Editing Singleton pattern (section)

== Common uses ==
Singletons are often preferred to [[global variables]] because they do not pollute the global [[namespace]] (or their containing namespace). Additionally, they permit [[Lazy evaluation|lazy]] allocation and initialization, whereas global variables in many languages will always consume resources.<ref name="GoF" /><ref name="devin">{{cite news |last1=Soni |first1=Devin |date=31 July 2019 |title=What Is a Singleton? |work=BetterProgramming |url=https://betterprogramming.pub/what-is-a-singleton-2dc38ca08e92 |access-date=28 August 2021}}</ref>

The singleton pattern can also be used as a basis for other design patterns, such as the [[Abstract factory pattern|abstract factory]], [[Factory method pattern|factory method]], [[Builder pattern|builder]] and [[Prototype pattern|prototype]] patterns. [[Facade pattern|Facade]] objects are also often singletons because only one facade object is required.

[[Log file|Logging]] is a common real-world use case for singletons, because all objects that wish to log messages require a uniform point of access and conceptually write to a single source.<ref name="rainsberger">{{cite news |last1=Rainsberger |first1=J.B. |title=Use your singletons wisely |url=https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/co-single/ |access-date=28 August 2021 |publisher=IBM |date=1 July 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224180356/https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/co-single/ |archive-date=24 February 2021}}</ref>