Analysis

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Analysis

Pattern comparison

Reviewing 3 patterns.

Criteria
structuralAdapterView pattern
structuralCompositeView pattern
behavioralStateView pattern
Basics
Categorystructuralstructuralbehavioral
SummaryConvert the interface of a class or module into another interface clients expect.Compose objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies and let clients work with individual and composite objects through the same interface.—
IntentAllow incompatible interfaces to work together without changing the consuming code.Compose objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies and let clients work with individual and composite objects through the same interface.Allow an object to alter its behavior when its internal state changes by delegating state-specific behavior to separate state objects.
Decision factors
ProblemA client needs to talk to a legacy class or external service whose interface does not match the rest of the codebase.A system needs to treat individual objects and groups of objects uniformly, but the hierarchy becomes difficult to manage with separate code paths.An object behaves differently depending on its internal state, and conditional logic is becoming hard to manage.
Tradeoffs
  • Adds an extra layer of indirection.
  • Can hide useful vendor-specific capabilities if overused.
  • Keeps integration code isolated from core domain logic.
  • Can make the design more abstract and harder to follow.
  • May require careful handling of operations that only apply to some nodes in the tree.
  • Makes recursive tree operations and client code much simpler.
  • Can introduce many small classes if the state graph is large
  • State transitions may become harder to trace if spread across multiple classes
Practical fit
Languages
  • typescript
  • java
  • python
  • go
  • csharp
  • dotnet
  • react
  • angular
  • react-native
  • typescript
  • java
  • python
  • angular
  • react
  • react-native
  • csharp
  • dotnet
  • typescript
  • java
  • python
  • angular
  • react
  • react-native
  • csharp
  • dotnet
Platforms
  • applications
  • apis
  • service layers
  • integrations
  • web
  • backend
  • mobile
  • ui kits
  • cross-platform systems
  • Web
  • Backend
  • Mobile
  • UI kits
  • Cross-platform systems
Integration notesAdapters are useful when exposing a stable boundary over a legacy API, vendor SDK, or payload format mismatch.Composite is useful when a hierarchy of nested objects should expose a common interface, such as files and folders, menus and submenus, org charts, widget trees, or scene graphs.State is useful for workflows, media players, order lifecycles, and any domain where behavior changes as the object moves through a lifecycle.