Interface Definition
The word "interface" is both a noun and a verb, and software uses both meanings.
Apprentice · OOP · Updated
Let's begin by defining the word interface. We could look at it as a noun or as a verb.
Noun
- A place where two people or applications meet and interact
- A device that allows a user to interact with a software application
- An adapter to join 2 devices
Verb
- The act of interacting with another person, for example: the marketing team needs to interface with the development team to discuss what the software can do.
In software engineering both definitions (noun and verb) are applicable in how we describe our software.
- We build user interfaces (noun) so that a user can interface (verb) with our system.
- In C#, Java and many other languages, we create an
interface(noun) so that different parts of the program can interface (verb) with each other.