The term
OverdoseEffect was introduced to me by
AlistairCockburn. I believe as the pattern promoters we failed to more prominently state the side effects and possible overdose issues related with pattern use.
Do we need a pattern FDA to give out laws about how to describe patterns or should we use double size print for the
PatternConsequences?
I do not know: should I feel guilty or innocent about
PatternAbuse?
--
PeterSommerlad
Not enough emphasis is given to the
context in the GoF book. If one applies a pattern only in its appropriate context,
PatternOverdose is not an issue.
IMHO, new pattern books should use a form closer to that of
ChristopherAlexander's books, in which the context is described straight away, and in great detail.
--
NatPryce
I would guess that most of
ChristopherAlexander's patterns are harder to overdose than the GoF patterns. Unless you have a building with tens of entrances it would be hard to overuse a pattern like "
EntranceTransition". But it's real easy to go overboard with
AbstractFactory when you first come in contact with it.
--
AndersBengtsson
Something that is even more prominent, horrible, and irreversable is
PatternInconsistency (aka
PatternChaos). This is where a system uses patterns so inconsistently, so out of context (as mentioned above), with different naming conventions (listener sometimes observer others), and sometimes rigorously then other times not that the end result becomes an
AmorphousBlobOfHumanInsensitivity. The problem isn't the dosage of patterns but the resultant chaos from using many inconsistently and haphazardly. --
RobertDiFalco
CategoryPattern