Implementations Patterns is a book by Kent Beck of Extreme Programming fame. These are patterns which are applied at the implementation level versus the usual design patterns. It has been described as three books in one and I tend to agree.

The first part of the book includes Chapter 3: A Theory of Programming which delves into the values and principles of programming itself. Professional programmers will nod in agreement with much of what Beck is saying because much of it has been implied for many years. It is really nice to see it written down and explained.

The patterns themselves don’t necessarily follow any particular formal template and they focus solely on the Java programming language. Given these are implementation patterns it does make sense Beck had to focus on a programming language and he chose Java. Being more of a C++ guy, I found a vast majority of the patterns (if not all) can still be applied in C++. Any object-oriented programming language can easily make use these patterns.

The final part of the book delves into frameworks and includes a handful of patterns and some solid advice for those implementing frameworks. Anyone that has designed and implemented a framework will find this advice very familiar. Again, it is really nice to see it written down and explained.

Kent Beck has a knack for articulating the complex world of software development and this book is no exception. I now understand why it is has been so highly recommended.