Design Patterns With Instagram

Abdul Kadar
6 min readAug 15, 2023

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Desing Patterns
Design Patterns With RealTime Example

There are many different design patterns, but some of the most common ones in Java include:

  • Singleton pattern: Ensures that there is only one instance of a class running at a time.
  • Factory pattern: Creates objects without exposing the underlying implementation details.
  • Observer pattern: Notifies objects when something changes.
  • Decorator pattern: Adds new features to an object without modifying the underlying object.
  • Facade pattern: Provides a simplified interface to a complex system.

Design patterns can be used to solve a wide variety of problems in software design. They can help to make code more readable, maintainable, and extensible.

Singleton pattern:

The singleton pattern ensures that there is only one instance of a class running at a time. This can be useful for objects that need to be globally accessible, such as the Instagram app itself.

The singleton pattern can be implemented in Java in a few different ways. One common way is to use a private constructor and a static getInstance() method. The private constructor prevents other classes from creating new instances of the singleton class, and the getInstance() method returns the one and only instance of the class.

public class InstagramApp {

private static InstagramApp instance;

private InstagramApp() {
// private constructor to prevent instantiation from outside
}

public static InstagramApp getInstance() {
if (instance == null) {
instance = new InstagramApp();
}
return instance;
}

// other methods of the InstagramApp class
}

The InstagramApp class is a singleton, which means that there can only be one instance of it running at a time. This is useful for the Instagram app itself, because it ensures that there is only one global point of access to the app.

The getInstance() method is used to get the singleton instance of the InstagramApp class. If the instance has not been created yet, then it will be created. Otherwise, the existing instance will be returned.

Factory pattern:

The factory pattern creates objects without exposing the underlying implementation details. This makes it easy to create different types of Instagram posts, such as photos, videos, and stories.

The factory pattern can be implemented in Java in a few different ways. One common way is to use an abstract factory class that defines the interface for creating different types of objects. Concrete factory classes can then implement the abstract factory class to create specific types of objects.

public abstract class PostFactory {

public abstract Post createPost(String type, String caption, String imageUrl);

}

public class PhotoPostFactory extends PostFactory {

@Override
public Post createPost(String type, String caption, String imageUrl) {
return new PhotoPost(caption, imageUrl);
}

}

public class VideoPostFactory extends PostFactory {

@Override
public Post createPost(String type, String caption, String imageUrl) {
return new VideoPost(caption, imageUrl);
}

}

The PostFactory class is an abstract factory class that defines the interface for creating different types of posts. The PhotoPostFactory class and the VideoPostFactory class are concrete factory classes that implement the PostFactory interface to create specific types of posts.

The createPost() method of the PostFactory interface is used to create a new post object. The type parameter specifies the type of post to create, and the caption and imageUrl parameters specify the caption and image URL for the post.

Observer pattern:

The observer pattern notifies objects when something changes. This is used in Instagram to notify users when new posts are added, or when someone they are following starts following someone else.

The observer pattern can be implemented in Java in a few different ways. One common way is to use an observer interface that defines the methods that will be called when something changes. Objects that want to be notified of changes can implement the observer interface.

The object that is being observed is called the subject. The subject maintains a list of observers, and it calls the notifyObservers() method when something changes. The notifyObservers() method iterates through the list of observers and calls the update() method on each observer.

public interface Observer {
void update();
}
public class PostSubject {
private List<Observer> observers;
public PostSubject() {
observers = new ArrayList<>();
}
public void addObserver(Observer observer) {
observers.add(observer);
}
public void removeObserver(Observer observer) {
observers.remove(observer);
}
public void notifyObservers() {
for (Observer observer : observers) {
observer.update();
}

Decorator pattern:

The decorator pattern is a structural pattern that allows you to add new features to an object without modifying the underlying object. This can be useful for adding filters to photos, or to add captions to videos.

The decorator pattern is implemented using a decorator class that wraps the original object. The decorator class can then add new features to the original object by overriding the original object’s methods.

public abstract class PhotoDecorator implements Photo {

protected Photo photo;

public PhotoDecorator(Photo photo) {
this.photo = photo;
}

public void render() {
photo.render();
}

}

public class BlackAndWhiteFilterDecorator extends PhotoDecorator {

public BlackAndWhiteFilterDecorator(Photo photo) {
super(photo);
}

@Override
public void render() {
super.render();
// apply black and white filter
}

}

public class SepiaFilterDecorator extends PhotoDecorator {

public SepiaFilterDecorator(Photo photo) {
super(photo);
}

@Override
public void render() {
super.render();
// apply sepia filter
}

}

The PhotoDecorator class is an abstract decorator class that represents a photo that has been decorated with a filter. The photo field stores the original photo object. The render() method renders the photo, and it can be overridden by subclasses to add new features.

The BlackAndWhiteFilterDecorator class and the SepiaFilterDecorator class are concrete decorator classes that implement the PhotoDecorator interface to add black and white and sepia filters to photos, respectively.

To add a filter to a photo, you would create a new decorator object and pass it the original photo object. The decorator object would then wrap the original photo object and add the filter to it.

For example, to add a black and white filter to a photo, you would do the following:

Photo photo = new Photo();
Photo blackAndWhitePhoto = new BlackAndWhiteFilterDecorator(photo);
blackAndWhitePhoto.render();

This would render the photo with a black and white filter applied to it.

The decorator pattern is a powerful pattern that can be used to add new features to objects without modifying the underlying objects. This can be useful for adding flexibility and extensibility to your code.

Facade pattern:

The Instagram app is a complex system that provides a lot of functionality. It can be difficult for users to understand how to use all of the features of the app. The facade pattern can be used to provide a simplified interface to the Instagram app.

The facade class for the Instagram app could be called InstagramFacade. The InstagramFacade class would provide methods for users to access the most common features of the Instagram app, such as posting photos, viewing photos, and following other users.

The InstagramFacade class would hide the underlying implementation details of the Instagram app from users. This would make the app easier to use and would also make it more secure.

Here is an example of how the InstagramFacade class could be used to post a photo:

InstagramFacade instagramFacade = new InstagramFacade();
instagramFacade.postPhoto(photo);
public void postPhoto(Photo photo) {
// Get the user's account information.
UserAccount userAccount = getUserAccount();
public void postPhoto(Photo photo) {
// Get the user's account information.
UserAccount userAccount = getUserAccount();

// Upload the photo to the server.
String photoUrl = uploadPhoto(photo);

// Create a new post object.
Post post = new Post(photoUrl, userAccount.getUsername());

// Save the post to the database.
savePost(post);

// Notify the user's followers.
notifyFollowers(post);
}

The postPhoto() method first gets the user's account information. This information is needed to upload the photo to the server and to save the post to the database.

The postPhoto() method then uploads the photo to the server. The photo is uploaded to a cloud storage service, such as Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage. The photo is then assigned a unique URL, which is returned by the uploadPhoto() method.

The postPhoto() method then creates a new Post object. The Post object contains the photo URL, the user's username, and the time that the post was created.

The postPhoto() method then saves the Post object to the database. The database is used to store all of the posts that have been created on Instagram.

The postPhoto() method finally notifies the user's followers. The user's followers are notified that a new post has been created. This can be done by sending them a notification on their phone or by sending them an email.

The postPhoto() method is a complex method, but it is made easier to understand by using the facade pattern. The postPhoto() method hides the underlying implementation details of the Instagram app from users. This makes the method easier to use and also makes it more secure.

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