Racing Among Animal Species with Strategy Design Pattern

In this continuation of our animal racing series, we're exploring a new approach using the Strategy Design Pattern in Java. This time, we'll implement different flying behaviours for our animal contestants and continue the thrilling race among various species.

Implementing the Strategy Design Pattern

We've revamped our 'Animal' class to incorporate the Strategy Design Pattern. Now, each animal can have a different flying behaviour, determined by the strategy pattern.

Animal Class

We've also introduced two new classes, 'Flyable' and 'NonFlyable,' implementing the 'PropertiesOfAnimal' interface to define flying behaviours.

Flyable and NonFlyable Class

Testing the New Implementation

Let's test our new implementation in the 'TestAnimal' class and the 'AnimalController' from the previous blog here. We'll create instances of various animals with different flying behaviours and observe their participation in the race.

Concluding Thoughts

In conclusion, the Strategy Design Pattern offers several benefits for incorporating flying behaviours into animal racing scenarios:

• Flexibility and Extensibility: By separating flying behaviours into distinct strategies, we enhance code flexibility and extensibility. New flying behaviours can be added without altering existing code, promoting easier maintenance and scalability.

• Improved Code Organization: The Strategy Pattern promotes cleaner code organization by encapsulating related behaviours into separate classes. This separation of concerns enhances code readability and facilitates easier debugging and maintenance.

However, it's essential to acknowledge some potential drawbacks:

• Increased Complexity: While the Strategy Pattern simplifies code maintenance and promotes reusability, it may introduce additional complexity, especially in managing multiple strategies and their interactions.

• Potential Overhead: Implementing the Strategy Pattern may incur additional overhead, particularly in scenarios with numerous strategies or frequent behaviour changes. Careful design and optimization are necessary to mitigate this overhead effectively.

Despite these considerations, the Strategy Design Pattern remains a powerful tool for enhancing code modularity and flexibility in Java applications.

Stay tuned for the next instalment, where we'll analyze the race results and delve deeper into the implications of our design choices!