The Chain of Responsibility pattern is a behavioral design pattern in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows an object to pass a request along a chain of potential handlers until the request is handled or reaches the end of the chain. It decouples the sender of a request from its receivers, providing a way to handle the request dynamically without explicitly specifying which object will handle it.
The Chain of Responsibility pattern consists of the following key components:
Handler: Defines an interface or an abstract class that declares a method for handling requests. It also maintains a reference to the next handler in the chain.
Concrete Handlers: Implement the Handler interface and define their own way of handling requests. Each concrete handler decides whether to handle the request or pass it to the next handler in the chain.
Client: Initiates the request and sends it to the first handler in the chain. The client is unaware of which handler will handle the request.