I think every software developer should read AntiPatterns: Refactoring Software, Architectures, and Projects in Crisis. It’s not the most engaging read (it could be much worse), but it’s well worth it. Knowing software design antipatterns is just as important as knowing the Gang of Four patterns. Not all of the patterns are perfectly applicable, but at some point as a developer, you’ll run into one or more of the antipatterns. Being able to identify them and find ways to refactor or work around them is crucial.
Some of the reviews on Amazon are critical of this title for using CORBA as the basis for some examples, being old (published in 1998) or using obscure analogies (The Grand Old Duke). I did not find those issues impacted the relevance of the material. The languages and technologies used for examples are old, however the same mistakes, in new languages and technologies, continue to be made.
In my experience I’ve seen lots of these “problem patterns” used. I’ve done some of them myself. The project I’m working with at Smibs is fairly new, but some antipatterns have already appeared. I’ve seen the Yo-yo problem (A structure which is hard to understand because of excessive fragmentation), Input Kludge (not validating user input properly) and Error Hiding (not informing the user of errors). None of these are of a crippling nature, but they all need to be addressed to provide a quality, usable product.
I’d also suggest checking out the Wikipedia article on antipatterns. It expands on the material by detailing additional antipatterns and giving more contemporary examples.
