hoffmandirt

I am researching architectural design patterns for a class presentation and my own knowledge. I have been reading about the MVC pattern using the Front Controller pattern. I came across this example, using the Front Controller to perform URL rewriting. Link I wondering if any of you guys have used the front controller pattern. I'm looking for more reasons to use it and scenarios when it should be used. Also I am interested to hear about other architectural patterns and what books are available in this area that lean more towards object oriented languages that I'm familiar with such as c# or java.
Thanks.