Pattern : PROBLEM/SOLUTION
SUMMARY
- CONTEXT : You are writing the Pattern Language Summary
of a pattern language that includes patterns which may be useful
individually as well as within the flow of the language. Many of the
patterns have Noun Phrase Names based on the solution.
-
PROBLEM : How do you make it easy for a reader to pick out
useful patterns that solve their problem?
- FORCES :
- The problems and
solutions in a pattern language may be spread across
many pages of text. It could be very time consuming to
read the whole language in search of a particular (yet
to be identified) pattern.
- A person using a
pattern language may not need to use all the patterns in
the language (and certainly not all at once).
- Summarizing patterns in the introduction
takes extra effort and increases the size of the pattern language.
- SOLUTION : Provide a table in the Pattern Language Summary that summarizes all of the patterns, including a brief description
of each pattern's problem and the corresponding solution. You can do this by collecting the Intent Catalogs for all the patterns in the
language into a single convenient table as part of the Pattern Language Summary or in an Appendix or References section.
-
RATIONALE : This additional information helps the reader of the pattern language quickly zero in on the pattern(s) that may solve
their specific problem.
- EXAMPLES :
