# A Quiet Defense of Patterns

DevFeed: [A Quiet Defense of Patterns](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/a-quiet-defense-of-patterns-12469.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<http://brooker.co.za/blog/2015/01/25/patterns.html>)

Author: Marc Brooker

Published: 2015-01-25T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Marc Brooker's Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/marc-brooker-s-blog.md>), [Marc Brooker's Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/marc-brooker-s-blog-2.md>)

Topics: [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>)

Tags: [design-patterns](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/design-patterns.md>), [programming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/programming.md>), [reviews](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/reviews.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [technical](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/technical.md>)

## AI overview

An essay revisiting software patterns and the controversy surrounding Design Patterns. It considers how patterns describe recurring problems and reusable solutions, while arguing that debates about technology and engineering should remain grounded in human concerns.

## Source excerpt

A Quiet Defense of Patterns Twenty years late to the party. I find myself coming back to Patterns of Software every few years. I think about it often, mostly when I am doing code reviews. One great part is the front matter: a short debate between the author and Christopher Alexander, first author of the much-celebrated A Pattern Language. The elements of this language are entities called patterns. Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over 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. - A Pattern Language, Alexander et al In some programming circles, Alexander's book is treated with religious reverence. A kind of Tao Te Ching of oblique anecdotes. Concrete enough to to sound solid, but not enough to be actionable. A source of in-jokes and unhelpful advice. It's also a source of conflict for this same group, because it was an inspiration for something widely reviled: the Gang of Four book. No design patterns are necessary. In any language. - Jan Hudec When Design Patterns first came out, back in the mid-90s, it captivated me. My access to technical books was limited, and I didn't have a copy of the book itself, but for a short time I was obsessed with the debate about it. It incited anger, it incited self-righteousness, it incited smugness about missing language features. For each of these loud critics, it seemed to have an equal and opposite supporter. From the community's reaction, I couldn't wait to read Design Patterns. Judging by the controversy, I felt like it must be a deeply important book, with something profound to say about software and those who build it. As for literary criticism in general: I have long felt that any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel or a play or a poem is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae or a ba