Mastering Object-oriented Python

Leveraging __init__() via a factory function

We can build a complete deck of cards via a factory function. This beats enumerating all 52 cards. In Python, we have two common approaches to factories as follows:

• We define a function that creates objects of the required classes.
• We define a class that has methods for creating objects. This is the full factory design pattern, as described in books on design patterns. In languages such as Java, a factory class hierarchy is required because the language doesn't support standalone functions.

In Python, a class isn't required. It's merely a good idea when there are related factories that are complex. One of the strengths of Python is that we're not forced to use a class hierarchy when a simple function might ...