May or may not have final variables declared within it. ParameterĬan handle final, non-final, static, and non-static variables.Ĭan only have static and final variables defined by default. Here’s a summary of all the key differences between an Abstract Class and an Interface. However, the variables declared in Abstract Classes can be non-final and can be modified by the user-defined classes. All the variables declared within the interface are final. Both Interfaces and Abstract Classes can have methods and variables, but neither of them can be instantiated. However, they can implement only one Abstract Class. Explore Our Software Development Free Coursesĭifferences and similarities between Interfaces and Abstract ClassesĪll of the methods declared inside an Interface are implicitly public and abstract – whereas Abstract Classes can have all sorts of modifiers for their methods – from partial, public, static, protected, and more.įurther, any user-defined class can implement more than one interface. Now that we have the basics of Interfaces and Abstract classes, let’s talk about how they differ, their similarities, and when we should use which approach. If the child class doesn’t implement all the abstract methods, the child class should be declared as an abstract class as well. Any child class which will extend the Abstract Class needs to implement all the abstract methods described in the Abstract Class.That means – we can’t create objects from any Abstract Classes. Abstract Classes cannot be instantiated.When it comes to implementing Abstract Classes, there are a few rules you should be aware of: (“I’m all set to eat”) Īs you can see in the definition of the abstract class, the getReady() function is a non-abstract one, while the start() and stop() functions are abstract. This is how the definition of Abstract Classes looks like: In that sense, they must have at least one abstract method in their declaration while also providing the proper implementation for its non-abstract methods. Further, Abstract Classes act as guidelines created for their derivative non-abstract classes. The abstract keyword always prefixes an Abstract Class in its declaration. Master of Science in Computer Science from LJMU & IIITBĬaltech CTME Cybersecurity Certificate ProgramĮxecutive PG Program in Full Stack Development Explore our Popular Software Engineering Courses Now let’s look at what Abstract Classes are, and then we’ll bring both the concepts together so that you have better clarity of their similarities and differences. Further, two abstract public methods have been defined under this interface – so, the class that implements the above interface will need to provide the implementation for the chewing() and digesting() functions.Ĭheck out upGrad’s Full Stack Development Bootcamp (JS/MERN) The definition of Interfaces looks like this:Īs you can see, the definition includes prepending the name with the keyword interface. Therefore, interfaces are also understood as “purely abstract” classes. What this means is that any class that implements an interface must provide some implementation for all of the methods of the Interface.Īll methods in an interface must be public and abstract. Interfaces – What are they?Īn Interface in OOPs can be understood simply as a behavioural contract between various systems. For consistency, any syntax that we use in this article to explain the concepts to you will be of Java.Ĭheck out our free courses to get an edge over the competition.īy the end of this article, you can clearly distinguish between Abstract Classes and Interfaces and which to implement for specific cases. Keep in mind that Abstract Class and Interface is just a concept and can be implemented in any Object-Oriented Programing language of your choice. In this article, we’ll look at the nuances of Abstract Classes, Interfaces, and the similarities and differences between the two. Abstract Classes and Interfaces might seem similar to a beginner, but they can’t be used interchangeably. While Abstract Classes and Interfaces are both used to implement the concept of Abstraction, the two are different in implementation and have different use cases. Both of these enable programmers to implement one of the more essential concepts of OOPs – Abstraction. If you’re sitting for a software engineering interview, the one question that you can expect to come your way is – the differences and similarities between Abstract Class and Interface.Ībstract Classes and Interfaces are the fundamental blocks in Object-Oriented Programming.
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