Proxy Pattern

Definitions

1. A structural design pattern in which a surrogate object controls access to another object, presenting the same interface while adding behavior such as lazy initialization (virtual proxy), access control (protection proxy), logging, or remote communication (remote proxy).

   In plain English: A stand-in object that looks like the real thing but adds extra behavior — like checking permissions or delaying expensive work — before passing requests along.

   Example: "The image viewer uses a virtual proxy that shows a placeholder and only loads the full-resolution image when the user scrolls to it."

Related Terms

• Mediator Pattern
• Null Object Pattern
• Object Graph
• Open-Closed Principle
• Prototype Pattern
• Software Design
• State Pattern
• Structural Pattern
• Template Method Pattern
• Utility Class
• Value Object
• Visitor Pattern