Perpattern

Perpattern is a term used in discussions of pattern-based processing to describe an approach that treats patterns individually rather than as a single collective. The word is a portmanteau of per and pattern, and its usage is informal and context-dependent. No formal standard definition exists, and different communities may assign slightly different meanings.

In software and templating contexts, perpattern often refers to applying a transformation or rule to each pattern instance separately within a dataset or input stream. This can enable motif-specific customization, allowing variations to be introduced per pattern rather than uniformly across all patterns.

In the realm of procedural content generation, perpattern describes a strategy where each detected pattern is handled independently. By processing patterns on a per-pattern basis, designers can preserve local variation and avoid homogenizing the output.

In textiles, fashion, or graphic design, the concept corresponds to handling cutting, printing, or rendering instructions per motif or pattern unit instead of applying global instructions to an entire repeat structure.

Limitations of the term arise from its informal status. Because there is no formal definition, its exact meaning can vary by project, language, or tool. Some sources may use perpattern interchangeably with per-item or per-motif processing, while others reserve it for a specific workflow in pattern-based systems.

Examples of usage include mentioning a perpattern rendering option in a template engine to scale each motif individually, or describing a perpattern styling feature in a visualization library to differentiate motifs by attributes.

See also: Pattern, Motif, Per-item processing, Procedural generation, Template processing.