Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture For Dummies

Assembling Your Catalog

In this section, I give you some pointers on putting your pattern catalog together.

This is your catalog, not the one and only pattern catalog for everyone in the world, so customize it to make it truly your own. Record information in your own words in a place where you'll remember it. Add to it as your needs and interests change. Refer other people to the patterns in your catalog when they ask how you solved that really difficult problem so effortlessly.

Choosing a medium

Your pattern catalog can be in whatever medium works best for you, as shown in Figure 7-1.

Make your choice of medium based on how you use patterns:

• If you take your patterns to meetings to discuss them with your colleagues, index cards work well.
• If you refer to your catalog only when you're near your computer or the web, a personal website or wiki works great because you can add hyperlinks.
• If most of your references are already on paper, a loose-leaf notebook may be the best medium for you.

Figure 7-1: A software pattern catalog can take many forms.

The most important point is to make your catalog convenient for you so that you don't forget to refer to it.

Identifying the problems ...