Is this Factory Method creation pattern?

Question

I have been using factory method creation pattern for awhile now. I was just recently told that this:

public static class ScheduleTypeFactory
{
    public st         


        

Answer 1

Your code fragment is what in Head First Design Patterns is called "The Simple Factory" (p. 117).
The main difference to the Factory Method Pattern is the ConcreteCreator (compare the diagram in the upper right corner), which is a simple class in your case.
In the "real pattern" the factory class is abstract with an abstract factory class. So, there is one more abstraction level. However, for many use cases, your Simple Factory is enough.

Simple Factory Simple Factory http://yuml.me/7221a4c9 Factory Method Pattern Factory Method Pattern http://yuml.me/3d22eb4e