3. Pattern Instance Notation

Before we explore the impact of what we can do with Elemental Design Patterns (EDPs), I want to take a bit of a side jaunt and introduce a new graphical notation, the Pattern Instance Notation, or PIN. PIN is used from here out to help you visualize some of the concepts we discuss.

This chapter provides an informal description of PIN and how it is used in this book. If you’re interested in further information or in how PIN can be used in tool support for software design, PIN is fully described in “The Pattern Instance Notation: A Simple Hierarchical Visual Notation for the Dynamic Visualization and Comprehension of Software Patterns” [36].