Analysis

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Abstract FactoryAdapterBridgeBuilderChain of ResponsibilityCommandCompositeDecoratorFacadeFactory MethodFlyweightInterpreterIteratorMediatorMementoObserverPrototypeProxySingletonStateStrategyTemplate MethodVisitor

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Analysis

Pattern comparison

Reviewing 3 patterns.

Criteria
behavioralChain of ResponsibilityView pattern
structuralCompositeView pattern
structuralFlyweightView pattern
Basics
Categorybehavioralstructuralstructural
SummaryPass a request through a sequence of handlers until one handles it or the chain ends.Compose objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies and let clients work with individual and composite objects through the same interface.—
IntentPass requests along a chain of handlers until one of them handles the request or the request reaches the end of the chain.Compose objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies and let clients work with individual and composite objects through the same interface.Use sharing to support large numbers of fine-grained objects efficiently by separating shared intrinsic state from per-object extrinsic state.
Decision factors
ProblemA request must pass through multiple possible handlers, but the sender should not need to know which handler will process it.A system needs to treat individual objects and groups of objects uniformly, but the hierarchy becomes difficult to manage with separate code paths.A system creates a large number of similar objects, but storing all of their state separately uses too much memory.
Tradeoffs
  • Requests can become harder to trace because control flows through multiple handlers.
  • A long chain may add overhead if many handlers are checked on every request.
  • It keeps handler logic isolated and easier to extend.
  • 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.
  • Adds complexity because state must be split into shared and unshared parts
  • Can be harder to understand when many objects depend on an external context
Practical fit
Languages
  • typescript
  • java
  • python
  • angular
  • react
  • react-native
  • csharp
  • dotnet
  • typescript
  • java
  • python
  • angular
  • react
  • react-native
  • csharp
  • dotnet
  • typescript
  • java
  • python
  • angular
  • react
  • react-native
  • csharp
  • dotnet
Platforms
  • frontend
  • backend
  • integration
  • web
  • backend
  • mobile
  • ui kits
  • cross-platform systems
  • Web
  • Backend
  • Mobile
  • UI kits
  • Cross-platform systems
Integration notesChain of Responsibility is useful for validation pipelines, support routing, approval flows, and any system where requests may be processed by different handlers in sequence.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.Flyweight is useful when thousands or millions of similar objects need to be represented efficiently, such as trees, glyphs, tiles, or UI tokens.