The JavaTM Tutorial

| Start of Tutorial > Start of Trail > Start of Lesson | Search

Trail: Learning the Java Language
Lesson: Objects and Classes in Java

## Implementing an Interface

> An interface defines a protocol of behavior. A class that implements an interface adheres to the protocol defined by that interface. Let's look at the `Spot` class to get a better idea of what this means.

> To get mouse events from the AWT, the AWT requires a class to adhere to a certain protocol. For example, for a class to be notified by the AWT when the user presses a mouse button, the class must have a `mousePressed` method, for a class to be notified when the user releases the mouse button it must have a `mouseReleased` method, and so on. This protocol is codified in the `MouseListener` interface, which declares these five methods, one for each type of mouse event:

> >     mouseClicked(MouseEvent)
> >     mouseEntered(MouseEvent)
> >     mouseExited(MouseEvent)
> >     mousePressed(MouseEvent)
> >     mouseReleased(MouseEvent)

> Any class interested in getting mouse events must adhere to the protocol. It does this by implementing the `MouseListener` interface.

> To declare a class that implements an interface, include an `implements` clause in the class declaration. Your class can implement more than one interface (Java supports multiple interface inheritance), so the `implements` keyword is followed by a comma-separated list of the interfaces implemented by the class.

> `Spot`, which displays a spot where the user presses the mouse button, needs to know about mouse pressed events (the event when the mouse button is initially pressed down) in order to function. Therefore, `Spot` must implement the `MouseListener` interface:

> >     class Spot extends Applet implements MouseListener {
> >        . . .
> >     }

> > By Convention: The `implements` clause follows the `extends` clause, if it exists.

> When a class declares that it implements an interface, it's basically signing a contract to the effect that it will provide implementations for all of the methods in the interface. So `Spot` must implement all five of `MouseListener`'s methods:

> >     public void mousePressed(MouseEvent event) {
> >         clickPoint = event.getPoint();
> >         repaint();
> >     }
> >     public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent event) {}
> >     public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent event) {}
> >     public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent event) {}
> >     public void mouseExited(MouseEvent event) {}

> Note that the last four methods have empty implementations. This is because `Spot` is interested only in "mouse pressed" events. When the user presses the mouse button, `Spot` displays a spot where the click occurred. However, because `Spot` is declared to implement the `MouseListener` interface and `MouseListener` declares five methods, `Spot` must implement them all. You can use inner classes in conjunction with several `java.awt.event` "adapter classes" to avoid writing empty methods. The next section shows you how.

> For a complete discussion about interfaces, what they're for, and how to write them, go to Creating Interfaces in the next lesson.

| Start of Tutorial > Start of Trail > Start of Lesson | Search