prototype

specify kinds of objects to create using a prototypical instance and create by copying this prototype

motivation

• flexibility, reduce number of classes

applicability

• when classes to instantiate are specified at runtime
• to avoid building a class hierarchy of factories
• to reduce static dependencies

participants

• Prototype, ConcretePrototype, Client

consequences

• adding and removing product types at runtime
• specifying new objects by varying value/structure
• reduced subclassing
• configure an application with classes dynamically see kit.h and dv/tk/kit.c

related

• AbstractFactory versus Prototype