How to Use the Pattern Library

Most patterns can be taught and referenced in three ways. You can read each pattern lightly and utilize those patterns you feel will add benefit. Another option is simply to use the library list above as a reference for the future, assuming the descriptions are enough for you to get a feel for how they are implemented. However, that said, I do recommend you give each pattern a chance. That doesn't mean read this book in its entirety, although that would be great. I intended this book to act as a guide and reference. Reading even those patterns you don't immediately need will help your thought processes and may even give you different ideas. In fact, many of these patterns have been used in ways not originally intended by the commercial product featured in Chapter 6. Hopefully, they will provide you with "design food for thought," as well. I also wanted this book to stand by itself so that those new to patterns and even new to object orientation can learn the basics, as well as benefit from the book's main content.

Hopefully this chapter gave you good idea of what this book is intending to provide. The world of .NET is here to stay, and the model is quite a leap for Microsoft. With .NET, you also have at your fingertips the ease of decoupling systems across an Internet backbone. You not only have to contend with a new technology framework but you also have this new distributed power at your hands. Those new to true object-oriented concepts and their best practices may find this more of a challenge. It is also quite an opportunity to experience the best of so many technologies that Microsoft has seemingly packaged up into one "box." The remainder of this book hopes to give you a cookbook of ideas, practices, and named patterns so that you have a better opportunity to provide sound designs, sound architectures, and sound enterprise implementation using .NET.