Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture, Volume 2, Patterns for Concurrent and Networked Objects

Chapter 7

The Past, Present, and Future of Patterns

“Prediction is hard, especially about the future.”

Yogi Berra, Philosopher in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Philosopher of science James Burke is fond of noting that history rarely happens in the right order or at the right time, but the job of a historian is to make it appear as if it did. One benefit of writing a series of Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture (POSA) books is we have the opportunity to revisit our earlier predictions, summarize what actually occurred, and examine why it occurred the way it did.

This chapter revisits our 1996 forecasts on ‘where patterns will go’ that appeared in the first volume of the POSA series, A System of Patterns [POSA1]. We discuss the directions that patterns actually took during the past four years, analyze where patterns are now, and revise our vision about their future given the benefit of hindsight.

7.1 What Has Happened in the Past Four Years

In A System of Patterns [POSA1] we predicted how we thought patterns would evolve. Four years later we iterate through the same parts of the corresponding chapter in this book and summarize what actually transpired. We reference much of the relevant work during this period, although our list is not exhaustive. Additional references are available at http://hillside.net/patterns/.

Patterns

In 1996 we predicted that many patterns for many software development domains would be (re)discovered and documented during the next several years. We expected ...