Adapter: The Travel Plug Pattern

Short summary

The Adapter design pattern is explained through a travel plug analogy: just as a plug adapter translates between incompatible socket shapes without modifying either side, a software adapter translates between incompatible interfaces. The article demonstrates a C# implementation where a ThirdPartySmsClient with a PushSms method is adapted to fit an INotificationSender interface expecting a Send method. Key takeaway: adapters quarantine external dependencies behind your own interface, making vendor swaps trivial.

• •Adapter pattern translates between incompatible interfaces without modifying either side
• •C# example adapts a third-party SMS client to match a custom notification interface
• •Real payoff: swapping vendors becomes writing one new adapter instead of rewriting app code

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