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Origin of Design Patterns

publish date: 2026/06/12 10:18:10.632662 UTC

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Design patterns were derived from ideas originally put forward by Christopher Alexander. What was the key insight from Alexander's work that was applied to software design?

That patterns eliminate the need for any software testing

That there are certain common patterns of design that are inherently effective and pleasing - a pattern is a description of the problem and the essence of its solution, so the solution may be reused in different settings

That all software can be described using exactly 23 patterns and nothing else

That software design should always be done graphically, never in text

Correct Answer

Explanation

Design patterns were derived from Christopher Alexander's idea (Alexander 1979) that there are common patterns of building design that are inherently effective. Applied to software, a pattern is a description of the problem and the essence of its solution, so that the solution may be reused in different settings. The pattern is not a detailed specification - it is a template for a design solution that can be instantiated in different ways.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

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Design Patterns