Abstract

Software design patterns have become integral to modern software engineering, offering reusable solutions to common design challenges. These patterns simplify development, promote scalability, and improve system maintainability by providing established frameworks for solving recurring problems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in software design patterns, covering research published between 2018 and 2024. It examines the classification of design patterns into creational, structural, and behavioral categories, highlighting their applications in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems, microservice architectures, and container orchestration frameworks. The review explores practical implementations, evaluates the effectiveness of patterns in improving performance and reliability, and identifies challenges such as pattern misuse, detection difficulties, and anti-pattern occurrences. The study also investigates ethical considerations in design pattern adoption and discusses recent trends like AI-assisted pattern detection tools and security-driven patterns. Findings emphasize the transformative role of design patterns in addressing modern software development needs while underscoring gaps in automation and ethical design practices. This paper concludes with suggestions for future research directions, including improved frameworks for reusability, automated pattern recognition systems, and ethical design frameworks to address contemporary challenges in software engineering.