DevShed has posted the final installment of their series looking at the creation and use of the Abstract Factory pattern. In this new part, they focus on the creation of online forms and their handling as the pattern is applied.

In this last installment of the series, I'm going to show you how to use an abstract factory class to create distinct types of form objects, logically depending on the context where they will be utilized. The idea not only sounds interesting, but it can provide you with a better understanding of how this handy pattern can be used in a real situation.

They start by defining their abstract factory form class and extending it to create a required form element and a normal form element. They make input functions for each - required input box, required radio button, required check box - and their "Normal" counterparts. Finally, they tie these all together to create a simple form with sets of an input box, radio set, and checkboxes both required and normal.