Overview

I will continue our study of design patterns with the Adapter pattern. The Adapter pattern is a very common pattern, and, as you will see, it is used with many other patterns.

• I explain what the Adapter pattern is, where it is used, and how it is implemented.

• I present the key features of the pattern.

• I use the pattern to illustrate polymorphism.

• I illustrate how the UML can be used at different levels of detail.

• I present some observations on the Adapter pattern from my own practice, including a comparison of the Adapter pattern and the Facade pattern.

• I relate the Adapter pattern to the CAD/CAM problem.

Note: I will only show Java code examples in the main body of this chapter. The equivalent C++ code examples can be found at the end of this chapter.