Alternative design pattern to Observer for .Net

Question

I was initially going to implement an observer pattern in C# 3.0 to solve my problem although it wouldn't be implement exactly in the same way.

My problem is that I have a web application with users who can post messages. Notifications do not go directly to other users but to a distributed cache where a statistics objects are updated and users can check the statistics a decide if they want the updates or not.

I currently have a IObserver interface that would need to implement multiple Update() methods based on who is posting a message and how they do it.

I have also looked at the mediator pattern but I don't think it is a correct fit because instances of a mediator would not have a list of who is currently logged in.

I am now wondering if there is another established design pattern that would be more suitable or if I should just fuinish building out my current Observer pattern to fit my needs.

Thanks

Answer 1

Can't you implement it via events/delegates? This is the standard way to implement the Observer pattern in C# and other .Net languages.

Answer 2

Aren't .Net events just observer-patterns in disguise? :) You could have a class, say, Statistic, and have that class expose an OnUpdate() event.

Answer 3

C# has taken a design pattern and made it a first class citizen of the language. Why not simply use what is provided? I don't see anything in your example that cannot be done with the built in event structure in C#.