Discussion of Structural Patterns

You may have noticed similarities between the structural patterns, especially in their participants and collaborations. This is so probably because structural patterns rely on the same small set of language mechanisms for structuring code and objects: single and multiple inheritance for class-based patterns, and object composition for object patterns. But the similarities belie the different intents among these patterns. In this section we compare and contrast groups of structural patterns to give you a feel for their relative merits.

Adapter versus Bridge

The Adapter and Bridge patterns have some common attributes. Both promote flexibility by providing a level of indirection to another object. Both involve forwarding requests to this object from an interface other than its own.

The key difference between these patterns lies in their intents. Adapter focuses on resolving incompatibilities between two existing interfaces. It doesn't focus on how those interfaces are implemented, nor does it consider how they might evolve independently. It's a way of making two independently designed classes work together without reimplementing one or the other. Bridge, on the other hand, bridges an abstraction and its (potentially numerous) implementations. It provides a stable interface to clients even as it lets you vary the classes that implement it. It also accommodates new implementations as the system evolves.

As a result of these differences, Adapter and Bridge are often used at different points in the software lifecycle. An adapter often becomes necessary when you discover that two incompatible classes should work together, generally to avoid replicating code. The coupling is unforeseen. In contrast, the user of a bridge understands up-front that an abstraction must have several implementations, and both may evolve independently. The Adapter pattern makes things work after they're designed; Bridge makes them work before they are. That doesn't mean Adapter is somehow inferior to Bridge; each pattern merely addresses a different problem.

You might think of a facade (see Facade ) as an adapter to a set of other objects. But that interpretation overlooks the fact that a facade defines a new interface, whereas an adapter reuses an old interface. Remember that an adapter makes two existing interfaces work together as opposed to defining an entirely new one.

Composite versus Decorator versus Proxy

Composite and Decorator have similar structure diagrams, reflecting the fact that both rely on recursive composition to organize an open-ended number of objects. This commonality might tempt you to think of a decorator object as a degenerate composite, but that misses the point of the Decorator pattern. The similarity ends at recursive composition, again because of differing intents.

Decorator is designed to let you add responsibilities to objects without subclassing. It avoids the explosion of subclasses that can arise from trying to cover every combination of responsibilities statically. Composite has a different intent. It focuses on structuring classes so that many related objects can be treated uniformly, and multiple objects can be treated as one. Its focus is not on embellishment but on representation.

These intents are distinct but complementary. Consequently, the Composite and Decorator patterns are often used in concert. Both lead to the kind of design in which you can build applications just by plugging objects together without defining any new classes. There will be an abstract class with some subclasses that are composites, some that are decorators, and some that implement the fundamental building blocks of the system. In this case, both composites and decorators will have a common interface. From the point of view of the Decorator pattern, a composite is a ConcreteComponent. From the point of view of the Composite pattern, a decorator is a Leaf. Of course, they don't have to be used together and, as we have seen, their intents are quite different.

Another pattern with a structure similar to Decorator's is Proxy . Both patterns describe how to provide a level of indirection to an object, and the implementations of both the proxy and decorator object keep a reference to another object to which they forward requests. Once again, however, they are intended for different purposes.

Like Decorator, the Proxy pattern composes an object and provides an identical interface to clients. Unlike Decorator, the Proxy pattern is not concerned with attaching or detaching properties dynamically, and it's not designed for recursive composition. Its intent is to provide a stand-in for a subject when it's inconvenient or undesirable to access the subject directly because, for example, it lives on a remote machine, has restricted access, or is persistent.

In the Proxy pattern, the subject defines the key functionality, and the proxy provides (or refuses) access to it. In Decorator, the component provides only part of the functionality, and one or more decorators furnish the rest. Decorator addresses the situation where an object's total functionality can't be determined at compile time, at least not conveniently. That open-endedness makes recursive composition an essential part of Decorator. That isn't the case in Proxy, because Proxy focuses on one relationship—between the proxy and its subject—and that relationship can be expressed statically.

These differences are significant because they capture solutions to specific recurring problems in object-oriented design. But that doesn't mean these patterns can't be combined. You might envision a proxy-decorator that adds functionality to a proxy, or a decorator-proxy that embellishes a remote object. Although such hybrids might be useful (we don't have real examples handy), they are divisible into patterns that are useful.