Why many design pattern "beginners" fail -- and how to keep it from happening to you. Design patterns by example: real-world heuristics and tradeoffs. The book to read before you read Gamma et al\'s Design Patterns! Despite their tremendous popularity, design patterns are extremely challenging to learn. Now there\'s an introduction designed to help beginners get up-to-speed fast -- and help them overcome the obstacles that stand in their way. The best way to teach design patterns is to present key tradeoffs and heuristics through practical examples. In The Joy of Patterns, Brandon Goldfedder does just that, presenting a series of system designs from initial conception through code. The book\'s examples illustrate the use of patterns to design systems that will be implemented in Visual Basic, C++, and Java. Goldfedder focuses on a core subset of patterns, drawing upon the work of the "Gang of Four" and other leaders in the field. Along the way, he covers the most common applications for patterns, illuminating the pros and cons designers need to consider in making key decisions about system architecture. For all application developers, programmers, project managers, architects, and others who want to master patterns -- including those who have previously found them difficult to learn.