In computer programming, the proxy pattern is a software design pattern.
A proxy, in its most general form, is a class functioning as an interface to another thing. The other thing could be anything: a network connection, a large object in memory, a file, or some other resource that is expensive or impossible to duplicate.
A well-known example of the proxy pattern is a reference counting pointer object.
In situations where multiple copies of a complex object must exist the proxy pattern can be adapted to incorporate the Flyweight Pattern in order to reduce the application's memory footprint. Typically one instance of the complex object is created, and multiple proxy objects are created, all of which contain a reference to the single original complex object. Any operations performed on the proxies are forwarded to the original object. Once all instances of the proxy are out of scope, the complex object's memory may be deallocated.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_pattern
