A:Design patterns are standard solutions to common problems in software design that organize code and facilitate code reuse.

A:The three main categories of design patterns are creational, structural, and behavioral.

A:The Singleton pattern ensures that a class has only one instance and provides a global point of access to that instance.

A:The Factory Method pattern defines an interface for creating an object, but lets subclasses alter the type of objects that will be created.

A:The Strategy pattern enables selecting an algorithm’s behavior at runtime by defining a family of algorithms and encapsulating each one.

A:Interfaces allow design patterns to define contracts that classes can implement, promoting low coupling and high cohesion.

A:The Observer pattern defines a one-to-many dependency between objects, so when one object changes state, all its dependents are notified.

A:Dependency Injection is a design pattern used to implement IoC (Inversion of Control), allowing for better code modularity and testing.

A:Best practices improve software quality, maintainability, and performance by providing guidelines for behavior and code structure.

A:A design pattern's 'intent' describes the problem it addresses and the essential solution or approach it provides.

A:The Adapter pattern allows incompatible interfaces to work together by wrapping an interface around an existing class.

A:The Template Method pattern defines the skeleton of an algorithm in a base class but allows subclasses to redefine certain steps.

A:Separation of concerns is a principle that promotes separating different aspects of a program to reduce complexity and increase maintainability.

A:Coupling refers to the degree of interdependence between software modules; lower coupling is generally preferred for better maintainability.

A:Design patterns promote best practices that allow software systems to adapt to increasing loads and complexities without major redesign.

A:The Decorator pattern allows behavior to be added to individual objects, either statically or dynamically, without affecting the behavior of other objects.

A:In software design, a memento is an object that captures and externalizes an object's internal state without violating encapsulation.

A:The Builder pattern separates the construction of a complex object from its representation, allowing the same construction process to create different representations.

A:Design principles are foundational guidelines that inform the design of software components and systems to ensure quality and maintainability.

A:DRY stands for 'Don't Repeat Yourself,' and it encourages reducing code duplication, which improves maintainability and reduces errors.