Analysis

Compare patterns

Evaluate design patterns side by side across intent, tradeoffs, languages, and integration fit.

Choose patterns

Select up to 3 patterns

Current selection

3 of 3 selected

You can now review the differences across the comparison table below.

Analysis

Pattern comparison

Reviewing 3 patterns.

Criteria
structuralFlyweightView pattern
behavioralMediatorView pattern
structuralProxyView pattern
Basics
Categorystructuralbehavioralstructural
Summary———
IntentUse sharing to support large numbers of fine-grained objects efficiently by separating shared intrinsic state from per-object extrinsic state.Define an object that encapsulates communication between a set of objects, keeping them from referring to each other directly.Provide a surrogate or placeholder for another object to control access to it.
Decision factors
ProblemA system creates a large number of similar objects, but storing all of their state separately uses too much memory.Multiple objects need to coordinate behavior, but direct references between them create tight coupling and complex dependencies.A client needs to interact with an object indirectly because the real object may be expensive, sensitive, or remote.
Tradeoffs
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Adds another layer of indirection
  • Can make the design more complex when the extra control is unnecessary
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
  • Web
  • Backend
  • Mobile
  • UI kits
  • Cross-platform systems
  • Web
  • Backend
  • Mobile
  • UI kits
  • Cross-platform systems
  • Web
  • Backend
  • Mobile
  • UI kits
  • Cross-platform systems
Integration notesFlyweight is useful when thousands or millions of similar objects need to be represented efficiently, such as trees, glyphs, tiles, or UI tokens.Mediator is useful for chat systems, form coordination, workflow orchestration, and any domain where many components must collaborate without knowing about each other.Proxy is useful for lazy loading, access control, caching, logging, and remote service wrappers.