title: what's the advantage of factory pattern?
body: <blockquote>
    <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
    <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/751804/what-are-the-practical-uses-of-factory-method-pattern">What are the practical uses of Factory Method Pattern?</a><br>
    <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5739611/differences-between-abstract-factory-pattern-and-factory-method">Differences between Abstract Factory Pattern and Factory Method</a>  </p>
  </blockquote>
  
  
  
  <p>My current understanding of factory is that it can create object by a input string, say</p>
  
  <pre><code>Factory.create("mouse");
  Factory.create("hamster");
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What's the advantage of this pattern over new?</p>