Iterator Pattern
The Iterator Pattern is a behavioral design pattern that provides a way to access the elements of an aggregate object sequentially without exposing its underlying representation. It decouples the traversal logic from the collection, allowing multiple traversals to occur simultaneously and simplifying the collection's interface. This pattern is commonly implemented with an iterator object that knows how to navigate through the collection.
Developers should learn the Iterator Pattern when working with collections or data structures where they need to iterate over elements without knowing the internal details, such as in frameworks, libraries, or custom data containers. It is particularly useful in scenarios requiring uniform traversal across different collection types (e.g., lists, trees, graphs) or when implementing lazy evaluation for large datasets. This pattern enhances code maintainability and flexibility by separating iteration logic from the collection implementation.