David Cumps

Design Patterns - Iterator Pattern

2008-07-23T12:42:00Z

Time for the next part in our series, the Iterator Pattern.

Let's start with the definition: "Provide a way to access the elements of an aggregate object sequentially without exposing its underlying representation."

Design Patterns - Template Method Pattern

2008-07-22T08:23:00Z

Time for yet another pattern, the Template Method Pattern. Have a look at all the other patterns in the series as well.

The definition: "Define the skeleton of an algorithm in an operation, deferring some steps to subclasses. Template Method lets subclasses redefine certain steps of an algorithm without changing the algorithm's structure."

Wanted: Friends!

2008-07-21T14:12:00Z

Today I'm going to tell you a little story about me. I think of myself as your typical description of a geek.

Passionate about all things technological, eager to find out how the inner details work together, a movie and music lover, and spending too much time behind a computer.

Having all those feats, over the course of twenty years, result in getting out of touch with the what interests the large part of the population.

I don't care about soccer, drinking, going out or making a complete fool out of myself. I can talk for hours about some architecture however, or about techy pranks.

But you know what? My surroundings don't have a clue what I'm talking about, usually ending up in me not bothering anymore. Same for taste of humor, I love the dry British kind, and everyone I know hates it.

This isn't some sort of self-pity post however. I'm fine with making conversation, but most of the time it's forced, and I constantly have to fight the analytical part of my mind to not interfere and kill the conversation.

That being said, I'd like to meet some other geeks from around the world to have a chat with, the international developer community.

Do you sometimes have the same feelings? Would you like to meet someone new? Talk about some random IT thing, or just about your life to a fellow geek?

Contact me! Tell me something about you, where are you from, how old are you, what do you do, some story. Please? :)

Writing all these articles is fun, but having dialogues is a lot more stimulating.

I hope to hear from you! :)

(Yeah, non-geeks can mail too, if you have some interest in IT or aren't bored by someone talking about it :))

Design Patterns - Facade Pattern

2008-07-21T10:37:00Z

Time for another, simple, design pattern. The Facade Pattern.

I'm going to need a break soon, getting a bit burned out, which never is a good thing.

Anyway, the definition of today's pattern: "Provide a unified interface to a set of interfaces in a subsystem. Facade defines a higher-level interface that makes the subsystem easier to use."

Design Patterns - Adapter Pattern

2008-07-16T22:29:00Z

We've seen quite a few patterns so far, and I'm glad so many people like them.

They turned out to be the most popular posts I've ever written when it comes to development. Thanks! :)

A little overview for the late joiners:

Today we'll have a look at the Adapter Pattern.

Design Patterns - Command Pattern

2008-07-15T22:07:00Z

What's a lonely geek to do late in the evening? Write about the Command Pattern of course...

Let's start with the definition: "Encapsulate a request as an object, thereby letting you parameterize clients with different requests, queue or log requests, and support undo-able operations."

Design Patterns - Generic Singleton Pattern

2008-07-15T14:43:00Z

A little follow up from yesterday's Singleton Pattern, where I asked for some help on how you would approach a generic singleton.

With the help of Andrew Stevenson and ExNihilo, we came up with the following Generic Singleton Pattern:

Design Patterns - Singleton Pattern

2008-07-14T16:02:00Z

Today we'll have a look at a well known pattern, the Singleton Pattern. Most people have already heard about this one.

The definition: "Ensure a class has only one instance and provide a global point of access to it."

Design Patterns - Abstract Factory Pattern

2008-07-13T18:15:00Z

Time to continue from yesterday's Factory Method Pattern by exploring the Abstract Factory Pattern.

Anyway, time for the definition and then some code to make everything clear. "Provide an interface for creating families of related or dependent objects without specifying their concrete classes."

Design Patterns - Factory Method Pattern

2008-07-12T19:35:00Z

I present you with the next pattern in our series, the Factory Method! It took a while to get it out due to a stay in the hospital. (All is fine now :p)

First of all, the definition: "Define an interface for creating an object, but let the subclasses decide which class to instantiate. The Factory method lets a class defer instantiation to subclasses."

Design Patterns - Decorator Pattern

2008-06-29T19:42:00Z

Following up on the Observer/Event Pattern, it’s time for the third pattern, the Decorator Pattern.

The definition: "Attach additional responsibilities to an object dynamically. Decorators provide a flexible alternative to subclassing for extending functionality."

Design Patterns - Observer/Event Pattern

2008-06-27T15:16:00Z

Yesterday I described the Observer Pattern and mentioned that the .NET CLR provides this functionality through events and delegates.

Let’s have a look on how to implement this right now.

Design Patterns - Observer Pattern

2008-06-26T19:21:00Z

Yesterday we saw the Strategy Pattern. Today I want to talk about the Observer Pattern.

First, the definition again: "Define a one-to-many dependency between objects so that when one object changes state, all its dependents are notified and updated automatically."

Design Patterns - Strategy Pattern

2008-06-25T11:50:00Z

The first pattern I want to talk about is the Strategy pattern, which always reminds me about the Command & Conquer games so I’ll simply use it as an example :)

First of all, the definition: "Define a family of algorithms, encapsulate each one, and make them interchangeable. Strategy lets the algorithm vary independently from clients that use it."

I’m bad at remembering definitions or trying to imagine what they really mean, so let’s just go ahead and try to create something and learn as we go, eventually we’ll end up implementing the Strategy pattern and you’ll 'get it' for the rest of your life, without a definition.

Obfuscation - Making Reverse Engineering Harder

2007-09-29T15:51:00Z

In a previous article I have demonstrated how easy it is to decompile and reverse engineer .NET assemblies using Reflector and Reflexil. I've also shown that applying a strong name to your assembly does not protect your code from reverse engineering. So, what else is left?

A technique called obfuscating goes a long way in keeping your source code safe. An obfuscator will mangle your code, without changing the actual result, to make it increasingly harder for someone to decompile your code and actually understand it.