Antipatterns
Antipatterns
"An anti-pattern is something that looks like a good idea, but which backfires badly when applied." –-James Copelien
"In the old days, we used to just call these 'bad ideas'. The new name is much more diplomatic." –-Ward’s wiki
The idea of antipatterns is a little controversial in the patterns community. Some people don't like the idea of cataloging bad ideas, because there are infinitely many of them, among other reasons. Over time, however, they seem to have been increasingly accepted.
An important feature of antipatterns is that they don't just describe a common mistake, they provide a fix.
This first antipatterns book is WilliamBrown1998. It has been followed by others, e.g.:
- J2EE Antipatterns, by Bill Dudney, et al
- Antipatterns in Project Management, by William J. Brown
- Anti-Patterns and Patterns in Software Configuration Management, by William J. Brown
It might be argued that the first antipatterns were Dilbert cartoons.
Antipatterns are closely related to Code smells and Design maxims that start with Avoid... or Beware...
Big ball of mud is a more thoughtful antipattern (although it isn't usually described as one).
