Software Engineering: Design Pattern (Definition)

"A design pattern is a reusable solution for a software design problem. Patterns are platform independent, the same pattern can be used in different environments." (Jens Dietrich, "From Business Rules to Application Code: Code Generation Patterns for Rule Defined Associations", 2009)

"A way of representing a contextualized solution to a design problem with sufficient precision and explanation that it is an effective guide to action, but allowing scope for creative adaptation to specific needs." (Peter Goodyear & Dai F Yang, "Patterns and Pattern Languages in Educational Design", 2009)

"Common solutions to common problems, particularly in software design." (Tony C Shan & Winnie W Hua, "Data Caching Patterns" [in "Encyclopedia of Information Communication Technology"] 2009)

"Defines and explains systematically a general design to a recurrent problem of design in object oriented system." (Fuensanta Medina-Domínguez et al, "Patterns in the Field of Software Engineering" [in "Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology" 2nd Ed.], 2009)

"Describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that one can use this solution a million times over without ever doing it the same way twice." (Franca Garzotto & Symeon Retalis, "A Critical Perspective on Design Patterns for E-Learning", 2009)

"Design patterns are standard solutions to common problems in software design." (Ghita K Mostéfaoui, "Software Engineering for Mobile Multimedia: A Roadmap", 2009)

"Design patterns represent solutions to problems that arise when developing software within a particular context. Design patterns capture the static and dynamic structure and collaboration among key participants in software designs. Design patterns are generic design pieces that need to be instantiated before uses." (Jing Dong et al, "Design Patterns from Theory to Practice" [in "Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology" 2nd Ed.], 2009)

"Expressing the gist of a solution so that it can be reused many times. Defining a pattern, or a pattern system, is a way to capture the design knowledge of a community, to share it and to leverage it for future developments." (Eddy Boot et al, "Supporting Decision Making in Using Design Languages for Learning Designs and Learning Objects", 2009)

"In software engineering, it is a general reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design. A design pattern is not a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. It is a description or template for how to solve a problem that can be used in many different situations. Object-oriented design patterns typically show relationships and interactions between classes or objects, without specifying the final application classes or objects that are involved. [...] Design patterns deal specifically with problems at the level of software design." (Salvatore Scifo, "Accessing Grid Metadata through a Web Interface", 2009)

"A design pattern is a general, proven, and beneficial solution to a common, reoccurring problem in software design. Built upon similar experiences, design patterns represent 'best-practices' about how to structure or build a software architecture." (Jörg Rech et al, "Knowledge Patterns" [in "Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management" 2nd Ed.], 2011)

"A semi-formal way of documenting a solution to a design problem in a particular field of expertise." (Manuel Ecker et al, "Game-Based Learning Design Patterns: An Approach to Support the Development of 'Better' Educational Games", 2011)

"A well-tried solution to a common problem that captures experience and good practice in a form that can be reused. It is an abstract representation than can be instantiated in a number of ways." (Ian Sommerville, "Software Engineering" 9th Ed., 2011)

"General solution for a common problem that occurs when designing software. A design pattern is reusable, so that it might be applied in many systems that suffer of a common problem." (Márcio Ribeiro et al, "Recommending Mechanisms for Modularizing Mobile Software Variabilities", 2012)

"[...] a design pattern [...] describes a solution to a 'typical' software design problem. A pattern provides a general template for a solution that can be applied in many different situations. It describes the main elements of a solution in an abstract way that can be specialized for a specific problem at hand." (Michael T Goodrichet al, "Data Structures and Algorithms in Python", 2013)

"A design pattern is an abstract description of best practice that has worked successfully in different systems and environments, and it acts as a reusable solution that may be used in many situations. It is more a description or template on how to solve the problem within a particular context, rather than a finished solution." (Gerard O’Regan, "Concise Guide to Software Engineering: From Fundamentals to Application Methods", 2017)

"Design patterns consists of shared guidelines helping design problems. Design patterns commonly used in software engineering and is also used in ontological engineering to solve common problems." (Galip Kaya & Arif Altun, "Educational Ontology Development" [in "Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology" 4th Ed.], 2018)