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🧠 Behavioral Design Patterns

Behavioral patterns focus on how objects communicate and share responsibilities. They help you design interactions that are flexible, testable, and easy to change.


✅ Why Behavioral Patterns Matter

  • Reduce tight coupling between objects that need to collaborate.
  • Encapsulate behavior so it can change independently.
  • Make systems extensible by plugging in new behaviors.

✅ Common Behavioral Patterns

1) Observer

One object (subject) notifies multiple observers when its state changes.

✅ Use when: you need event-style updates (UI updates, notifications).

2) Strategy

Encapsulates interchangeable algorithms behind a common interface.

✅ Use when: you want to swap logic without changing the caller.

3) Command

Encapsulates an action as an object, enabling queues, history, or undo.

✅ Use when: you need to log, delay, or undo operations.


✅ Example: Strategy

class StandardShipping:
    def cost(self, total):
        return 5 if total < 50 else 0


class ExpressShipping:
    def cost(self, total):
        return 15


def checkout(total, shipping_strategy):
    return total + shipping_strategy.cost(total)


total = checkout(40, ExpressShipping())

🔍 Key Takeaways

  • Behavioral patterns structure collaboration between objects.
  • Observers react to events without direct coupling.
  • Strategies and commands make behavior swappable and reusable.

Back: Structural Patterns