Decorator

Intent, Motivation, Applicability, Structure, Participants, Collaborations, Consequences, Implementation, Sample Code, Known Uses, Related Patterns

Related Patterns

Adapter: A decorator is different from an adapter in that a decorator only changes an object's responsibilities, not its interface; an adapter will give an object a completely new interface.

Composite: A decorator can be viewed as a degenerate composite with only one component. However, a decorator adds additional responsibilities---it isn't intended for object aggregation.

Strategy: A decorator lets you change the skin of an object; a strategy lets you change the guts. These are two alternative ways of changing an object.

Related Patterns of Abstract Factory, Adapter, Bridge, Builder, Chain of Responsibility, Command, Composite, Decorator, Facade, Factory Method, Flyweight, Interpreter, Iterator, Mediator, Memento, Observer, Prototype, Proxy, Singleton, State, Strategy, Template Method, Visitor