Use of patterns in architecting software solutions is not new to the industry. Design patterns and architectural patterns have been popular among application developers since 1990.

An architectural pattern can be defined as a verified and reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in a software architecture. These patterns have numerous benefits; the most important of these is the ability to solve a recurring problem in a technology agnostic way. This level of abstraction increases the reusability of these patterns across different frameworks and programming paradigms.

Although the definition looks simple, learning the art of leveraging the patterns to define a software solution takes time and effort. Proper understanding of when and where to apply a pattern is the key to a good solution architecture. One way to gain this proficiency is to practice these patterns by designing and developing solutions with them. A good architecture for a solution is often a combination of multiple architectural patterns.