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Discussion on: An introduction to the concept of design patterns

 
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powerwebdev

But these were no design patterns at the time of the development of these languages, were they? I'm only aware of message-passing design patterns, but they claimed to be design patterns only since the book "Enterprise Integration Patterns" and there the concepts of the languages you mentioned have already been applied in different other contexts.
The time is important, of course somebody has to "invent" the solution. But it can only become a design pattern if it has proven to be a solution to a problem in different systems.
So, the "design pattern" is not the original solution one came up with. The design pattern is the description of the solution, not the solution itself. And for a solution description to qualify as a design pattern, it must already exist.
It is the same with the original design patterns from Christopher Alexander. He did not invent the building constructs, it was just a collection of solution descriptions other architects have used in multiple times.
So to sum, of course, behind every design pattern stands a smart mind that initially came up with the solution. But then it was a great idea, not a design pattern yet :-).