brian will . net

Singletons considered harmful

Alex Miller, Steve Yegge, and this poster explain.

Among the reasons given:

• Singletons are most commonly used as excuses to have global variables and functions.
• As Steve puts it, “using the Singleton is usually just a sign of premature optimization…” .
• Singletons make it difficult when later you decide you actually need more than one of that type or subtypes.