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Decorator Design Pattern in C++

Decorator design pattern

  1. Create a "lowest common denominator" that makes classes interchangeable
  2. Create a second level base class for optional functionality
  3. "Core" class and "Decorator" class declare an "isa" relationship
  4. Decorator class "has a" instance of the "lowest common denominator"
  5. Decorator class delegates to the "has a" object
  6. Create a Decorator derived class for each optional embellishment
  7. Decorator derived classes delegate to base class AND add extra stuff
  8. Client has the responsibility to compose desired configurations
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

// 1. "lowest common denominator"
class Widget
{
  public:
    virtual void draw() = 0;
};

class TextField: public Widget
{
    // 3. "Core" class & "is a"
    int width, height;
  public:
    TextField(int w, int h)
    {
        width = w;
        height = h;
    }
 
    /*virtual*/
    void draw()
    {
        cout << "TextField: " << width << ", " << height << '\n';
    }
};

// 2. 2nd level base class
class Decorator: public Widget  // 4. "is a" relationship
{
    Widget *wid; // 4. "has a" relationship
  public:
    Decorator(Widget *w)
    {
        wid = w;
    }
 
    /*virtual*/
    void draw() 
    {
        wid->draw(); // 5. Delegation
    }
};

class BorderDecorator: public Decorator
{
  public:
    // 6. Optional embellishment
    BorderDecorator(Widget *w): Decorator(w){}
 
    /*virtual*/
    void draw()
    {
        // 7. Delegate to base class and add extra stuff
        Decorator::draw();
        cout << "   BorderDecorator" << '\n';
    }
};

class ScrollDecorator: public Decorator
{
  public:
    // 6. Optional embellishment
    ScrollDecorator(Widget *w): Decorator(w){}
 
    /*virtual*/
    void draw()
    {
        // 7. Delegate to base class and add extra stuff
        Decorator::draw();
        cout << "   ScrollDecorator" << '\n';
    }
};

int main()
{
  // 8. Client has the responsibility to compose desired configurations
  Widget *aWidget = new BorderDecorator(new BorderDecorator(new ScrollDecorator
    (new TextField(80, 24))));
  aWidget->draw();
}

Output

TextField: 80, 24
   ScrollDecorator
   BorderDecorator
   BorderDecorator

Code examples

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