Interface

An interface contains only the signatures of methods, properties, events or indexers. A class or struct that implements the interface must implement the members of the interface that are specified in the interface definition. In the following example, class ImplementationClass must implement a method named SampleMethod that has no parameters and returns void.

Example

interface ISampleInterface
{
    void SampleMethod();
}

class ImplementationClass : ISampleInterface
{
    // Explicit interface member implementation: 
    void ISampleInterface.SampleMethod()
    {
        // Method implementation.
    }

    static void Main()
    {
        // Declare an interface instance.
        ISampleInterface obj = new ImplementationClass();

        // Call the member.
        obj.SampleMethod();
    }
}

An interface can be a member of a namespace or a class and can contain signatures of the following members:

• Methods
• Properties
• Indexers
• Events

An interface can inherit from one or more base interfaces.

When a base type list contains a base class and interfaces, the base class must come first in the list.

A class that implements an interface can explicitly implement members of that interface. An explicitly implemented member cannot be accessed through a class instance, but only through an instance of the interface.

Example

The following example demonstrates interface implementation. In this example, the interface contains the property declaration and the class contains the implementation. Any instance of a class that implements IPoint has integer properties x and y.

interface IPoint
{
   // Property signatures:
   int x
   {
      get;
      set;
   }

   int y
   {
      get;
      set;
   }
}

class Point : IPoint
{
   // Fields:
   private int _x;
   private int _y;

   // Constructor:
   public Point(int x, int y)
   {
      _x = x;
      _y = y;
   }

   // Property implementation:
   public int x
   {
      get
      {
         return _x;
      }

      set
      {
         _x = value;
      }
   }

   public int y
   {
      get
      {
         return _y;
      }
      set
      {
         _y = value;
      }
   }
}

class MainClass
{
   static void PrintPoint(IPoint p)
   {
      Console.WriteLine("x={0}, y={1}", p.x, p.y);
   }

   static void Main()
   {
      IPoint p = new Point(2, 3);
      Console.Write("My Point: ");
      PrintPoint(p);
   }
}
// Output: My Point: x=2, y=3