There is a very good paper that I read when it came out,
forgot about, but then had it
pointed
out again by
pwhysall.
It is aptly titled, The
Big Ball of Mud. And it is, appropriately enough, an
essay about the most commonly used design pattern. You
might expect that it is about how horrible it is to have a
mess. But there is more here than that. Rather it is about
how messes arise, what messes do right, what you can do
about them, and what you can learn from them. (Which is a
lot more than might think.)
If you have never worked in a big ball of mud, and your code
would never evolve into one, then there is no point in your
reading this. You either lack the experience needed to
put the points made into a proper context, or else you are
not a mere mortal like myself. But if you are an
experienced mortal, you may find it worth the read.
UPDATE
Oops, big ball, not great ball. *blush* (I left the
title alone.)