Motivation for Simple Factory and Factory Method Pattern

Question

I know there are a lot of questions out there about differences of different factory patterns, but the answers are so different and confusing. The books that i read use uncl

Answer 1

Simple Factory:

Definition:

Creates objects without exposing the instantiation logic to the client. Refers to the newly created object through a common interface

public interface PaymentMethod {
    public void makePayment();
}

class CreditCard implements PaymentMethod {
    public void makePayment() {
        System.out.println("Payment through credit card...");
    }
}

class NetBanking implements PaymentMethod {
    public void makePayment() {
        System.out.println("Payment through net banking...");
    }
}

public class PaymentMethodFactory {
    public static PaymentMethod getPaymentMethod(String method) {
        if ("creditcard".equalsIgnoreCase(method)) {
            return new CreditCard();
        } else if ("netbanking".equalsIgnoreCase(method)) {
            return new NetBanking();
        } else {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Payment method not supported!");
        }
    }
}

public class SimpleFactoryTest {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        PaymentMethodFactory factory = new PaymentMethodFactory();
        PaymentMethod paymentMethod = factory.getPaymentMethod("creditcard");
        paymentMethod.makePayment();
    }

}

Factory Method:

Definition:

Defines an interface for creating objects, but let subclasses to decide which class to instantiate Refers the newly created object through a common interface.

public interface PaymentMethod {
    public void makePayment();
}

class CreditCard implements PaymentMethod {
    public void makePayment() {
        System.out.println("Payment through credit card...");
    }
}

class NetBanking implements PaymentMethod {
    public void makePayment() {
        System.out.println("Payment through net banking...");
    }
}
public interface IPaymentMethodFactory {
    public PaymentMethod getPaymentMethod();
}

class CreditCardFactory implements IPaymentMethodFactory {
    public PaymentMethod getPaymentMethod() {
        return new CreditCard();
    }
}

class NetBankingFactory implements IPaymentMethodFactory {
    public PaymentMethod getPaymentMethod() {
        return new NetBanking();
    }
}

public class FactoryMethodTest {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        IPaymentMethodFactory factory = new CreditCardFactory();
        PaymentMethod paymentMethod = factory.getPaymentMethod();
        paymentMethod.makePayment();
    }

}