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Chain of Responsibilitybehavioral
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Mediatorbehavioral
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Observerbehavioral
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Criteria	behavioralChain of ResponsibilityView pattern	behavioralMediatorView pattern	behavioralObserverView pattern
Basics
Category	behavioral	behavioral	behavioral
Summary	Pass a request through a sequence of handlers until one handles it or the chain ends.	—	—
Intent	Pass requests along a chain of handlers until one of them handles the request or the request reaches the end of the chain.	Define an object that encapsulates communication between a set of objects, keeping them from referring to each other directly.	Define a subscription mechanism so multiple observers can react to subject events without the subject knowing concrete subscriber details.
Decision factors
Problem	A request must pass through multiple possible handlers, but the sender should not need to know which handler will process it.	Multiple objects need to coordinate behavior, but direct references between them create tight coupling and complex dependencies.	A system needs to notify multiple dependent objects when state changes occur, but hardcoding those dependencies makes the design rigid and tightly coupled.
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.	The mediator can become large and complex if it takes on too much coordination logic. Centralizing behavior can make the mediator a single point of failure if it is poorly designed.	Notification flows can become hard to trace when many observers react to the same event Observers may receive updates they do not need unless subscriptions are carefully designed
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 Event-driven systems
Integration notes	Chain of Responsibility is useful for validation pipelines, support routing, approval flows, and any system where requests may be processed by different handlers in sequence.	Mediator is useful for chat systems, form coordination, workflow orchestration, and any domain where many components must collaborate without knowing about each other.	Observers work well inside a single application boundary for UI events, domain events, and in-process notifications where subscribers change dynamically.