Bitter tales - Bitter Java - page 13

use pattern recognition to find bugs from software source code . Many pro-
grammers are starting to publish bug patterns for common programming
mistakes. The http: // www.bitterjava.com site has some links to Eric Allen's
series “Bug Patterns.”
The design pattern community also has a counterpart: the antipattern
community. This group is interested in learning from common experience and
capturing that knowledge in a uniform, methodical way.
AntiPatterns: Refactoring Software, Architectures, and Projects in Crisis
brings these concepts together better than any other source I have seen. With
Brady Flowers, who contributed the Enterprise JavaBeans ( EJB ) examples for
this topic, I had started to do bitter Java sessions at conferences before we
found AntiPatterns . When we found it, we immediately fell in love with the
ideas expressed in this topic. Most of the topic's antipatterns went beyond
theory and explained the cultural conditions prompting a problem. The topic
is extraordinarily useful to programmers who strive for excellence. We hope to
take these concepts into the Java community to continue the momentum that
AntiPatterns has created. We will go beyond generic antipatterns and dive
into those that are most prevalent to the Java community. These are some
online resources for antipatterns:
The authors have an online source for Java antipatterns. You can find it
at http: // www.bitterjava.com. On the site, we will attempt to provide
you with articles, discussion boards, and useful links.
The http: // www.antipatterns.com site has articles, events, and message
boards.

1.4 Antipattern ideas are not new

Should developers spend more time on the study of antipatterns or design pat-
terns? I will answer this with another true adventure story. Throughout the
better part of this past century, mountain climbers across the world had an ulti-
mate goal: to scale Mt. Everest, the highest summit in the world. Over time,
mountaineers tried many different approaches that would allow political pas-
sage to the mountain, solid expedition logistics, and the best chances for suc-
cess. Two routes go through Tibet. George Mallory was an early British
mountain climber, famous for saying he climbed Everest “Because it is there.”
He made his attempts on the north face, over terrain called the North Col.
The other northern route was considered much too dangerous for early moun-
taineers. Edmund Hillary, who became the first to climb Everest, eventually