An interface is a classifier that declares of a set of coherent public features and obligations. An interface specifies a contract. Any instance of a classifier that realizes (implements) the interface must fulfill that contract and thus provides services described by contract.
Since interfaces are declarations, they are not instantiable. Instead, an interface specification is implemented by an instance of an instantiable classifier, which means that the instantiable classifier presents a public facade that conforms to the interface specification.
Any given classifier may implement more than one interface. Interface may be implemented by a number of different classifiers.
An association between an interface and any other classifier implies that a conforming association must exist between any implementation of that interface and that other classifier. In particular, an association between interfaces implies that a conforming association must exist between implementations of the interfaces.
Notation
An interface may be shown using a rectangle symbol with the keyword «interface» preceding the name.
Interface SiteSearch
The obligations that may be associated with an interface are in the form of various kinds of constraints (such as pre- and postconditions) or protocol specifications, which may impose ordering restrictions on interactions through the interface.
Interface Pageable
Interfaces realized by a classifier are its provided interfaces, and represent the obligations that instances of that classifier have to their clients. They describe the services that the instances of that classifier offer to their clients.
Interface participating in the interface realization dependency is shown as a circle or ball, labeled with the name of the interface and attached by a solid line to the classifier that realizes this interface.
Interface SiteSearch is realized (implemented) by SearchService.
Required interface specifies services that a classifier needs in order to perform its function and fulfill its own obligations to its clients. It is specified by a usage dependency between the classifier and the corresponding interface.
The usage dependency from a classifier to an interface is shown by representing the interface by a half-circle or socket, labeled with the name of the interface, attached by a solid line to the classifier that requires this interface.
Interface SiteSearch is used (required) by SearchController.
It is often the case in practice that two or more interfaces are mutually coupled through application-specific dependencies. In such situations, each interface represents a specific role in a multi-party “protocol.” These types of protocol role couplings can be captured by associations between interfaces.
An interface in the UML could be used as a namespace for other classifiers including classes, interfaces, use cases, etc. Nested classifiers are visible only within the namespace of the containing interface.
Revisions
In UML 1.4 interface was formally equivalent to an abstract class with no attributes and no methods and only abstract operations.
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