The value of any ontology can be measured by the number of applications that use it. GOF book represents of the best introduction of a new ontology i've seen so far. By now design pattern terminology as defined by this book is firmly embedded in developer's vocabulary.
Take Cooper's seminal book "About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design" for example. Cooper defined a rich and comprehensive set of terms to describe elements and concepts of user interface. Fast forward a couple of years. Have you heard any developer say "But out application is sovereign! Why do we start it pluralized???" Very few people talk about user interface in terms of Cooper's ontology.
I have great expectation about Fowler's book on patterns of enterprise architecture. I think Fowler's ontology of enterprise patters has a real chance of becoming integral part of vocabulary of enterprise developers. It is great to see MSDN patterns site (via Harry Pierson) running with Fowler's ontology.
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