title: What's the point of the Prototype design pattern?
body: <p>So I'm learning about design patterns in school. Today I was told about the 'Prototype' design pattern. </p>
  
  <p>I must be missing something, because I don't see the benefits from it. I've seen people online say it's faster than using <code>new</code> but this doesn't make sense; at some point, regardless of how the new object is created, memory needs to be allocated for it. </p>
  
  <p>Doesn't this pattern run in the same circles as the 'chicken or egg' problem? Since the Prototype pattern essentially is just cloning objects, at some point the original object must be created itself (i.e. not cloned). This would mean that I need to have an existing copy of every object I want to clone already ready to clone?</p>
  
  <p>Can anyone explain what the use of this pattern is? </p>