What is the Proxy Design Pattern? (Structural OOP 7 of 7)

About this video

• Video Title: What is the Proxy Design Pattern? (Structural OOP 7 of 7)
• Channel: Code To Cash Flow
• Speakers: None explicitly named, but a single narrator.
• Duration: 00:01:07

Overview

This video explains the Proxy Design Pattern in object-oriented programming. It describes a proxy as a stand-in that shares the same interface as a real object but controls access to it, illustrating its use with a virtual proxy example that employs lazy loading and caching to manage expensive object creation.

Key takeaways

• Proxy Definition: A proxy acts as a substitute for a real object, implementing the same interface and controlling access to the original object.
• Virtual Proxy Example: The video demonstrates a virtual proxy for an image object. The proxy holds a file name and defers the creation (decoding) of the actual, resource-intensive image until it's first accessed (lazy loading).
• Caching: Subsequent calls to the proxy reuse the already created real image object, improving performance by avoiding redundant creation.
• Benefits: Using a proxy allows for immediate access to a lightweight placeholder and incurs the cost of the full resource only when necessary.
• Variations: The proxy pattern can also be applied to access control (protection proxy), remote object access (remote proxy), and for functionalities like logging and caching, all while maintaining a consistent interface.