Design patterns Factory Factory example by implementing Factory method (Java)

Example

Intent:

Define an interface for creating an object, but let sub classes decide which class to instantiate. Factory Method lets a class defer instantiation to sub classes.

UML diagram:

Product: It defines an interface of the objects the Factory method creates.

ConcreteProduct: Implements Product interface

Creator: Declares the Factory method

ConcreateCreator: Implements the Factory method to return an instance of a ConcreteProduct

Problem statement: Create a Factory of Games by using Factory Methods, which defines the game interface.

Code snippet:

import java.util.HashMap;


/* Product interface as per UML diagram */
interface Game{
    /* createGame is a complex method, which executes a sequence of game steps */
    public void createGame();
}

/* ConcreteProduct implementation as per UML diagram */
class Chess implements Game{
    public Chess(){
        createGame();
    }
    public void createGame(){
        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");
        System.out.println("Create Chess game");
        System.out.println("Opponents:2");
        System.out.println("Define 64 blocks");
        System.out.println("Place 16 pieces for White opponent");
        System.out.println("Place 16 pieces for Black opponent");
        System.out.println("Start Chess game");
        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");
    }
}
class Checkers implements Game{
    public Checkers(){
        createGame();
    }
    public void createGame(){
        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");
        System.out.println("Create Checkers game");
        System.out.println("Opponents:2 or 3 or 4 or 6");
        System.out.println("For each opponent, place 10 coins");
        System.out.println("Start Checkers game");
        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");
    }
}
class Ludo implements Game{
    public Ludo(){
        createGame();
    }
    public void createGame(){
        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");
        System.out.println("Create Ludo game");
        System.out.println("Opponents:2 or 3 or 4");
        System.out.println("For each opponent, place 4 coins");
        System.out.println("Create two dices with numbers from 1-6");
        System.out.println("Start Ludo game");
        System.out.println("---------------------------------------");
    }
}

/* Creator interface as per UML diagram */
interface IGameFactory {
    public Game getGame(String gameName);
}

/* ConcreteCreator implementation as per UML diagram */
class GameFactory implements IGameFactory {
        
    HashMap<String,Game> games = new HashMap<String,Game>();
    /*  
        Since Game Creation is complex process, we don't want to create game using new operator every time.
        Instead we create Game only once and store it in Factory. When client request a specific game, 
        Game object is returned from Factory instead of creating new Game on the fly, which is time consuming
    */
    
    public GameFactory(){
        
        games.put(Chess.class.getName(),new Chess());
        games.put(Checkers.class.getName(),new Checkers());
        games.put(Ludo.class.getName(),new Ludo());        
    }
    public Game getGame(String gameName){
        return games.get(gameName);
    }
}

public class NonStaticFactoryDemo{
    public static void main(String args[]){
        if ( args.length < 1){
            System.out.println("Usage: java FactoryDemo gameName");
            return;
        }
     
        GameFactory factory = new GameFactory();
        Game game = factory.getGame(args[0]);
        System.out.println("Game="+game.getClass().getName());
    }
}

output:

java NonStaticFactoryDemo Chess
---------------------------------------
Create Chess game
Opponents:2
Define 64 blocks
Place 16 pieces for White opponent
Place 16 pieces for Black opponent
Start Chess game
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Create Checkers game
Opponents:2 or 3 or 4 or 6
For each opponent, place 10 coins
Start Checkers game
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Create Ludo game
Opponents:2 or 3 or 4
For each opponent, place 4 coins
Create two dices with numbers from 1-6
Start Ludo game
---------------------------------------
Game=Chess

This example shows a Factory class by implementing a FactoryMethod.

1. Game is the interface for all type of games. It defines complex method: createGame()

2. Chess, Ludo, Checkers are different variants of games, which provide implementation to createGame()

3. public Game getGame(String gameName) is FactoryMethod in IGameFactory class

4. GameFactory pre-creates different type of games in constructor. It implements IGameFactory factory method.

5. game Name is passed as command line argument to NotStaticFactoryDemo

6. getGame in GameFactory accepts a game name and returns corresponding Game object.

When to use:

1. Factory: When you don't want to expose object instantiation logic to the client/caller
2. Abstract Factory: When you want to provide interface to families of related or dependent objects without specifying their concrete classes
3. Factory Method: To define an interface for creating an object, but let the sub-classes decide which class to instantiate

Comparison with other creational patterns:

1. Design start out using Factory Method (less complicated, more customizable, subclasses proliferate) and evolve toward Abstract Factory, Prototype, or Builder (more flexible, more complex) as the designer discovers where more flexibility is needed

2. Abstract Factory classes are often implemented with Factory Methods, but they can also be implemented using Prototype

References for further reading: Sourcemaking design-patterns