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.

In other words, you can say that interfaces can have abstract methods and variables. It
cannot have a method body.

Java Interface also represents the IS-A relationship.

It cannot be instantiated just like the abstract class.

Since Java 8, we can have default and static methods in an interface.

Since Java 9, we can have private methods in an interface.

Why use Java interface?

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

o It is used to achieve abstraction.

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

How to declare an interface?

An interface is declared by using the interface keyword. It provides total abstraction;
means all the methods in an interface are declared with the empty body, and all the
fields are public, static and final by default. A class that implements an interface must
implement all the methods declared in the interface.

Syntax:
1. interface <interface_name>{
2.
3. // declare constant fields
4. // declare methods that abstract
5. // by default.
6. }

The 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, the Printable interface has only one method, and its implementation is
provided in the A6 class.

1. interface printable{
2. void print();
3. }
4. class A6 implements printable{
5. public void print(){System.out.println("Hello");}
6.
7. public static void main(String args[]){
8. A6 obj = new A6();
9. obj.print();
10. }
11. }
12. Output:

13. Hello

Java Interface Example: Drawable

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

File: TestInterface1.java

1. //Interface declaration: by first user

2. interface Drawable{
3. void draw();
4. }
5. //Implementation: by second user
6. class Rectangle implements Drawable{
7. public void draw(){System.out.println("drawing rectangle");}
8. }
9. class Circle implements Drawable{
10. public void draw(){System.out.println("drawing circle");}
11. }
12. //Using interface: by third user
13. class TestInterface1{
14. public static void main(String args[]){
15.

Drawable d=new Circle();//In real scenario, object is provided by method e.g. getDrawable()

16. d.draw();
17. }}

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

1. interface Bank{
2. float rateOfInterest();
3. }
4. class SBI implements Bank{
5. public float rateOfInterest(){return 9.15f;}
6. }
7. class PNB implements Bank{
8. public float rateOfInterest(){return 9.7f;}
9. }
10. class TestInterface2{
11. public static void main(String[] args){
12. Bank b=new SBI();
13. System.out.println("ROI: "+b.rateOfInterest());
14. }}

Output:

ROI: 9.15
 Multiple inheritance in Java by interface
If a class implements multiple interfaces, or an interface extends multiple interfaces, it is
known as multiple inheritance.

1. interface Printable{
2. void print();
3. }
4. interface Showable{
5. void show();
6. }
7. class A7 implements Printable,Showable{
8. public void print(){System.out.println("Hello");}
9. public void show(){System.out.println("Welcome");}
10.
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. A7 obj = new A7();
13. obj.print();
14. obj.show();
15. }
16. }
Output

Output:Hello
Welcome

Multiple inheritance is not supported through class in java,

but it is possible by an interface, why?
As we have explained in the inheritance chapter, multiple inheritance is not supported in
the case of class because of ambiguity. However, it is supported in case of an interface
because there is no ambiguity. It is because its implementation is provided by the
implementation class. For example:
1. interface Printable{
2. void print();
3. }
4. interface Showable{
5. void print();
6. }
7.
8. class TestInterface3 implements Printable, Showable{
9. public void print(){System.out.println("Hello");}
10. public static void main(String args[]){
11. TestInterface3 obj = new TestInterface3();
12. obj.print();
13. }
14. }

Output:

Hello

As we 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 an interface, but one interface extends another interface.

1. interface Printable{
2. void print();
3. }
4. interface Showable extends Printable{
5. void show();
6. }
7. class TestInterface4 implements Showable{
8. public void print(){System.out.println("Hello");}
9. public void show(){System.out.println("Welcome");}
10.
11. public static void main(String args[]){
12. TestInterface4 obj = new TestInterface4();
13. obj.print();
14. obj.show();
15. }
16. }
Output:

17. Hello
18. Welcome
 Default Method in Interface
Since Java 8, we can have method body in interface. But we need to make it default
method. Let's see an example:

File: TestInterfaceDefault.java

1. interface Drawable{
2. void draw();
3. default void msg(){System.out.println("default method");}
4. }
5. class Rectangle implements Drawable{
6. public void draw(){System.out.println("drawing rectangle");}
7. }
8. class TestInterfaceDefault{
9. public static void main(String args[]){
10. Drawable d=new Rectangle();
11. d.draw();
12. d.msg();
13. }}

Output:

drawing rectangle
default method

Static Method in Interface

Since Java 8, we can have static method in interface. Let's see an example:

File: TestInterfaceStatic.java

1. interface Drawable{
2. void draw();
3. static int cube(int x){return x*x*x;}
4. }
5. class Rectangle implements Drawable{
6. public void draw(){System.out.println("drawing rectangle");}
7. }
8.
9. class TestInterfaceStatic{
10. public static void main(String args[]){
11. Drawable d=new Rectangle();
12. d.draw();
13. System.out.println(Drawable.cube(3));
14. }}

Output:
 drawing rectangle
27

What is marker or tagged interface?

An interface which has no member is known as a marker or tagged interface, for
example, Serializable, Cloneable, Remote, etc. They are used to provide some essential
information to the JVM so that JVM may perform some useful operation.

1. //How Serializable interface is written?

2. public interface Serializable{
3. }

Nested Interface in Java

Note: An interface can have another interface which is known as a nested interface. We
will learn it in detail in the nested classes chapter. For example:

1. interface printable{
2. void print();
3. interface MessagePrintable{
4. void msg();
5. }
6. }

Java Nested Interface

An interface, i.e., declared within another interface or class, is known as a 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 to 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.

o The nested interface must be public if it is declared inside the interface, but it can
have any access modifier if declared within the class.
o Nested interfaces are declared static

Syntax of nested interface which is declared within the

interface
1. interface interface_name{
2. ...
3. interface nested_interface_name{
4. ...
5. }
6. }
Syntax of nested interface which is declared within the class
1. class class_name{
2. ...
3. interface nested_interface_name{
4. ...
5. }
6. }
Example of nested interface which is declared within the
interface
In this example, we will learn how to declare the nested interface and how we can
access it.

1. interface Showable{
2. void show();
3. interface Message{
4. void msg();
5. }
6. }
7. class TestNestedInterface1 implements Showable.Message{
8. public void msg(){System.out.println("Hello nested interface");}
9.
10. public static void main(String args[]){
11. Showable.Message message=new TestNestedInterface1();//upcasting here
12. message.msg();
13. }
14. }

Output:

hello nested interface

As you can see in the above example, we are accessing the Message interface by its
outer interface Showable because it cannot be accessed directly. It is just like the
almirah inside the room; we cannot access the almirah directly because we must enter
the room first. In the collection framework, the sun microsystem has provided a
nested interface Entry. Entry is the subinterface of Map, i.e., accessed by
Map.Entry.

Internal code generated by the java compiler for nested

interface Message
The java compiler internally creates a public and static interface as displayed below:

1. public static interface Showable$Message

2. {
3. public abstract void msg();
 4. }
Example of nested interface which is declared within the class
Let's see how we can define an interface inside the class and how we can access it.

TestNestedInterface2.java

1. class A{
2. interface Message{
3. void msg();
4. }
5. }
6.
7. class TestNestedInterface2 implements A.Message{
8. public void msg(){System.out.println("Hello nested interface");}
9.
Abstract class Interface

Interface can have only abstract methods. Since

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

2) Abstract class doesn't support multiple

Interface supports multiple inheritance.
inheritance.

3) Abstract class can have final, non-final,

Interface has only static and final variables.
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 declare The interface keyword is used to declare
abstract class. interface.

6) An abstract class can extend another Java An interface can extend another Java interface
class and implement multiple Java interfaces. only.

7) An abstract class can be extended using An interface can be implemented using keyword
keyword "extends". "implements".

8) A Java abstract class can have class Members of a Java interface are public by
members like private, protected, etc. default.
9)Example: Example:
public abstract class Shape{ public interface Drawable{
public abstract void draw(); void draw();
} }

10. public static void main(String args[]){

11. A.Message message=new TestNestedInterface2();//upcasting here
12. message.msg();
13. }
14. }

Output:

hello nested interface

Can we define a class inside the interface?

Yes, if we define a class inside the interface, the Java compiler creates a static nested
class. Let's see how can we define a class within the interface:

1. interface M{
2. class A{}
3. }

Difference between abstract class and interface