> And I thought the factory pattern itself came from the GoF, but I might be misremembering.
It did, and GoF certainly influenced OOP outside of Java, too. But EJB created a need into which the Factory pattern was really the only solution. (GoF precedes EJB and even Java.)
But certainly its not the only thing; Java hit popularity right around the time GoF was most influential; OOP languages whose ecosystems developed earlier (e.g., C++) or later (e.g., C#, though GoF-heavy code isn’t unheard of there) wouldn’t be as influenced by it, all things being equal. Java just had the perfect combination of language features, early specs like JEE (which included Beans), and timing to be naturally inclined for maximum naive GoFism.
It did, and GoF certainly influenced OOP outside of Java, too. But EJB created a need into which the Factory pattern was really the only solution. (GoF precedes EJB and even Java.)
But certainly its not the only thing; Java hit popularity right around the time GoF was most influential; OOP languages whose ecosystems developed earlier (e.g., C++) or later (e.g., C#, though GoF-heavy code isn’t unheard of there) wouldn’t be as influenced by it, all things being equal. Java just had the perfect combination of language features, early specs like JEE (which included Beans), and timing to be naturally inclined for maximum naive GoFism.