C# Language Creational Design Patterns Prototype Pattern
Example
Specify the kind of objects to create using a prototypical instance, and create new objects by copying this prototype.
In this example demonstrates the Prototype pattern in which new Color objects are created by copying pre-existing, user-defined Colors of the same type.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace GangOfFour.Prototype
{
/// <summary>
/// MainApp startup class for Real-World
/// Prototype Design Pattern.
/// </summary>
class MainApp
{
/// <summary>
/// Entry point into console application.
/// </summary>
static void Main()
{
ColorManager colormanager = new ColorManager();
// Initialize with standard colors
colormanager["red"] = new Color(255, 0, 0);
colormanager["green"] = new Color(0, 255, 0);
colormanager["blue"] = new Color(0, 0, 255);
// User adds personalized colors
colormanager["angry"] = new Color(255, 54, 0);
colormanager["peace"] = new Color(128, 211, 128);
colormanager["flame"] = new Color(211, 34, 20);
// User clones selected colors
Color color1 = colormanager["red"].Clone() as Color;
Color color2 = colormanager["peace"].Clone() as Color;
Color color3 = colormanager["flame"].Clone() as Color;
// Wait for user
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
/// <summary>
/// The 'Prototype' abstract class
/// </summary>
abstract class ColorPrototype
{
public abstract ColorPrototype Clone();
}
/// <summary>
/// The 'ConcretePrototype' class
/// </summary>
class Color : ColorPrototype
{
private int _red;
private int _green;
private int _blue;
// Constructor
public Color(int red, int green, int blue)
{
this._red = red;
this._green = green;
this._blue = blue;
}
// Create a shallow copy
public override ColorPrototype Clone()
{
Console.WriteLine(
"Cloning color RGB: {0,3},{1,3},{2,3}",
_red, _green, _blue);
return this.MemberwiseClone() as ColorPrototype;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Prototype manager
/// </summary>
class ColorManager
{
private Dictionary<string, ColorPrototype> _colors =
new Dictionary<string, ColorPrototype>();
// Indexer
public ColorPrototype this[string key]
{
get { return _colors[key]; }
set { _colors.Add(key, value); }
}
}
}
Output:
Cloning color RGB: 255, 0, 0
Cloning color RGB: 128,211,128
Cloning color RGB: 211, 34, 20
