What is the diff between interface and abstract class and when u go for interface ,abstract class

Answer 1

As per dictionary, abstraction is the quality of dealing with ideas rather than events. For example, when you consider the case of e-mail, complex details such as what happens as soon as you send an e-mail, the protocol your e-mail server uses are hidden from the user. Therefore, to send an e-mail you just need to type the content, mention the address of the receiver, and click send.

Likewise in Object-oriented programming, abstraction is a process of hiding the implementation details from the user, only the functionality will be provided to the user. In other words, the user will have the information on what the object does instead of how it does it.

In Java, abstraction is achieved using Abstract classes and interfaces.

Abstract Class
A class which contains the abstract keyword in its declaration is known as abstract class.

Abstract classes may or may not contain abstract methods, i.e., methods without body ( public void get(); )

But, if a class has at least one abstract method, then the class must be declared abstract.

If a class is declared abstract, it cannot be instantiated.

To use an abstract class, you have to inherit it from another class, provide implementations to the abstract methods in it.

If you inherit an abstract class, you have to provide implementations to all the abstract methods in it.

Answer 2

An interface is a reference type in Java. It is similar to class. It is a collection of abstract methods. A class implements an interface, thereby inheriting the abstract methods of the interface.

Along with abstract methods, an interface may also contain constants, default methods, static methods, and nested types. Method bodies exist only for default methods and static methods.

Writing an interface is similar to writing a class. But a class describes the attributes and behaviors of an object. And an interface contains behaviors that a class implements.

Unless the class that implements the interface is abstract, all the methods of the interface need to be defined in the class.

An interface is similar to a class in the following ways −

An interface can contain any number of methods.

An interface is written in a file with a .java extension, with the name of the interface matching the name of the file.

The byte code of an interface appears in a .class file.

Interfaces appear in packages, and their corresponding bytecode file must be in a directory structure that matches the package name.

However, an interface is different from a class in several ways, including −

You cannot instantiate an interface.

An interface does not contain any constructors.

All of the methods in an interface are abstract.

An interface cannot contain instance fields. The only fields that can appear in an interface must be declared both static and final.

An interface is not extended by a class; it is implemented by a class.

An interface can extend multiple interfaces.