Understanding Design Patterns Through Drama Metaphors

It is not easy to understand design patterns from their descriptions. Code examples help, but require proficiency in the programming language they are written in. While mastering programming language specifics is a necessity for implementing a design pattern, its essence is beyond these. And once we know the essence, the rest is a simple matter of programming, isn’t it? Well, it might not be that simple, but it is true that we need to understand the essence first. This paper explains how Observer and Mediator, two widely known design patterns in software development, can be dramatized both literally and metaphorically. While literal dramatization showed to be capable of revealing the meaning of design patterns, it is not very vivid and can be easily forgotten. Metaphorical dramatizations overcome this by being based on stories in a belletristic sense in which design pattern roles are represented by their metaphorical counterparts. People more easily relate to such stories and remember them better. To build these stories, drama patterns, which are known for their capability of setting up watchable drama plays with nonactors in a very short time, have been used.