Classifying Relationships Between Object-Oriented Design Patterns

Since the publication of the Design Patterns book, a large number of object-oriented design patterns have been identified and codified. As part of the pattern form, object-oriented design patterns must indicate their relationships with other patterns, but these relationships are typically described very briefly, and different collections of patterns describe different relationships in different ways. In this paper we describe and classify the common relationships between object oriented design patterns. Practitioners can use these relationships to help them identity those patterns which may be applicable to a particular problem, and pattern writers can use these relationships to help them integrate new patterns into the body of the patterns literature.