NAME: Relationship to other Patterns CATEGORY: Pattern Structure and Semantics
- CONTEXT: You are writing the Related Patterns element of a pattern with Mandatory Elements
Present.
- PROBLEM: How do you make a pattern part of a larger group of patterns?
- FORCES:
- Few patterns are
truly isolated; they usually lead to other patterns or
they solve problems set up by other patterns.
- Patterns are more
useful if their relationships to other patterns are
documented.
- Determining and
describing the related patterns can be hard work.
- Too many
references to patterns may distract the reader from the
solution you are trying to describe.
- It may be hard to find all the related patterns.
- SOLUTION:
- One of the key advantages of a pattern language over a standalone pattern is its ability
to guide the reader to the solution of a complex problem by leading them from one pattern to another. Stand-alone patterns
have to work harder to establish their relationships.
- The pattern may have alternative patterns which solve the same problem in different
ways.
- The pattern description should point out similarities or differences from other patterns
which might seem, on the surface, to be the same.
- RATIONALE: Understanding the relationships between a pattern and other patterns makes a pattern more
understandable and
useful since alternative solutions can be assessed and follow-on patterns can be found and applied.
- DIAGRAM: We are related !!!!
