Essential ActionScript 2.0

This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bring on the Patterns

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If after finishing Part III, you’re keen to learn more about design patterns, you should

definitely purchase a copy of GoF. The theory in that book is language agnostic, but

the examples focus on C++ and Smalltalk.

Here’s an excerpt from GoF that introduces the concept of design patterns. It should

give you a feel for the tone of the book (while also giving the present text an opportu-

nity to pay homage to its groundbreaking work):

[Design patterns are] descriptions of communicating objects and classes that are cus-

tomized to solve a general design problem in a particular context.

A design pattern names, abstracts, and identifies the key aspects of a common design

structure that make it useful for creating reusable object-oriented design. The design

pattern identifies the participating classes and instances, their roles and collabora-

tions, and the distribution of responsibilities. Each design pattern focuses on a particu-

lar object-oriented design problem or issue. It describes when it applies, whether it can

be applied in view of other object-oriented design constraints, and the consequences

and trade-offs of its use.

If you know Java (or are willing to learn a little), you might also try Applying UML

and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis ...