Interface in Java

An interface in java is a blueprint of a class. It has static constants and abstract methods.

The interface in java is a mechanism to achieve abstraction. There can be only abstract
methods in the java interface not method body. It is used to achieve abstraction and multiple
inheritance in Java.

Java Interface also represents IS-A relationship.

It cannot be instantiated just like abstract class.

Why use Java interface?

There are mainly three reasons to use interface. They are given below.

 It is used to achieve abstraction.

 By interface, we can support the functionality of multiple inheritance.
 It can be used to achieve loose coupling.

Internal addition by compiler

The java compiler adds public and abstract keywords before the interface method. More, it adds
public, static and final keywords before data members.

In other words, Interface fields are public, static and final by default, and methods are public and
abstract.

Understanding relationship between classes and interfaces

As shown in the figure given below, a class extends another class, an interface extends another
interface but a class implements an interface.
Java Interface Example

In this example, Printable interface has only one method, its implementation is provided in the A
class.

interface printable
{  
void print();  
}  
class A6 implements printable
{  
public void print()
{
System.out.println("Hello");
}  
   public static void main(String args[])
{  
A6 obj = new A6();  
obj.print();  
  }  
}

Output:

Hello
Java Interface Example: Drawable

In this example, Drawable interface has only one method. Its implementation is provided by
Rectangle and Circle classes. In real scenario, interface is defined by someone but
implementation is provided by different implementation providers. And, it is used by someone
else. The implementation part is hidden by the user which uses the interface.

File: TestInterface1.java

//Interface declaration: by first user  
interface Drawable
{  
void draw();  
}  
//Implementation: by second user  
class Rectangle implements Drawable
{  
public void draw()
{
System.out.println("drawing rectangle");
}  
}  
class Circle implements Drawable
{  
public void draw()
{
System.out.println("drawing circle");
}  
}  
//Using interface: by third user  
class TestInterface1
{  
public static void main(String args[])
{  
Drawable d=new Circle(); 
d.draw();  
}
}  

Output:
drawing circle

Java Interface Example: Bank

Let's see another example of java interface which provides the implementation of Bank interface.
File: TestInterface2.java

interface Bank
{  
float rateOfInterest();  
}  
class SBI implements Bank
{  
public float rateOfInterest()
{
return 9.15f;
}  
}  
class PNB implements Bank
{  
public float rateOfInterest()
{
return 9.7f;
}  
}  
class TestInterface2
{  
public static void main(String[] args)
{  
Bank b=new SBI();  
System.out.println("ROI: "+b.rateOfInterest());  
}
}  

Output:
ROI: 9.15

Multiple inheritance in Java by interface

If a class implements multiple interfaces, or an interface extends multiple interfaces i.e. known
as multiple inheritance.
interface Printable
{  
void print();  
}  
interface Showable
{  
void show();  
}  
class A7 implements Printable,Showable
{  
public void print()
{
System.out.println("Hello");
}  
public void show()
{
System.out.println("Welcome");
}  
  public static void main(String args[])
{  
A7 obj = new A7();  
obj.print();  
obj.show();  
  }  
}  

Output:
Hello
Welcome
Multiple inheritance is not supported through class in java but it is possible by
interface, why?

As we have explained in the inheritance chapter, multiple inheritance is not supported in case of
class because of ambiguity. But it is supported in case of interface because there is no ambiguity
as implementation is provided by the implementation class. For example:

interface Printable
{  
void print();  
}  
interface Showable
{  
void print();  
}  
class TestTnterface3 implements Printable, Showable
{  
public void print()
{
System.out.println("Hello");
}  
public static void main(String args[])
{  
TestTnterface1 obj = new TestTnterface1();  
obj.print();  
  }  
}  

Output:
Hello

As you can see in the above example, Printable and Showable interface have same
methods but its implementation is provided by class TestTnterface1, so there is no
ambiguity.

Interface inheritance

A class implements interface but one interface extends another interface .

interface Printable
{  
void print();  
}  
interface Showable extends Printable
 {  
void show();  
}  
class TestInterface4 implements Showable
{  
public void print()
{
System.out.println("Hello");
}  
public void show()
{
System.out.println("Welcome");
}  
   public static void main(String args[])
{  
TestInterface4 obj = new TestInterface4();  
obj.print();  
obj.show();  
  }  
}  

Output:
Hello
Welcome

Java Nested Interface

An interface i.e. declared within another interface or class is known as nested interface. The
nested interfaces are used to group related interfaces so that they can be easy to maintain. The
nested interface must be referred by the outer interface or class. It can't be accessed directly.

Points to remember for nested interfaces

There are given some points that should be remembered by the java programmer.

 Nested interface must be public if it is declared inside the interface but it can have any
access modifier if declared within the class.
 Nested interfaces are declared static implicitly.

Syntax of nested interface which is declared within the interface

interface interface_name
{  
  ...  
  interface nested_interface_name
{  
    ...  
  }  
}   
Example of nested interface which is declared within the interface
In this example, we are going to learn how to declare the nested interface and how we can access
it.
interface Showable
{  
   void show();  
   interface Message
{  
    void msg();  
   }  
}  
class TestNestedInterface1 implements Showable.Message
{  
  public void msg()
{
System.out.println("Hello nested interface");
}  
    public static void main(String args[])
{  
   Showable.Message message=new TestNestedInterface1();  
   message.msg();  
  }  
}  

Output:
Hello nested interface

Difference between abstract class and interface

Abstract class and interface both are used to achieve abstraction where we can declare the
abstract methods. Abstract class and interface both can't be instantiated.

But there are many differences between abstract class and interface that are given below.

Abstract class Interface

1) Abstract class can have abstract and Interface can have only abstract methods. Since
non-abstract methods. Java 8, it can have default and static methods also.

2) Abstract class doesn't support

Interface supports multiple inheritance.
multiple inheritance.
3) Abstract class can have final, non-
Interface has only static and final variables.
final, static and non-static variables.

4) Abstract class can provide the Interface can't provide the implementation of
implementation of interface. abstract class.

5) The abstract keyword is used to

The interface keyword is used to declare interface.
declare abstract class.

6) Example: Example:
public abstract class Shape{ public interface Drawable{
public abstract void draw(); void draw();
} }

Simply, abstract class achieves partial abstraction (0 to 100%) whereas interface achieves fully
abstraction (100%).