Factory Method in Spring
Sometimes you don't want Spring to create a bean using a simple constructor. You might need a custom creation logic – that's where factory methods come in.
There are two types:
- Static factory method – a static method that returns an instance.
- Instance factory method – a non‑static method on an existing bean that returns another bean.
Static factory example:
public class CarFactory {
public static Car createCar() {
return new Car();
}
}
<bean id="car" class="CarFactory" factory-method="createCar"/>
Instance factory method:
public class EngineFactory {
public Engine createEngine() {
return new Engine();
}
}
<bean id="engineFactory" class="EngineFactory"/>
<bean id="engine" factory-bean="engineFactory" factory-method="createEngine"/>
Factory methods are useful when you need to integrate with legacy code or when object creation requires complex logic.
Two Minute Drill
- Factory methods allow custom bean creation logic.
- Static factory method: defined on a class, invoked via
factory-methodattribute. - Instance factory method: defined on an existing bean, uses
factory-beanandfactory-method. - Commonly used when constructors aren't sufficient.
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