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Lesson 5Factory Method: motivation
ObjectiveWrite an abstract Vehicle Class

Write an abstract Vehicle Class

Polymorphism is a powerful tool that uses subclasses as instances of their common superclass. For instance, an abstract base class called Vehicle may be a Car, a Bicycle, or a Bus. Each of these subclasses behaves differently (for example, a Bus does not accelerate as fast as a Car) but they all support the same Vehicle interface; that is, they all have public start(), stop(), and accelerate() methods.
Many times they may not have any other public members than precisely those declared in the common superclass. This allows client classes to be written without detailed knowledge of exactly which class they are working with. The same code that works with a Bus works with a Car, with a Motorcycle, with a Bicycle, and so forth.

Factory Method: Motivation

In, C++ destructors are also an exception. Furthermore, in C++ a destructor is an operation that is automatically invoked to finalize an object that is about to be deleted. Destructors must have the same name as the name of the class prefixed with a tilde (~). Thus clients must know the name of the destructor as well. Most of the time, you will just use the default destructor so this is not an issue. If it is an issue for your code, it is not hard to convert the Factory Method or Abstract Factory pattern to work with destructors as well as constructors. In fact you can use one of these Factory patterns for the destructors, while still using another pattern like Builder or Prototype for the creation process. In practice, you only rarely need to do this.
The factory method pattern is an object-oriented creational design pattern to implement the concept of factories and deals with the problem of creating objects without specifying the exact class of object that will be created. The essence of this pattern is to define an interface for creating an object and allow the classes that implement the interface decide which class to instantiate. The Factory method lets a class defer instantiation to subclasses.
Creating an object often requires complex processes not appropriate to include within a composing object. The object's creation may lead to a significant duplication of code and may require information not accessible to the composing object. This may not provide a sufficient level of abstraction or may otherwise not be part of the composing object's concerns. The factory method design pattern handles these problems by defining a separate method for creating the objects, which subclasses can then override to specify the derived type of product that will be created.

The Imperative of Object Factories in Creational Design Patterns

In the expansive realm of software design, creational design patterns stand as foundational blueprints that deal explicitly with object creation mechanisms. These patterns aim to create objects in a manner suitable to the situation while simultaneously keeping the system decoupled from the specific classes that it instantiates. Among these creational patterns, the concept of 'Object Factories' emerges as a pivotal strategy. Delving deeper, let's elucidate when and why Object Factories become indispensable within this context.
  1. Complex Object Creation:
    • When an object requires a multifaceted initialization process or involves multiple steps in its construction, an object factory proves beneficial. It encapsulates the complexity of this process, presenting a simplified interface for object creation.
  2. Decoupling System from Specific Classes:
    • In scenarios where a system needs to remain agnostic about the specific classes of objects it creates, object factories act as intermediaries. By centralizing the instantiation process, they reduce direct dependencies between concrete classes and the parts of the system requiring those objects.
  3. Variability in Created Objects:
    • When a system necessitates the creation of objects from various classes based on certain conditions or configurations, object factories come to the fore. They determine which class to instantiate, allowing for flexibility and variability in object creation.
  4. Reusability and Configuration:
    • Object factories bolster the reusability of a system. By externalizing the object creation process, these factories can be configured or extended independently, without necessitating changes to the overarching system or its other components.
  5. Lifecycle Management:
    • In situations where objects have a specific lifecycle or require pooling (reusing objects instead of creating new ones continually), object factories can manage this lifecycle, ensuring efficient resource utilization.
  6. Encapsulation of Construction Logic:
    • Often, the logic behind which object to instantiate or how to set up an object might be complex and subject to change. Object factories encapsulate this logic, ensuring that the system remains decoupled from these intricacies and is more maintainable.
  7. Consistent Object State:
    • Ensuring that objects are created in a consistent, valid state is paramount. Object factories can set default values, perform necessary validations, or undertake preparatory steps to guarantee that every object created is in a ready-to-use state.
In essence, while creational design patterns offer a suite of strategies for object instantiation, object factories distinctly shine in scenarios demanding abstraction of the creation process, variability in instantiation, or intricate initialization logic. Their introduction into a system not only enhances flexibility and decoupling but also ensures that object creation adheres to principles of consistency, reusability, and maintainability. Thus, in the architectural tapestry of software design, object factories are not mere conveniences but often critical cogs in the machinery.

However, there is one exception: constructors. In Java and C++, constructors have the same name as their class. This means that a subclass cannot override its parent's constructor; and, more importantly, constructors must be invoked explicitly.
When a client instantiates a class with new, that client must know at compile time exactly which class it is instantiating.
This penetrates the layer of abstraction normally imposed by polymorphism and a common base class.
The Factory Method pattern is used in circumstances like this to remove specific knowledge of which class to instantiate from the client and instead place it inside the common base class and concrete subclasses where it belongs.

In particular, you should think of the Factory Method when any of the following conditions hold:
  1. You do not know at compile time which specific subclasses need to be instantiated.
  2. You want to defer the choice of which objects to create to a subclass.
  3. A class delegates its work to a helper class, and you want to remove explicit information about which class the work is delegated to.

Abstract VehicleFactory Class

public abstract class VehicleFactory {
 public static final String LUXURY_VEHICLE = "Luxury";
 public static final String NON_LUXURY_VEHICLE = "Non-Luxury";
 public abstract Car getCar();
 public abstract SUV getSUV();

}//End of class

Concrete Factory Subclasses of the Abstract VehicleFactory Class

public class LuxuryVehicleFactory extends VehicleFactory {
 public Car getCar() {
  return new LuxuryCar("L-C");
 }
 public SUV getSUV() {
  return new LuxurySUV("L-S");
 }
}//End of class

public class NonLuxuryVehicleFactory extends VehicleFactory {
 public Car getCar() {
  return new NonLuxuryCar("NL-C");
 }
 public SUV getSUV() {
  return new NonLuxurySUV("NL-S");
 }
}//End of class

Factory Method - Exercise

In this exercise, you will write a class that uses the Factory Method pattern.
Factory Method - Exercise