SOFTWARE PATTERNS

To understand software patterns one needs to understand what software engineering means as the two go hand in hand; thus software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of SOFTWARE. Software engineering encompasses knowledge, tools, and methods for defining software and performing software design, software testing, and software maintenance tasks as well as software construction.

What is a software pattern?
It is the combination of a software engineering problem, which arises when engineering software with a corresponding solution within a specific context. Such a solution can be reused by another software engineer facing the same problem.

Frequently asked questions about software engineering;

-what is the use for software pattern?
Software pattern present solutions to software engineering problems faced during the process of software engineering within a particular context.



-Is prior knowledge needed about patterns for one to use them?
Not necessarily for as long as on knows what the problem is about and ready to use the solution available that is tried over a period of time. A pattern is where theory and practice meet to reinforce and complement one another, by showing that the structure it describes is useful, useable, and used!

-What is a pattern catalogue?
A pattern catalog is a collection of related patterns. It typically subdivides the patterns into at least a small number of broad categories and may include some amount of cross referencing between patterns.

-What is a Pattern System?
A pattern system is a cohesive set of related patterns which work together to support the construction and evolution of whole architectures. Not only is it organized into related groups and subgroups at multiple levels of granularity, it describes the many interrelationships between the patterns and their groupings and how they may be combined and composed to solve more complex problems. The patterns in a pattern system should all be described in a consistent and uniform style and need to cover a sufficiently broad base of problems and solutions to enable significant portions of complete architectures to be built.