Analysis

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Analysis

Pattern comparison

Reviewing 3 patterns.

Criteria
structuralFlyweightView pattern
behavioralMediatorView pattern
behavioralTemplate MethodView pattern
Basics
Categorystructuralbehavioralbehavioral
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.Define the skeleton of an algorithm in a base class and let subclasses override selected steps without changing the overall structure.
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.Several classes share the same algorithm structure, but some steps need to vary between implementations.
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.
  • Relies on inheritance, which can be less flexible than composition in some designs
  • May create a deep class hierarchy if many variations are needed
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.Template Method is useful when you have repeated workflows with a common sequence of steps, such as processing orders, generating reports, and importing data.