Why use Factory?
When object creation becomes complex, with conditional logic or variable configurations, the Factory pattern encapsulates that complexity. Client code doesn't need to know about concrete classes.
Simple Factory
Not a GoF pattern, but useful. A function or class centralizes object creation based on a parameter.
function createNotification(type: 'email' | 'sms' | 'push'): Notification {
switch (type) {
case 'email': return new EmailNotification();
case 'sms': return new SMSNotification();
case 'push': return new PushNotification();
}
}
Factory Method
Defines an interface for creating objects but lets subclasses decide which class to instantiate. Useful when a class can't anticipate the class of objects it must create.
Abstract Factory
Provides an interface for creating families of related objects without specifying their concrete classes. Perfect when your app needs to work with multiple product variants.
interface UIFactory {
createButton(): Button;
createInput(): Input;
createModal(): Modal;
}
Advantages
- Decouples client code from concrete implementations.
- Centralizes creation logic.
- Makes it easy to add new types without modifying existing code (OCP).
Want to improve your design with Factory Pattern? At Vynta we apply patterns that scale.