Some patterns are language-specific

• Some languages can implement certain patterns

directly

• Some languages require pattern implementations

to be constructed

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Patterns are not code - they’re about design - which means they are broadly applicable but not
universally applicable. Composite View is from the Core J2EE Patterns book but is clearly applicable to
ColdFusion - but certainly not all the patterns in that book are applicable to ColdFusion.
 An object-oriented bias?

• Singleton and Facade refer to objects

• Most design patterns are focused on OO design

• With a procedural language, inheritance,

encapsulation and polymorphism become
“constructed patterns”

• X11 (written in C) uses structs and pointers to

functions - and conventions - to implement
object-oriented techniques

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“Although design patterns describe object-oriented designs, they are based on practical solutions that
have been implemented in mainstream object-oriented languages like Smalltalk and C++ rather than
procedural languages ... or more dynamic object-oriented languages.” -- GoF

In other words, many patterns have been identified from common solutions in languages like C++,
Java, C# etc (whether Smalltalk is “mainstream” is a matter of opinion!).
 Patterns and ColdFusion

• Most design patterns can be applied to ColdFusion

• ColdFusion, Java, C#, Smalltalk, C++ and Ruby all

have slightly(!) different language features

• Some language-specific patterns may not apply to

ColdFusion - or may apply in different ways

• We should expect to see some ColdFusion-specific

patterns evolve - but it will take time for them to get
standard names

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The difference between a *design* level pattern and a language-specific pattern is not always obvious,
especially when patterns are illustrated by implementations in a single language (GoF is good for this
since it uses Smalltalk and C++ which are very different languages - Fowler less so since it uses two
similar languages: Java and C#).
 Which way to go?

• ColdFusion...

• ...like Java?

• ...or like Ruby?

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We’re at a fork in the road. We’ve been “raised” to think of ColdFusion (MX+) as a rapid application
development layer on top of Java. Indeed, we hear “ColdFusion *is* Java”. We’ve been conditioned to
think that what’s good for Java is good for ColdFusion - we think we must write OO code and we must
use design patterns and we must follow Java’s lead.

Well, guess what? Not all Java patterns - and I mean that in the broadest sense - are applicable to
ColdFusion. In my opinion, we should look to dynamic languages like Smalltalk and Ruby for
inspiration...
 Ruby / Ruby on Rails patterns
• Famously uses Active Record design pattern for managing
persistence of objects and is core to how Rails works

• Dynamic finder methods

find_by_email_and_password("[email protected]","xxx")

find_by_colA_and_colB_and_colC(arg1,arg2,arg3)

• Dynamic methods are not possible in Java / C#

• Dynamic methods are possible in...

• ...Ruby (obviously) - using :method_missing...

• ...Smalltalk - using #doesNotUnderstand...

• ...ColdFusion - using onMissingMethod()

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Show of hands: Who has heard of Ruby on Rails? Who has used it?

Active Record is broadly applicable (in other languages) but Rails has made it really popular.

Name of method is parsed at runtime to determine what the arguments mean.

 onMissingMethod()

<cffunction name="onMissingMethod">

<cfargument name="missingMethodName">

<cfargument name="missingMethodArguments">

<cfif left(missingMethodName,8) is "find_by_">

<!---
parse col_and_col_and_col...
SQL query with arguments matched to columns
--->

<cfelse>
<!--- no such method: throw exception --->
</cfif>
</cffunction>
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The full solution is too complex to show on a slide but this should give you an idea of the structure.
onMissingMethod() is invoked when a call is made to a function that is not explicitly defined in an
object. You can then look at the function name and the arguments and decide what to do. Rails uses
this technique to implement a number of helper methods but the “pattern” doesn’t have a name yet.
 Patterns and interfaces

• Often used in design pattern code examples (e.g.,

Java) or UML diagrams that illustrate concepts

• Smalltalk has no interfaces (but was used to illustrate

Gang of Four patterns)

• Interfaces are not needed but are useful as a

descriptive tool in explaining pattern
implementations

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If you read about patterns, you’ll see interfaces used extensively. You’ll see Java code examples with
interfaces all over the place. You can be forgiven for thinking that you need interfaces to implement
patterns. The “classic” design patterns book used both C++ *and* Smalltalk to illustrate patterns and
neither language has interfaces (C++ has a construct that is similar to an interface but Smalltalk has
no such construct). Ruby does not have interfaces either.
 Patterns and interfaces (continued)

• ColdFusion 8 introduces <cfinterface>

• You can use it to help implement patterns the “Java

way”

• Or you can use “duck typing”** and conventions to

implement patterns the “Smalltalk way” (or “Ruby
way”)
** Duck typing: using weak typing (returntype="any"
and type="any") and passing in any object that provides
the necessary methods to satisfy the “contract”

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<cfinterface> specifies the methods a component provides (API) but not how they behave.
<cfcomponent> *implements* the interface to specify the behavior. An interface can have many
implementations. I was an early - and vocal - advocate of adding interfaces. I submitted the original
ER and rallied the community to vote for it. But duck typing is more powerful and appropriate for
ColdFusion - onMissingMethod() lets you implement any methods dynamically.
Selecting and using
patterns

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 Patterns provide guidance

• Patterns have consequences that help us decide which

solution is more appropriate in a particular situation
“Using, say, an object-relational mapping tool still means
that you have to make decisions about how to map
certain situations. Reading the patterns should give you
some guidance in making the choices.”
-- Martin Fowler

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This is all about choosing the “best” solution for your particular situation. Or at least the “better”
solution given a number of possible choices. There are no absolute best solutions - the choice
depends on the forces (problem specifics).
 Patterns are not just solutions

“When people begin to look at design patterns, they

often focus on the solutions the patterns offer. This
seems reasonable because they are advertised as
providing good solutions to the problems at hand.
However, this is starting at the wrong end. When you
learn patterns by focusing on the solutions they
present, it makes it hard to determine the situations in
which a pattern applies. This only tells us what to do
but not when to use it or why to do it.”
-- Alan Shalloway

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 Pattern catalogs

• Not like the SEARS

catalog...

• You don’t just put

together a collection of
patterns and... voilà,
instant application!

• Instead, think of academic

catalogs that organize and
classify items so that you
can find things easily

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When you first start using design patterns, there is the temptation to treat these books like a grocery
list of ingredients that are necessary for a successful application. Remember that design patterns are
about forces and applicability as much as they are about templates for solutions. They can be
inspiration when you’re stuck on a problem - they can provide guidance when you’re not sure which
way to solve a problem. They are not “building blocks”.
 Types of patterns

• The “classic” software design patterns book has:

• Creational, Structural, Behavioral

• Core J2EE Design Patterns has:

• Presentation Tier, Business Tier, Integration

• Martin Fowler's enterprise application patterns book

has ten categories including three for object-
relational alone

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I'm not going to go too deep into classification of patterns but I want to give you a sense for how they
are typically organized within the books (catalogs), partly because each book handles it differently.
 Design Patterns (Gang of Four)

• Creational patterns

• Abstract Factory, Builder, Factory Method,

Prototype, Singleton

• Structural patterns

• Adapter, Bridge, Composite, Decorator, Facade,

Flyweight, Proxy

• Behavioral patterns

• Chain of Responsibility, Command, Interpreter,

Iterator, Mediator, Memento, Observer, State,
Strategy, Template Method,Visitor
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The classic design patterns book is very generic and therefore classified patterns based on how you
build stuff, how you organize stuff and how you implement your workflows. These patterns are very
broadly applicable (although a number of them are not actually very common in ColdFusion
applications - because we don't often encounter the problems they solve).
 Core J2EE Patterns

• Presentation tier

• Intercepting Filter, Context Object, Front Controller,

Application Controller,View Helper, Composite View,
Dispatcher View, Service To Worker

• Business tier

• Business Delegate, Service Locator, Session Facade, Application

Service, Business Object, Composite Entity, Transfer Object, T O
Assembler,Value List Handler

• Integration tier

• Data Access Object, Service Activator, Domain Store, Web Service

Broker

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The Core J2EE Patterns book is organized very differently and will look much more familiar to
ColdFusion developers because we (mostly) already think in terms of the tiers mentioned in the book.
However, several of these design patterns have appeared as a response to certain problems which are
Java-specific (in particular addressing the overhead of communications in client-server architectures
based on EJB).
Frameworks and
patterns

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 Frameworks are full of patterns

• Frameworks are designed to solve common problems

• Application frameworks usually implement several patterns

• Front Controller - everything goes through index.cfm

• Model-View-Controller - segregation of the presentation and

business tiers

• Identity Map - a cache accessed by a unique key

• Context Object - encapsulating information about a request, e.g.,

event

• ...

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Since patterns are applicable to common problems and offer templates for solutions to those
problems, it should be no surprise that application frameworks - which all solve similar problems -
are implementing a number of common patterns (often in very different ways).
Some specific patterns in frameworks

• ColdSpring

• Chain of Responsibility - each “aspect” calls methods on the next

“aspect” until the underlying business object is reached

• Identity Map - cache of objects accessed by “id” (bean name)

• Proxy - same API as your business objects but intercepts method

calls to execute before, after or around “advice”

• Model-Glue 2.0 aka “Unity”

• Adapter - to provide a common API to different persistence

engines

• Tartan

• Command - encapsulates behavior in an object with an execute()

method

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 Patterns in Reactor

• Abstract Factory

• To manage objects for different databases

• Active Record

• Each business object knows how to save and load itself

• Factory Method

• Data access objects, gateways, metadata and records

• Transfer Object

• A lightweight object for moving data between application tiers

• ...and others

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 Patterns in Transfer

• Data Mapper

• Maps your business objects to & from tables in the database

• Decorator

• Extend the functionality of generated objects by adding your own

methods or "overriding" the generated methods

• Factory Method

• Business objects are created by name (and may be decorators or

"basic" generated objects)

• Identity Map

• Object cache, each object is referenced by its primary key

• ...and others

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Recommended reading

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 Design Pattern Books (I)

• There are a number of good books about design

patterns

• Most of them assume knowledge of OO

• Most of them are “catalogs” that you can dip into as

needed
Design Patterns
“Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented
Software”
Gamma, Helm, Johnson,Vlissides

The “Gang of Four” Book containing 23

patterns

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 Design Pattern Books (II)
Core J2EE Patterns
“Best Practices and Design Strategies”
Deepak Alur, John Crupi, Dan Malik

Fairly Java-specific but quite a few useful

lessons for web applications in general

Design Patterns Explained

“A New Perspective on Object Oriented
Design”
Alan Shalloway, James Trott

A good introduction to OO and the GoF

design patterns

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 Design Pattern Books (III)

Patterns of Enterprise Application

Architecture
Martin Fowler

Catalog of 51 patterns with many variants

for each type of software problem

Refactoring to Patterns
Joshua Kerievsky

Practical applications of patterns to

improve code structure and maintainability

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 Thank you!

• Any questions?

• Contact me:

• [email protected]

• http://corfield.org/

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