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Comparison of Builder Pattern and Factory Pattern

The main difference between the builder pattern and the factory pattern lies in their focus:

Fluent Builder Pattern​

The fluent builder pattern helps construct complex objects step-by-step with optional configurations. It acts like a "recipe" where you choose the ingredients (object properties) and add them one by one. This enables flexible object creation with improved readability, especially for objects with many optional fields.

Factory Pattern​

The factory pattern deals with encapsulating object creation logic and choosing the right type of object to create based on certain criteria. It's like a switchboard that decides which "machine" (object) to turn on based on the input. This promotes loose coupling and simplifies object creation when choosing between different implementations.

The advantages of using these patterns depend on the context:

Use Cases for Fluent Builder Pattern​

  • You have a complex object with many optional configurations.
  • You want to improve code readability and clarity for object creation.
  • You need a flexible way to define default values for optional fields.

Use Cases for Factory Pattern​

  • You need to create different types of objects based on different conditions.
  • You want to decouple your code from the specific implementation details of object creation.
  • You want to centralize the logic for choosing the right object type.