Analysis

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Analysis

Pattern comparison

Reviewing 3 patterns.

Criteria
behavioralIteratorView pattern
structuralProxyView pattern
behavioralVisitorView pattern
Basics
Categorybehavioralstructuralbehavioral
Summary———
IntentProvide a way to access elements of an aggregate sequentially while hiding the underlying representation.Provide a surrogate or placeholder for another object to control access to it.Separate an algorithm from the object structure it operates on by moving behavior into visitor objects.
Decision factors
ProblemA collection needs to be traversed without exposing how it is stored internally.A client needs to interact with an object indirectly because the real object may be expensive, sensitive, or remote.You need to perform operations across a set of different object types without stuffing all the logic into the objects themselves.
Tradeoffs
  • Can add extra classes and abstraction for simple collections
  • May be unnecessary when built-in language iteration is already enough
  • Adds another layer of indirection
  • Can make the design more complex when the extra control is unnecessary
  • Requires updating the visitor interface when new element types are added
  • Can be awkward if the object structure changes often
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 notesIterator is useful for pagination, custom collections, ordered traversal, and any case where clients should not know the internal data structure.Proxy is useful for lazy loading, access control, caching, logging, and remote service wrappers.Visitor is useful for AST processing, reporting, cart calculations, and exporting object structures to alternate formats.