I have heard and tried to use Design Patterns ever since (and maybe before) the Gang of Four book. I have read and used Peter Coads pattern book, as well as using his Together product before it was bought by Borland. One of my more useful books was “Applying UML and Patterns” by Graig Larman. I continue to read and try to implement patterns in my work. However, I still haven’t got the hang of it. Just using good object-oriented techniques and using existing published code as templates doesn’t seem like a long term solution.
At the last conference, I attended a tutorial by Alan Shalloway of NetObjectives and bought his book; “Design Patterns Explained”. I have high hopes that this book will be that key that unlocks the design patterns concept. Having just read the preface, Alan had a become a very good object-oriented designer, and had learned about design patterns. The promise of his book, is that he will teach you how to apply patterns and learn why they work and how they work together.
I think I had a similar experience learning object-oriented coding – you struggle to understand why while you implement the techniques until at some point in time you cross over the chasm and realize what all the theory is about. There are two ways this happens, trial and failure, and/or instruction. This time maybe I can use this book to avoid some of those trials!
BTW, if you ever have a chance to attend a tutorial or read a book/article by Alan Shalloway, I highly recommend taking the time.
Allen