Please navigate to the bottom of the page for Table of Contents

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Simple Patterns: Repository Pattern

The repository pattern allows you to hide data source specific implementation from your core application.

For example, if you wanted to get a list of users for your application using the repository pattern, you might call into a class called UserRepository to return a list of users. The application doesn’t need to know where the class retrieved those users from; it just needs a list of users. Behind the covers of UserRepository you can have multiple provider classes. One for each data source.

Let’s assume you started off by just using Active Directory for the users of your application. Later down the road, needs changed and now you need to move to a SQL backend data source. If you followed the repository pattern, it’d be relatively easy to switch out your data source without interrupting the application layer. First, you’d need to implement a new provider class for the repository to use that interacts with the database for all your user based needs instead of AD. Next you would tie the new SQL provider class in with the existing user repository class. Following this approach allows you to retain the same interface with your application so the application logic doesn’t need to change.

The diagram below visualizes this concept.

repository-pattern

9 comments:

  1. the diagram only shows '!'

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmm...not sure what is happening here. Will investigate. Thanks for pointing this out. Need to ask David (he is the author)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Incomplete article.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Incomplete == NOT really know

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello David Patterson,


    10/10 !!! Thank you for making your
    blogs
    an embodiment of perfection and simplicity. You make everything so easy to follow.

    I am working on a little project for automatic receiving e-mails.
    I have managed to download mail from a pop3 mail account.
    My problem is that I cant figure out how to receive mail with both text in message field and attachment in the same mail.
    I am able to receive mail with just message or saving attachment. I would like to do both in the same mail.


    Awesome! Thanks for putting this all in one place. Very useful!

    Regards,
    Morgan

    ReplyDelete
  6. This article is actually remarkable one it helps many new users that desire to read always the best stuff.
    app designer

    ReplyDelete