C# 5.0 All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 8: Interfacing with the Interface

In This Chapter

Going beyond IS_A and HAS_A: The C# interface

Creating your own interface or using one provided by .NET

Unifying separate class hierarchies with interfaces

Hiding part of your class’s public interface behind an interface

Managing software change — flexibility via interfaces

A class can contain a reference to another class; this statement describes the simple HAS_A relationship. One class can extend another class by way of the marvel of inheritance — that’s the IS_A relationship. The C# interface implements another, equally important association: the CAN_BE_USED_AS relationship.

This chapter introduces C# interfaces and shows some of the numerous ways they increase the power and flexibility of object-oriented programming.

Introducing CAN_BE_USED_AS

If you want to jot a note, you can scribble it with a pen, type it into your smartphone, or pound it out on your laptop’s keyboard. You can fairly say that all three objects — pen, ...