What are the differences between interfaces and inheritance in programming?

What are the differences between interfaces and inheritance in programming?

Interfaces and inheritance are both ways to achieve polymorphism in programming, but they serve different purposes. Inheritance allows a class to inherit properties and methods from another class, while interfaces define a contract that implementing classes must follow without providing any implementation.

Can you give me an example of when to use an interface instead of inheritance?

Sure! Use an interface when you want to define a common behavior for classes that are not related by a parent-child relationship. For example, if you have different classes like 'Dog' and 'Car', both can implement an interface 'Movable' to ensure they have a 'move' method.

What are the advantages of using interfaces?

Interfaces promote loose coupling and allow for multiple inheritance of type, meaning a class can implement multiple interfaces. This leads to more flexible and maintainable code.

Are there any downsides to using interfaces?

One downside is that interfaces can lead to more boilerplate code since you need to implement all methods in the implementing class. Additionally, they don't provide any default behavior, which can be a limitation in some cases.