Final answer:
The Factory pattern provides an interface for creating objects of a superclass and allows subclasses to decide which class to instantiate. It decouples the client code from the concrete classes and provides flexibility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Factory pattern is a design pattern in software engineering that provides an interface for creating objects of a superclass, but allows subclasses to decide which class to instantiate. It is used to create objects without specifying the exact class of the object that will be created, thereby providing flexibility and decoupling the client code from the concrete classes.
For example, let's say we have a Shape interface with subclasses Circle, Square, and Triangle. Instead of creating objects directly using the new keyword, we can use the Factory pattern to create an object based on some input or condition. This allows us to easily add new shapes in the future without modifying the client code.