Case Study of Writing the Extensible Visitor Pattern

From APIDesign

Have You Ever Wondered...?

Do you wonder whether knowledge of proper design patterns makes you good API designer? Yes and no. Of course knowing regular design patterns simplifies communication, understanding, etc. However there are hidden catches. Not every design pattern belongs among APIDesignPatterns - it may not be ready for evolution. For example the well known Visitor pattern is really not evolvable easily as analysed by Chapter 18.