Interface

With a VB.NET Interface we create a contract. Each class in a VB.NET program that implements the interface must have certain functions.

Using abstraction, we call those Functions through an Interface reference. The exact type of an Object is no longer needed. More code is shared. A program becomes simpler.

Example

This program declares an IValue Interface, which requires one method (Render). The Content and Image classes both implement IValue.

Interface IValue
    Sub Render()
End Interface

Class Content : Implements IValue
    Public Sub Render() Implements IValue.Render
        Console.WriteLine("Content.Render")
    End Sub
End Class

Class Image : Implements IValue
    Public Sub Render() Implements IValue.Render
        Console.WriteLine("Image.Render")
    End Sub
End Class

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        ' Create dictionary of Interface type instances.
        Dim dict As Dictionary(Of String, IValue) = New Dictionary(Of String, IValue)
        dict.Add("cat1.png", New Image())
        dict.Add("image1.png", New Image())
        dict.Add("home.html", New Content())

        ' Get value from Dictionary and call their Render methods.
        Dim value As IValue = Nothing
        If dict.TryGetValue("cat1.png", value) Then
            value.Render()
        End If

        ' Again.
        If dict.TryGetValue("home.html", value) Then
            value.Render()
        End If
    End Sub
End Module
Image.Render
Content.Render

Property

An Interface can specify a Property. On implementing classes, all aspects of the Property (like ReadOnly, WriteOnly) must be preserved.

Interface IWidget
    Property Size As Integer
End Interface

Class Widget
    Implements IWidget

    ''' <summary>
    ''' Size property implementation.
    ''' </summary>
    Property Size As Integer Implements IWidget.Size
End Class

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        ' Use Size Property on Interface.
        Dim w As IWidget = New Widget
        w.Size = 10
        Console.WriteLine(w.Size)
    End Sub

End Module
10

IEnumerable

Many interfaces exist in the .NET Framework, but IEnumerable is an important one. It is implemented by classes that provide "enumeration" over elements, in a For-Each loop.

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        ' Use String array as IEnumerable.
        Dim values() As String = {"cat", "dog", "mouse"}
        DisplaySize(values)

        ' Use List of Strings as IEnumerable.
        Dim valuesList As List(Of String) = New List(Of String)
        valuesList.Add("cat")
        DisplaySize(valuesList)

    End Sub

    Sub DisplaySize(ByVal col As IEnumerable(Of String))
        ' Display count from interface.
        Console.WriteLine(col.Count())
    End Sub

End Module
3
1

Benchmark, interface

We test the speed of an Interface Function call versus a Class Function call. An Interface causes a small slowdown. Using a direct method call is faster.

Interface IWidget
    Function GetName(ByVal size As Integer) As String
End Interface

Class Widget
    Implements IWidget

    Public Function GetName(size As Integer) As String Implements IWidget.GetName
        ' An interface method.
        If size = 0 Then
            Return "Zero"
        End If
        Return "Unknown"
    End Function

    Public Function GetNameDirect(size As Integer) As String
        ' A class method.
        If size = 0 Then
            Return "Zero"
        End If
        Return "Unknown"
    End Function
End Class

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        Dim widget As Widget = New Widget
        Dim widget2 As IWidget = widget
        Dim m As Integer = 100000000

        ' Version 1: use Interface method.
        Dim s1 As Stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew
        For i As Integer = 0 To m - 1
            widget2.GetName(i)
        Next
        s1.Stop()

        ' Version 2: use Class method.
        Dim s2 As Stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew
        For i As Integer = 0 To m - 1
            widget.GetNameDirect(i)
        Next
        s2.Stop()

        Dim u As Integer = 1000000
        Console.WriteLine(((s1.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * u) /
            m).ToString("0.00 ns"))
        Console.WriteLine(((s2.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * u) /
            m).ToString("0.00 ns"))
    End Sub

End Module
3.82 ns,  GetName (Interface Function)
0.95 ns,  GetNameDirect (no Interface)

IComparable

With IComparable, we indicate how two objects of a type are ordered. We tell which one comes before the other. An Integer indicates the objects relative sizes.

Built-in

The .NET Framework includes many interfaces: it extensively uses them itself. Often developers use these interfaces more than custom ones.

More on abstraction

Interfaces introduce a level of abstraction. We implement an Interface in many Classes. And then we can use those classes through that Interface.

This streamlines program logic. We call the Interface functions. These in turn invoke the specialized functions from the Classes—with complexity we simplify.