In this article, we will learn how to use and implement the Abstract Factory Pattern in C++ with an example.

Abstract Factory is a creational design pattern that lets you produce families of related objects without specifying their concrete classes.

C++ Abstract Factory Pattern Example

The below diagram shows the generic structure of the Abstract Factory Pattern:

Let's refer the above structure to create an example to demonstrates the usage of the Abstract Factory Pattern:

#include <iostream>

/*
 * Product A
 * products implement the same interface so that the classes can refer
 * to the interface not the concrete product
 */
class ProductA
{
public:
  virtual ~ProductA() {}
  
  virtual const char* getName() = 0;
  // ...
};

/*
 * ConcreteProductAX and ConcreteProductAY
 * define objects to be created by concrete factory
 */
class ConcreteProductAX : public ProductA
{
public:
  ~ConcreteProductAX() {}
  
  const char* getName()
  {
    return "A-X";
  }
  // ...
};

class ConcreteProductAY : public ProductA
{
public:
  ~ConcreteProductAY() {}
  
  const char* getName()
  {
    return "A-Y";
  }
  // ...
};

/*
 * Product B
 * same as Product A, Product B declares interface for concrete products
 * where each can produce an entire set of products
 */
class ProductB
{
public:
  virtual ~ProductB() {}
  
  virtual const char* getName() = 0;
  // ...
};

/*
 * ConcreteProductBX and ConcreteProductBY
 * same as previous concrete product classes
 */
class ConcreteProductBX : public ProductB
{
public:
  ~ConcreteProductBX() {}
  
  const char* getName()
  {
    return "B-X";
  }
  // ...
};

class ConcreteProductBY : public ProductB
{
public:
  ~ConcreteProductBY() {}
  
  const char* getName()
  {
    return "B-Y";
  }
  // ...
};

/*
 * Abstract Factory
 * provides an abstract interface for creating a family of products
 */
class AbstractFactory
{
public:
  virtual ~AbstractFactory() {}
  
  virtual ProductA *createProductA() = 0;
  virtual ProductB *createProductB() = 0;
};

/*
 * Concrete Factory X and Y
 * each concrete factory create a family of products and client uses
 * one of these factories so it never has to instantiate a product object
 */
class ConcreteFactoryX : public AbstractFactory
{
public:
  ~ConcreteFactoryX() {}
  
  ProductA *createProductA()
  {
    return new ConcreteProductAX();
  }
  ProductB *createProductB()
  {
    return new ConcreteProductBX();
  }
  // ...
};

class ConcreteFactoryY : public AbstractFactory
{
public:
  ~ConcreteFactoryY() {}

  ProductA *createProductA()
  {
    return new ConcreteProductAY();
  }
  ProductB *createProductB()
  {
    return new ConcreteProductBY();
  }
  // ...
};


int main()
{
  ConcreteFactoryX *factoryX = new ConcreteFactoryX();
  ConcreteFactoryY *factoryY = new ConcreteFactoryY();

  ProductA *p1 = factoryX->createProductA();
  std::cout << "Product: " << p1->getName() << std::endl;
  
  ProductA *p2 = factoryY->createProductA();
  std::cout << "Product: " << p2->getName() << std::endl;
  
  delete p1;
  delete p2;
  
  delete factoryX;
  delete factoryY;
  
  return 0;
}

Output

Product: A-X
Product: A-Y

Abstract Factory Design Pattern Benefits

• Abstract Factory design pattern provides an approach to code for interface rather than implementation.

• Abstract Factory pattern is “factory of factories” and can be easily extended to accommodate more products, 

• Abstract Factory pattern is robust and avoids the conditional logic of the Factory pattern.

When to use?

• a system should be independent of how its products are created, composed, and represented
• a system should be configured with one of multiple families of products
• a family of related product objects is designed to be used together
• you want to provide a class library of products, and you want to reveal just their interfaces, not their implementations

Related C++ Design Patterns

• C++ Factory Method Pattern Example
• C++ Builder Pattern Example
• C++ Abstract Factory Pattern Example
• C++ Bridge Pattern Example
• C++ Chain of Responsibility Pattern Example
• C++ Composite Pattern Example
• C++ Decorator Pattern Example
• C++ Facade Pattern Example
• C++ Mediator Pattern Example
• C++ Memento Pattern Example
• C++ Observer Pattern Example
• C++ Proxy Pattern Example
• C++ Strategy Pattern Example
• C++ State Pattern Example
• C++ Visitor Pattern Example