Обычно builder используется там где без builder'a пришлось бы писать много конструкторов для разного набора входных параметров.
Пример из книги Effective Java(автор Joshua Bloch):
Вот пример класса где из за большого количества параметров и из за за их необязательности приходится делать телескопический конструктор
// Telescoping constructor pattern - does not scale well!
public class NutritionFacts {
private final int servingSize; // (mL) required
private final int servings; // (per container) required
private final int calories; // optional
private final int fat; // (g) optional
private final int sodium; // (mg) optional
private final int carbohydrate; // (g) optional
public NutritionFacts(int servingSize, int servings) {
this(servingSize, servings, 0);
}
public NutritionFacts(int servingSize, int servings,
int calories) {
this(servingSize, servings, calories, 0);
}
public NutritionFacts(int servingSize, int servings,
int calories, int fat) {
this(servingSize, servings, calories, fat, 0);
}
public NutritionFacts(int servingSize, int servings,
int calories, int fat, int sodium) {
this(servingSize, servings, calories, fat, sodium, 0);
}
public NutritionFacts(int servingSize, int servings,
int calories, int fat, int sodium, int carbohydrate) {
this.servingSize = servingSize;
this.servings = servings;
this.calories = calories;
this.fat = fat;
this.sodium = sodium;
this.carbohydrate = carbohydrate;
}
}
В таких случаях рекомендуется применять builder
// Builder Pattern
public class NutritionFacts {
private final int servingSize;
private final int servings;
private final int calories;
private final int fat;
private final int sodium;
private final int carbohydrate;
public static class Builder {
// Required parameters
private final int servingSize;
private final int servings;
// Optional parameters - initialized to default values
private int calories = 0;
private int fat = 0;
private int carbohydrate = 0;
private int sodium = 0;
public Builder(int servingSize, int servings) {
this.servingSize = servingSize;
this.servings = servings;
}
public Builder calories(int val)
{ calories = val; return this; }
public Builder fat(int val)
{ fat = val; return this; }
public Builder carbohydrate(int val)
{ carbohydrate = val; return this; }
public Builder sodium(int val)
{ sodium = val; return this; }
public NutritionFacts build() {
return new NutritionFacts(this);
}
}
private NutritionFacts(Builder builder) {
servingSize = builder.servingSize;
servings = builder.servings;
calories = builder.calories;
fat = builder.fat;
sodium = builder.sodium;
carbohydrate = builder.carbohydrate;
}
}
и создавать экземпляр класса так:
NutritionFacts cocaCola = new NutritionFacts.Builder(240, 8).calories(100).sodium(35).carbohydrate(27).build();