Lesson 86

Interfaces

PRESENTED BY

Keith Vassallo icemalta.com

Interfaces
- An interface is a structure that specifies a common API – Application
Programming Interface.
• The API of a class consists of those public fields and methods available
to programmers.
• An interface defines a list of abstract methods.
• Any class implementing the interface must then implement these
methods.
• In essence, an interface ensures that implementing classes will have
certain methods.

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- Interfaces can have static and default methods, but we won’t be covering
these advanced topics at this level.
What’s the Point?
- Imagine you have an inventory control system, with a class representing
every type of item you have in your inventory.
- Some items in your inventory will need to have some information printed
on a label.
- You decide that each labelable class will return a String with the label
content.
- However, it is not appropriate to create a super-class for all items in
inventory, since:
- They don’t all need labels.
- It doesn’t make sense to group items so different from each other.

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Designing the Hierarchy
<<interface>>
Labelable
getLabelContent()

<<implements>>
<<abstract>> <<abstract>>

Consumable Equipment

<<implements>>

Ink Paper SparePaint Printer Laptop

- SparePaint must be labelled with the room it was used to paint.

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- All equipment must have a labelled, so the super-class it made to
implement the interface.
Implementing Interfaces
public interface Labelable {
String getLabelContent();
}

- Note how we do not need to make the method public and abstract.
- All interface methods are public and abstract by default.

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Implementing Interfaces
public class SparePaint implements Labelable {
private String roomPainted;

@Override
public String getLabelContent() {
return "Used in room: " + roomPainted;
}
}

- The SparePaint class implements the interface.

- This means it must override the getLabelContent() method.

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Implementing Interfaces
public abstract class Equipment implements Labelable{
public void powerOn() {
System.out.println("Equipment on");
}

public void powerOff() {

System.out.println("Equipment off");
}
}

- Since the equipment class is abstract, it does not need to implement the
interface.
- However, its children will have to.

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Implementing Interfaces
public class Laptop extends Equipment {
private String manufacturer, model;
private int yearOfManufacture;

@Override
public String getLabelContent() {
return yearOfManufacture + " " + manufacturer + " " + model;
}
}

- The Laptop class must implement the getLabelContent() method since it

is not abstract.

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Multiple Interfaces
- As Java is a single-inheritance language, a class can only have one super-
class.
- However, it can implement multiple interfaces.
- Consider the following interface.
public interface Expirable {
String getExpiryDate();
}

- The SparePaint class also needs to implement this interface.

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Multiple Interfaces
public class SparePaint implements Labelable, Expirable {
private String roomPainted;

@Override
public String getLabelContent() {
return "Used in room: " + roomPainted;
}

@Override
public String getExpiryDate() {
return "12/12/2025"
}
}

We specify the interfaces to implement, separating with commas.

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-
- We then implement all relevant methods.
Great work, you’ve completed this lesson!

Next up: Encapsulation with Getters

and Setters.

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