Prototype

A prototype is an object or partial object that you clone in order to create a new object. This is especially tricky in python where everything is a reference. This will require the use of copy.deepcopy(obj) to clone the object so that any changes to the copied object won't be referenced by the original. A practical use for prototypes is to combine them with factories to create Prototype Factories. These store static example objects that can then be returned via static methods after providing only the significant arguments.

import copy

class Address:
    def __init__(self, street_address, suite, city):
        self.suite = suite
        self.city = city
        self.street_address = street_address

    def __str__(self):
        return f'{self.street_address}, Suite #{self.suite}, {self.city}'

class Employee:
    def __init__(self, name, address):
        self.address = address
        self.name = name

    def __str__(self):
        return f'{self.name} works at {self.address}'

class EmployeeFactory:
    main_office_employee = Employee("", Address("123 East Dr", 0, "London"))
    aux_office_employee = Employee("", Address("123B East Dr", 0, "London"))

    @staticmethod
    def __new_employee(proto, name, suite):
        result = copy.deepcopy(proto)
        result.name = name
        result.address.suite = suite
        return result

    @staticmethod
    def new_main_office_employee(name, suite):
        return EmployeeFactory.__new_employee(
            EmployeeFactory.main_office_employee,
            name, suite
        )

    @staticmethod
    def new_aux_office_employee(name, suite):
        return EmployeeFactory.__new_employee(
            EmployeeFactory.aux_office_employee,
            name, suite
        )