The Strategy Pattern is a behavioral design pattern that enables selecting an algorithm's behavior at runtime. It defines a family of algorithms, encapsulates each one, and makes them interchangeable. This pattern lets the algorithm vary independently of clients that use it.
The Strategy pattern consists of three main components:
-
Context:
- Maintains a reference to a Strategy object.
- May define an interface that lets the Strategy access its data.
- Delegates the algorithm execution to the current Strategy.
-
Strategy (Interface):
- Declares an interface common to all supported algorithms.
- The Context uses this interface to call the algorithm defined by a Concrete Strategy.
-
Concrete Strategies:
- Implement the Strategy interface using specific algorithms.
- Each class provides a different variation or implementation of the algorithm.