Question

I was looking at design pattern, but got confused between Factory and Abstract Factory Pattern. will any one please explain the differences when to follow which pattern.

Thanx

Answer 1

An Abstract Factory is aimed at creating groups of related objects. The interface of an Abstract Factory will typically contain a number of Factory Methods, one for each type of object to be created.

Here’s an example of an Abstract Factory:

public abstract class AnimalFactory
{
    public abstract Animal CreateFish();
    public abstract Animal CreateBird();
    public abstract Animal CreateMammal();
}

public class AfricanAnimalFactory : AnimalFactory
{
    public override Animal CreateFish()
    {
        return new Reedfish();
    }

    public override Animal CreateBird();
    {
        return new Flamingo();
    }

    public override Animal CreateMammal();
    {
        return new Lion();
    }
}

Related resources:

• Abstract Factory Design Pattern
• Factory Method Design Pattern