Theory: Abstract class vs interface

Differences between abstract classes and interfaces

Abstract class and interface are both tools to achieve abstraction that allow us to declare the abstract methods. We cannot create instances of abstract classes and interfaces directly, we can only do that through classes that inherit them.

Since Java 8, an interface can have default and static methods that contain an implementation. It makes interface more similar to an abstract class. So, the important question is: what is the difference between interfaces and abstract classes?

Below you can see a list of some important differences between these two concepts.

• an abstract class can have abstract and non-abstract instance methods while an interface can have abstract or default instance methods;
• an abstract class can extend another abstract or regular class and an interface can only extend another interface;
• an abstract class can extend only one class while an interface can extend any number of interfaces;
• an abstract class can have final, non-final, static, non-static variables (regular fields) while an interface can only have static final variables;
• an abstract class can provide an implementation of an interface but an interface cannot provide an implementation of an abstract class;
• an abstract class can have a constructor and an interface cannot;
• in an abstract class, the keyword abstract is mandatory to declare a method as an abstract one while in an interface this keyword is optional.

Remember, a class extends another class, a class implements an interface, but an interface extends another interface.

Typically, interfaces are used to decouple the interface of a component (class) from the implementation while abstract classes are often used as base classes with common fields to be extended by subclasses.

The picture above demonstrates the last statement.

Using abstract classes and interfaces together

Sometimes interfaces and abstract classes are used together to make a class hierarchy more flexible. In this case, an abstract class contains common members and implements one or multiple interfaces, and concrete classes extend the abstract class and possibly other interfaces.

Using both concepts (interfaces and abstract classes) makes your code more flexible. Use suitable abstractions or their combination when designing your class hierarchies.

As an example, you may see class hierarchies in the standard Java class library. An example of that is the collections hierarchy. It combines abstract classes and interfaces to make the hierarchy more maintainable and flexible to use in your code.