AntiPatterns

This article is about the book by Brown et al. For other meanings, see Anti-pattern.

Sometimes referred to as an "Upstart Gang-Of-Four" the original four authors of this controversial book were frequently (and often unfavorably) compared to the original "Design Patterns" Gang of Four (GoF). This began with a favorable review and runner-up Jolt Award given to "AntiPatterns: Refactoring Software, Architectures, and Projects in Crisis (ISBN 0-471-19713-0)" by Software Development Magazine. The controversy around this book, and the concept of an AntiPattern stemmed from a somewhat common misunderstanding that the authors of "AntiPatterns" were somehow against Design Patterns. Most who held this opinion had apparently never actually read the book or else they would have clearly read that authors are big fans of Design Patterns, attempting only to build on the concept by providing constructive means for dealing with the incredibly frequent patterns of failure that they dealt with professionally.

The book has been called fun-to-read -- a truly frequent descriptor for books about software engineering. In this book, experienced software professionals recognize problems they have already faced. When they read the remedial refactoring approaches to solving the AntipPatterns, they may find new tools for their arsenal, or just confirm their own experiences. Inexperienced readers will (hopefully) gain some inoculation against these common problems as they proceed with their career.

Many readers claim to have found this book disappointing, or somewhat lightweight while others found it very entertaining and useful. This appears to be a function of the readers' expectations -- Design Patterns 'professionals' seem to expect more meaty and foundational content, while those to stand the most to gain from AntiPatterns find it just about right in content and depth. The primary controversy seems primarily related to the use a such a sensational title, verses a more accurate, but less pithy one, such as perhaps "DarkPatterns: solutions which do work, at least in the short term, but carry unacceptable risks" recommended by Extreme Coder Laurent Bossavit.

The book's authors are William Brown, Raphael Malvaux, Skip McCormick and Tom Mowbray; with Scott Thomas joining in on second and third books. Four of the five authors worked together at the Mitre Corporation in the late 90's.

External links

AntiPatterns.com A web site maintained by the authors with several patterns defined and other related articles.
Hillside's review of AntiPatterns WardsWiki Reviews.