What is a pattern, and what isn't?

An essay argues that the word 'pattern' has suffered semantic diffusion, with techniques, practices, and designs incorrectly labeled as patterns. It defines a pattern as a recurring solution to a problem within a context, including forces, consequences, and relationships to other patterns, and distinguishes a true pattern language (with rich relationships) from a mere pattern collection. The piece compares four historical forms of writing patterns (Alexandrian, Gang of Four, POSA, and Microservices Patterns) using the Saga pattern as a running example, then closes with checklists for authors and readers to verify whether something truly qualifies as a pattern.

Source: http://microservices.io/post/architecture/2026/10/12/what-is-a-pattern.html. 8 Sync News only summarizes and links out; content copyright belongs to the authors and original sources.