Software Design and Architecture

Structural Design Patterns

Adapter
 Intent
 Convert the interface of a class into
another interface that clients expect.
 Adapter lets classes work together that couldn't
otherwise because of incompatible interfaces.
 Also Known As
 Wrapper
Adapter
 Motivation
 Problem:
 Suppose your cell phone has a 110 volt power feed.
 In your country, you have 220 volt system feed
 Solution:
 Design an adapter, i.e. a transformer, that will convert
220 volts to 110 volt interface of your cell phone.
 Target: 110 volts system
 Adaptee: 220 volts system
 Adapter: Transformer 220 to 110
 In software engineering, the adapter
pattern is a software design pattern that
allows the interface of an existing class
to used from another interface. It is
often used to make existing classes
work with others without modifying their
source code.
Adapter
 Applicability
Use Adapter design pattern when…
 You want to use an existing class, and its

interface does not match the one you need.

Adapter
 Structure
A class adapter uses multiple inheritance to adapt one interface to another
Adapter
 Object Adapter
An object adapter relies on object composition
Adapter
 Participants
 Target (110 volt system)
 Defines the domain-specific interface that Client uses.
 Client (User)
 Collaborates with objects conforming to the Target
interface.
 Adaptee (220 volt system)
 Defines an existing interface that needs adapting.
 Adapter (Transformer)
 Adapts the interface of Adaptee to the Target interface.
Adapter
 Collaborations
 Clients call operations on an Adapter instance.
 In return, the adapter calls Adaptee operations
that carry out the request.
Adapter
 Consequences (Class Adapter)
 Pros
 Less code required than the object Adapter
 Can override Adaptee’s behavior as required
 Cons
 Required sub-classing (tough for single
inheritance)
 Less Flexible
Adapter
 Consequences (Object Adapter)
 Pros
 Doesn’t require sub-classing to work
 More Flexible
 Cons
 Harder to override Adaptee behavior
 Requires more code to implement properly
The End
 Thanks for listening
 Questions would be appreciated…