Abstract Factory

Intent

Provide an interface for creating families of related or dependent objects without specifying their concrete classes. Also known as Kit.

Motivation

The maze game example: a MazeFactory declares creation methods — MakeMaze(), MakeRoom(), MakeDoor(). Subclasses like EnchantedMazeFactory override these to produce enchanted rooms and doors. Client code builds mazes without knowing which concrete products it creates.

Structure

AbstractFactory declares the creation interface. ConcreteFactory implements it for a specific product family. AbstractProduct and ConcreteProduct define the objects being created. The client only depends on the abstract interfaces.

Consequences

Pros:

• Isolates concrete classes — client manipulates instances through abstract interfaces only
• Easy to exchange product families — swap the factory, swap the entire suite of products
• Enforces consistency among products — a factory guarantees that its products work together

Cons:

• Supporting new product types is hard — adding a new abstract method to AbstractFactory forces changes in every concrete factory subclass

In practice, Abstract Factory shines when you need to support multiple platforms or themes. React's context-based theming follows a similar idea — provide a family of styled components without the consumer knowing the specifics.