Pattern Hatching: Design Patterns Applied is small book that serves as a follow-up to Design Patterns. It was written by John Vlissides, one of the “Gang of Four,” and published back in 1998.

I enjoyed chapter two of this book, “Designing with Patterns,” as it provided a concrete example of patterns at work. The rest of the book seemed aimed at writers of patterns, so I found it much less interesting. One big problem was that I didn’t heed the warning in the introduction that I needed to be very familiar with all of the classic patterns – I don’t know them as well as I ought, so I sometimes had a little trouble following. It must be time to reread Design Patterns. I also need to brush up on my UML – there can be a lot of meaning hidden behind the style of arrowhead used in a diagram.

In summary, I can’t give the book a formal recommentation, but I did find it interesting, and if you’re really into patterns, then you certainly need to have read this book.