Convenient by Design
27 Apr 2023
The natural world creates an inclination towards patterns. There are patterns in all aspects of our reality. There are patterns in evolution, traits that are favorable occurring naturally in two unrelated species. Patterns in nature and space with the golden ratio: An iconic spiral appearing in galaxies, sea shells, and the way that plants grow their leaves. Patterns occur in our natural world because they are usually the most convenient way in which the processes of reality fall into place.
In the same way that they are naturally convenient, they are fundamental to manmade creations. There are patterns in how we construct buildings. Foundations built upon the same principles to maximize structural integrity regardless of the type of building. And there are patterns in programming; Tried and true principles upon which we lay the foundation for software. Design patterns are convenient principles and ways to approach reoccuring problems.
What patterns may lie in code?
Design patterns are present within all code whether by established conventions or by natural convenience. Design patterns within code, particularly my own, appear in ways such as templates, which make creating pages faster than coding from the ground up. They not only expedite the process of coding certain pages, but they standardize how pages are made and thus it is easier to identify problems when they occur. If something is amiss but made with a template, the designer can refer to other pages that use the template and see differences that may be causing the issues.
Another design pattern that is prevalent in my work process, is the singleton pattern. The creation of one instance of which our code interacts with. This pattern is present within all of our website projects in the form of user login and registration. All of that information, who gets access to what, is all within the same place regardless of the page.
Beauty in patterns
Patterns occur within every aspect of our reality because they are convenient. It is no wonder at all that there are patterns within the manmade aspects of our reality, for they make our lives easier. Thus in programming, patterns exist by design. There are standards to coding, and proven ways to solve reoccuring problems. Design patterns are the natural world’s inclination towards convenience.