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- pattern (pàt´ern) noun
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- 1. a. A model or an original used as an archetype. b. A person or thing considered worthy of imitation.
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- 2. A plan, diagram, or model to be followed in making things: a dress pattern.
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- 3. A representative sample; a specimen. See synonyms at ideal.
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- 4. a. An artistic or decorative design: a paisley pattern. See synonyms at figure. b. A design of natural or accidental origin: patterns of bird formations.
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- 5. A consistent, characteristic form, style, or method, as:. a. A composite of traits or features characteristic of an individual or a group: one's pattern of behavior. b. Form and style in an artistic work or body of artistic works.
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- 6. a. The configuration of gunshots upon a target that is used as an indication of skill in shooting. b. The distribution and spread, around a targeted region, of spent shrapnel, bomb fragments, or shot from a shotgun.
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- 7. Enough material to make a complete garment.
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- 8. A test pattern.
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- 9. The flight path of an aircraft about to land: a flight pattern.
See
DesignPatterns for the predominant definition of
design-pattern used in software design.
Discussion:
From CommunityLifeCycle where the (mis)use of the word "pattern" caused some potential confusion. Or maybe this is about what constitutes appropriate content for Wiki. Suddenly I'm not sure -- PhilGoodwin
[This] is not a "pattern", at least in the sense of
ChristopherAlexander's work, the
DesignPatterns book, and the
PortlandPatternRepository. The life-cycle above is an interesting and possibly useful description of several communities. It is not "a solution to a problem in a context". It does not seem to fit any other definition of "pattern" commonly used in this community. Not all good ideas are patterns. --
CliffordAdams
At least one person objects to my objection above. Perhaps the old definitions of "pattern" are too confining. Perhaps the C2 wiki should become a "good idea" rather than just a "pattern" repository. In any case, I think it is proper to point out that "pattern" has a specific meaning to many people here. --
CliffordAdams (who encourages more discussion on this topic, and would love to learn something)
I'd call
CommunityLifeCycle a descriptive pattern as opposed to a prescriptive pattern, in that it abstracts a description of ways in which problems have been solved or not solved in a variety of contexts. In some ways, now that I think of it it's very similar to the
ProjectLifeCycle described in most
SoftwareEngineering textbooks. --
LarryPrice
It was something I noticed after the fact, but it's not so strange given that any project involving more than a few people starts to form a community.
And lets not forget about patterns capturing the
QualityWithoutaName. Lest we forget, Qwan is an aspect of living communities.
Patterns are generally confused with
PatternForm. Many non-patterns can and have been written in
PatternForm. It would seem patterns are something more than the structure imposed on them. Then, a
pattern could be considered to be a story with
ThreeExamples. This is a useful distinction to make because stories are usually interesting in their own right. I suspect this could lead to an internally consistent set of stories. This set might be referred to a
StoryLanguage, a much weaker cousin of a
PatternLanguage. Patterns are a subset of stories. --
SunirShah
I think that a pattern has to describe a problem and a solution as well, at very least, to be a Pattern. --
PhilGoodwin
I wonder if maybe the alexandrine form and it's derivatives are a bit too constrained of a definition of patterns, clearly
CommunityLifeCycle is not a pattern in the classical sense, yet it does expose
PatternsAndAntiPatterns in a way that seems productive. Perhaps we need investigate not just the
MetaPatterns of
DefinitionOfPattern and
ValueOfPatterns but dig down into the roots of what makes a pattern, at least in the software world. --
LarryPrice
maybe
PatternPrimitives
Aside from any
DefinitionOfPattern, could we ask what is the
ValueOfPatterns? How do they contribute and what do they contribute?
See:
IdeaForm --
RandyStafford (03/20/2000)
CategoryDefinition