What are software design patterns?

Software design patterns are general, reusable solutions to commonly occurring problems in software development.

Design patterns are not libraries or frameworks that you can plug in and use right away. Rather, they are established suggested ways of thinking to use when you're faced with a problem that many developers have solved before.

In essence, design patterns help avoid reinventing the wheel. Along with anti-patterns and architectural patterns, they form an established vocabulary that software engineers often use to discuss common problems and solutions.

It's important to have an understanding of various patterns and know where to use them. However, it's equally important to avoid implementing them all over the place, which may reduce readability and maintainability without providing a noticeable benefit.