What’s the difference between an interface and abstract class

Question

Hi What's the difference between an interface and abstract class

Satyapriya Nayak · Answer

Hi Aman Abstract class A class that cannot be instantiated. An abstract class is a class that must be inherited and have the methods overridden. An abstract class is essentially a blueprint for a class without any implementation. An abstract class is a special kind of class that cannot be instantiated. It normally contains one or more abstract methods or abstract properties. It provides body to a class. Interface An interface has no implementation; it only has the signature or in other words just the definition of the methods without the body. It's an abstract class with public abstract methods all of which must be implemented in the inherited classes. In which Scenario you will go for Interface or Abstract Class? Interfaces like classes define a set of properties methods and events. But unlike classes interfaces do not provide implementation. They are implemented by classes and defined as separate entities from classes. Even though class inheritance allows your classes to inherit implementation from a base class it also forces you to make most of your design decisions when the class is first published. Abstract classes are useful when creating components because they allow you specify an invariant level of functionality in some methods but leave the implementation of other methods until a specific implementation of that class is needed. They also version well because if additional functionality is needed in derived classes it can be added to the base class without breaking code. Difference Abstract class vs Interface Abstract Class:- 1) An abstract method is created by specifying the abstract type modifier. 2) An abstract method contains no body. 3) An abstract method is not implemented by the base class. 4) An abstract method is automatically virtual. 5) A derived class must override it. 6) Abstract class can have modifiers for methodsproperties etc. 7) An abstract class can implement a property. 8) The abstract modifier cannot be applied to static methods. 9) Properties can also be abstract. 10) A class containing abstract methods must be declared as abstract with the abstract specifier. 11) There can be no objects of an abstract class. 12) If a derived class doesn't implement all of the abstract methods in the base class then the derived class must also be specified as abstract. 13) An abstract class can inherit from a class and one or more interfaces. 14) An abstract class can implement code with non-Abstract methods. 15) Abstract class can have constant and fields. 16) An abstract class can have constructors or destructor's. 17) An abstract class cannot be inherited from by structures. 18) An abstract class cannot support multiple inheritance. 19) If we add a new method to an abstract class then we have the option of providing default implementation and therefore all the existing code might work properly. Interface:- 1) Interfaces cannot be instantiated directly. 2) Interfaces can contain events method indexer and properties. 3) An Interface can contain property definitions. 4) Interfaces contain no implementation of methods. 5) Classes and Structs can implement more than one interface. 6) An Interface can be inherited from by structures. 7) An interface itself can inherit from multiple interfaces (Interface can support multiple inheritance). 8) An abstract class can implement a property. 9) If we add a new method to an Interface then we have to track down all the implementations of the interface and define implementation for the new method.

Jignesh Trivedi · Answer

hi Aman Please refer http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/11155/Abstract-Class-versus-Interface http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/scsyfw1d%28v=vs.71%29.aspx hope this will help you.