The Facade Pattern is a design pattern in software development, known as a structural pattern. It aims to provide a simplified interface (a kind of facade) to a group of interfaces of a subsystem, making it easier to use and interact with that subsystem.
The main goal of the Facade Pattern is to reduce the complexity of a subsystem by offering a simple interface that encapsulates the available functionalities of the subsystem. Instead of directly interacting with the many classes and interfaces of the subsystem, the client (the application) can use only the facade interface to perform the desired actions.
The facade itself delegates the client's requests to the corresponding components of the subsystem, performs the required actions, and returns the results to the client. It hides the implementation details of the subsystem from the client, making it easier to use and maintain the application.
Advantages of the Facade Pattern:
Simplified interface: The facade provides a simplified interface that makes it easier for the client to work with the subsystem, hiding its complexity.
Loose coupling: The client interacts only with the facade and doesn't need to access the internal details of the subsystem, reducing dependencies and promoting loose coupling.
Improved maintainability: Changes in the subsystem's implementation do not affect the client as long as the facade interface remains unchanged.
A common example of the Facade Pattern is in an operating system. An operating system provides a facade that offers applications a simplified interface to access the underlying resources of the computer, such as the file system, memory, network, etc. The applications don't need to interact directly with the complexity of system calls; they utilize the operating system's facade to access these resources.