Abstract:

"Patterns" is the latest buzzword from the OO community, but what exactly are they, and how do they help people develop better software? Mr. Vlissides introduces the concept and shows how one genre in particular---design patterns---help you build reusable object-oriented software. He covers the roles design patterns play in the object-oriented development process: how they provide a common vocabulary, reduce system complexity, and how they act as reusable architectural elements that contribute to an overall system architecture.

The slides for the above talk are available in postscript here.

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Title: Patterns: The Top Ten Misconceptions (2:45 - 3:45 p.m., March 27, 1998, Lindley Hall 102)

Abstract:

Along with all the hubbub about patterns these days comes more than a little confusion, consternation, and misinformation. Part of the problem rests in how new the field is to mainstream software developers (although it's not, strictly speaking, a new field). It's a fast-moving field, too, creating vacuums of facts. And yes, we pattern proponents deserve some of the blame for not educating people as thoroughly as we'd like, though not for lack of trying. This talk is a humble attempt to dispel the more egregious misconceptions about patterns.

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BIOGRAPHY

John Vlissides is a member of the research staff at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Hawthorne, NY. He has practiced object-oriented technology for over a decade as a designer, implementer, researcher, lecturer, and consultant. John is co-author of "Design Patterns" (Addison-Wesley) and "Object-Oriented Application Frameworks" (Prentice-Hall), and he is co-editor of "Pattern Languages of Program Design 2" (Addison-Wesley). He is also Consulting Editor of Addison-Wesley's Software Patterns Series. John has published numerous technical papers and is a columnist for the "C++ Report."