Understanding the Template Method Design Pattern in Kotlin

I love cooking, but I’m not a master chef — just someone who enjoys experimenting in the kitchen. Wait, what am I talking about? How does this relate to the Template Method design pattern? Don’t worry; we’ll uncover the mystery shortly. First, let me outline what we’ll cover in this blog. We’ll start by understanding the Template Method Pattern, explore its structure, and then dive into some real-world use cases.

So, back to cooking! As I mentioned, I love it. I often watch recipes on YouTube and try to cook accordingly. Sometimes they turn out delicious; other times, not so much. But here’s an important point I want to highlight: I never follow a recipe exactly. And I bet most of you don’t either. This is where the core idea of the Template Method design pattern comes into play.

When I watch a recipe, I use it as a guide but adapt it based on the ingredients I have or my personal preferences. There’s no strict rule that says I have to stick to the exact steps — it’s up to me to modify it as I go. Similarly, the Template Method provides a skeleton or structure for an algorithm but allows flexibility to fill in the details and decide how to proceed.

I hope you’re starting to connect the dots. Don’t worry — it will all become clearer as we proceed further.