Strategy Design Pattern
Links
The Strategy design motif
The informal description: Excerpts from [Gamma et al. 1995] (adapted for
this purpose):
Intent: Define a family of algorithms, encapsulate each one, and make them interchangeable. Strategy lets the algorithm vary independently from clients that use it.
Structure: Original OMT diagram converted to UML (Why
and How?):
Participants:
- Strategy: declares an interface common to all supported algorithms. Context uses this interface to call the algorithm defined by a ConcreteStrategy.
- ConcreteStrategy: implements the algorithm using the Strategy interface.
- Context:
- Is configured with a ConcreteStrategy object.
- Maintains a reference to a Strategy object.
- May define an interface that lets Strategy access its data.
Collaborations:
- Strategy and Context interact to implement the chosen algorithm. A context may pass all data required by the algorithm to the strategy when the algorithm is called. Alternatively, the context can pass itself as an argument to Strategy operations. That lets the strategy call back on the context as required.
- A context forwards requests from its clients to its strategy. Clients usually create and pass a ConcreteStrategy object to the context; thereafter, clients interact with the context exclusively. There is often a family of ConcreteStrategy classes for a client to choose from.
Formal specification
See also:
