The other way to use GoF and related texts is as an inspiration. It's been a while since the last difficult software design problem that I had to solve. But I r

The other way to use GoF and related texts is as an inspiration. It's been a while since the last difficult software design problem that I had to solve. But I reread GoF to get a new perspective on what I was trying to solve. Also, I found that some people tend to take the descriptions of design patterns as a kind of gospel and any deviation from the Right Path outlined therein is heresy. But that's how the application of design patterns leads to failure. These are raw building materials for your design. You always have to shape them to fit your exact needs. Extend them, reduce them, cut them in half and glue the halves back together with their backsides - do what you must to get a clever design that leads to simple code.