I am wondering about correct definition for such construction:
class A { public static A create() { return new A(); } private A() { } } In Effective Java (Item 1) and on wikipedia article I found that this is called Static Factory Method (some kind of Factory Method).
But during reading of Refactoring to Patterns (Chapter 6) I met the same construction called Creation Method. Also, there is a note that it should not be messed up with a Factory Method pattern.
Where truth is?
Have a read of this discussion of Factory Method.
FactoryMethodPattern is different from FactoryMethod or CreationMethod.
One approach is to call parameterless methods creation methods and parameterized (for example by an enum) - factory methods. In the sence that a factory is more powerful and can create objects of different types.
If you use a parameterless method you have to decide elsewhere which class' method to call. With a parameterized method you pass this logic to the method itself. So the latter (factory) also decides by itself which class object to create.
Creation Method is a static or non-static method that creates an instance of a class. Factory Method is a method defined and implemented in a class hierarchy and the creation is of a polymorphic nature.
Well, terminology often varies between authors, so I wouldn't worry too much about this.
I suppose, however, that "Refactoring to Patterns" warns against calling this a "factory method", because there is the factory method pattern. Since the factory method pattern is more than just a factory method, they propose a different name to avoid confusion.
I guess you could also call it a "simple static factory", but that's a bit wordy (and non-standard).
