Analysis

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Analysis

Pattern comparison

Reviewing 3 patterns.

Criteria
structuralCompositeView pattern
behavioralMementoView pattern
behavioralStateView pattern
Basics
Categorystructuralbehavioralbehavioral
SummaryCompose objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies and let clients work with individual and composite objects through the same interface.——
IntentCompose objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies and let clients work with individual and composite objects through the same interface.Capture and externalize an object's state so it can be restored to a previous point in time.Allow an object to alter its behavior when its internal state changes by delegating state-specific behavior to separate state objects.
Decision factors
ProblemA system needs to treat individual objects and groups of objects uniformly, but the hierarchy becomes difficult to manage with separate code paths.An object's internal state must be saved and restored later without exposing its implementation details.An object behaves differently depending on its internal state, and conditional logic is becoming hard to manage.
Tradeoffs
  • 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.
  • Snapshots can consume memory if many states are stored.
  • Care must be taken to keep mementos immutable and hidden from outside code.
  • Can introduce many small classes if the state graph is large
  • State transitions may become harder to trace if spread across multiple classes
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 notesComposite 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.Memento is useful for undo/redo, checkpoints, draft recovery, and any workflow where state history matters.State is useful for workflows, media players, order lifecycles, and any domain where behavior changes as the object moves through a lifecycle.