Implementing the factory pattern can be done in various ways, depending on the level of abstraction and complexity you need. A simple factory, for example, is not a formal design pattern, but a basic way to create objects by using a static method that takes a parameter and returns an object of a particular type. This could be done using a ShapeFactory class with a static method createShape that takes a string as a parameter and returns the corresponding Shape object. On the other hand, the factory method is a formal design pattern that contains an abstract class or interface with a method that creates objects, while allowing subclasses to override the method and decide which concrete class to instantiate. This could be done using an abstract class ShapeFactory with an abstract method createShape that returns a Shape object, and then having subclasses like CircleFactory, SquareFactory, and TriangleFactory that implement the method and return different types of shapes. Lastly, the abstract factory is also a formal design pattern defining an abstract class or interface with multiple methods that create objects of different types. This could be done using an abstract class ShapeFactory with methods such as createCircle, createSquare, and createTriangle that return different types of shapes, and then having subclasses like RoundedShapeFactory and SharpShapeFactory that implement the methods and return various rounded or sharp shapes.