CHAPTER 53 — Interfaces

Java has single inheritance, only. This means that a child class inherits from only one parent class. Usually this is all you need. But sometimes multiple inheritance would be convenient. Interfaces give Java some of the advantages of multiple inheritance without the disadvantages.

Chapter Topics:

• Interfaces
• Defining an Interface
• How a class implements an interface
• Using an interface as a data type
• Public interfaces
• Implementing multiple interfaces
• Extending an interface

The chapter includes some small examples, but you will have to wait until you start programming graphical user interfaces to see interfaces used realistically. Interfaces are crucial to GUI programming.