Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Factory (object-oriented programming)
open-in-new
<p>In <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_programming/TxNMEcao">object-oriented programming</a>, a factory is an <a href="/facts/Object_(computer_science)/eX99dtAw">object</a> for <a href="/facts/Object_creation/QgCnhNlf">creating other objects</a>; formally, it is a <a href="/facts/Subroutine/9vFJrg0A">function</a> or <a href="/facts/Method_(computer_programming)/8kAXxVYs">method</a> that returns objects of a varying prototype or <a href="/facts/Class_(computer_programming)/zvzkSAtE">class</a> from some method call, which is assumed to be <i>new</i>. More broadly, a subroutine that returns a <i>new</i> object may be referred to as a <i>factory</i>, as in <i>factory method</i> or <i>factory function</i>. The factory pattern is the basis for a number of related <a href="/facts/Software_design_pattern/mV7r4egw">software design patterns</a>. </p>