Brewing Flexibility with the Factory Method Design Pattern

Introduction

In the world of software development, design patterns serve as blueprints for solving recurring design problems efficiently and effectively. One such pattern, the Factory Method, provides a flexible way to create objects without specifying their exact class. Let's explore how this pattern works to create different coffee types in C#.

Understanding the Factory Method Pattern

The Factory Method pattern is a creational pattern that defines an interface for creating objects but allows subclasses to alter the type of objects that will be created. It encapsulates the object creation logic in a separate method, known as the factory method, which subclasses can override to provide customized object instantiation.

Here's how the Factory Method can be applied to create different coffee types

1. Define an Interface (Coffee):

This interface defines the basic functionalities expected from any coffee type (name and price).

 2. Create Concrete Coffee Classes:

These classes implement the Coffee interface, providing specific details for Latte and Cappuccino coffees.These classes implement the Coffee interface, providing specific details for Latte and Cappuccino coffees.

3. Implement the Coffee Factory:

The CoffeeFactory class provides a central method CreateCoffee. This method takes a string representing the desired coffee type and returns a corresponding Coffee object using a switch statement.

4. Usage Example:

This code snippet demonstrates how to use the CoffeeFactory. You provide the desired coffee type ("Latte"), and the factory creates the appropriate Coffee object (Latte in this case).

Benefits of Factory Method

• Centralized Object Creation: Easier control over object creation and potential for introducing additional coffee types without modifying existing code.

• Decoupling: Code that needs a coffee object doesn't have to know the specific concrete class (Latte, Cappuccino), promoting flexibility.

• Open/Closed Principle: New coffee types can be added by extending the system without modifying existing code.

 

Conclusion

The Factory Method pattern promotes loose coupling by delegating object creation to subclasses, allowing for easy extensibility and maintenance. By applying this pattern in our coffee shop application, we achieve flexibility in creating different types of coffee while keeping the object creation logic separate and manageable. So, next time you're brewing up some code, remember the Factory Method pattern for a customizable and robust solution.