User Tools

Site Tools


glossary:interface

This is an old revision of the document!


Interface (Concept)

Alternative Terms

Definition

An interface defines the interaction between certain modules.

Description

Interface is a very general concept which refers to the interaction points of arbitrary modules:

  • The interface of a class is defined by its public methods.
  • The interface of a method is defined by its method signature.
  • The interface of a subsystem is defined by the public (facade) classes.
  • The interface of a network service is defined by a protocol.
  • The interface of a hardware component is defined by pins, wires, signals, protocols, etc.
  • A graphical user interface is defined by buttons, menus, text boxes, and other controls.

The interface defines how a module shall be used. There may be ways circumventing the interface and accessing internal parts of a module directly. This should be avoided (IH/E but is sometimes done.

A module can be described as having a provided interface and a required interface.

Examples

Alternative Definitions

See Also

Further Reading

Interface (Language Construct)

Alternative Terms

Definition

An interface is a language construct of certain object-oriented programming languages resembling an abstract class without any implementation.

Description

Note that in this wiki whenever the language construct is meant (and not the concept) interface shall be written using a monospace font: interface vs. interface.

Examples

Alternative Definitions

See Also

Further Reading


Other Uses

glossary/interface.1602515898.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020-10-12 17:18 by 159.69.186.191