What is the difference between the Factory Method and Abstract Factory design patterns?

The Factory Method and Abstract Factory design patterns are both creational design patterns that aim to provide a way to create objects in a flexible and reusable manner. However, they differ in their level of abstraction and the scope of the objects they create.

1. Factory Method Pattern:
The Factory Method pattern is a creational design pattern that defines an interface for creating objects, but allows subclasses to decide which class to instantiate. It encapsulates the object creation logic in a separate method, known as the factory method, which is responsible for creating the objects. This pattern promotes loose coupling by allowing the subclasses to decide the concrete implementation of the object creation.

Key characteristics of the Factory Method pattern:
- Defines an interface or abstract class for creating objects.
- The concrete subclasses implement the factory method to create objects.
- The factory method is responsible for instantiating the objects.
- The client code interacts with the factory method to create objects.

2. Abstract Factory Pattern:
The Abstract Factory pattern is a creational design pattern that provides an interface for creating families of related or dependent objects without specifying their concrete classes. It encapsulates a group of factory methods, each responsible for creating a different type of object. This pattern promotes the creation of families of objects that are designed to work together.

Key characteristics of the Abstract Factory pattern:
- Defines an interface or abstract class for creating families of related objects.
- The concrete subclasses implement the factory methods to create objects of a specific family.
- The factory methods are responsible for instantiating the objects.
- The client code interacts with the abstract factory to create objects of a specific family.

Main differences between Factory Method and Abstract Factory patterns:
1. Level of abstraction:
- Factory Method pattern focuses on creating a single object, allowing subclasses to decide the concrete implementation. It provides a way to encapsulate the object creation logic.
- Abstract Factory pattern focuses on creating families of related objects. It provides an interface for creating multiple objects that are designed to work together.

2. Scope of objects created:
- Factory Method pattern creates objects of a single type or class.
- Abstract Factory pattern creates objects of multiple types or classes that are designed to work together.

3. Flexibility:
- Factory Method pattern provides flexibility by allowing subclasses to decide the concrete implementation of the object creation.
- Abstract Factory pattern provides flexibility by allowing the client code to create families of related objects without specifying their concrete classes.

In summary, the Factory Method pattern focuses on creating a single object with subclasses deciding the concrete implementation, while the Abstract Factory pattern focuses on creating families of related objects without specifying their concrete classes.