Interface dialog box

Interfaces

An interface is a kind of classifier that represents a declaration of a set of coherent public features and obligations. An interface specifies a contract. Any instance of a classifier that realizes the interface must fulfill the contract.

The "Interface" dialog box contains four tabs - "Properties", "Notes", "Tagged values" and "Stereotypes". For information on these standard dialog box tabs, please see "Standard dialog box tabs".

The "Properties" tab of the "Interface" dialog box

The "Properties" tab of the "Interface" dialog box is used to define values for a interface.

The "Properties" tab in the "Interface" dialog box

Key:

· "Name": This indicates the name of the interface.

· "Abstract": An abstract interface is defined very generally, and does not own direct instances.

· "Primitive": This determines if the interface is primitive. An interface is primitive if its value cannot be broken down, and if its instances are not managed by the application.

· "Leaf": This indicates if the interface is a leaf interface (a generalizable interface with no children in the generalization hierarchy) or not.

· "Root": This indicates if the interface is a root interface (with no ancestors) or not.

· "Visibility": This only applies if an interface belongs to a leaf package. Visibility can either be public or protected. A public interface is accessible from any user package of the current package. A private interface can only be accessed from the current package or by an heir package.