Software Pattern Communities: Current Practices and Challenges

Software pattern designers and users have few resources available to support pattern-based development practices. Patterns are currently disseminated in disjoint collections in various publishing mediums with little or no technology support. As the number of patterns and diversity of pattern types continue to proliferate, pattern users and developers are faced with difficulties of understanding what patterns already exist and when, where, and how to use or reference them properly. This defeats the very purpose of patterns as a medium to encapsulate and disseminate recurring design experiences.