Is an Abstract Base Class in C Equivalent to an Interface?

Declaring Interfaces in C

In the realm of object-oriented programming, interfaces define contracts that concrete classes must adhere to. To establish an interface in C , you can utilize an abstract base class.

Is an Interface Equivalent to an Abstract Base Class?

Yes, an abstract base class effectively serves as an interface in C . It defines pure virtual methods that specify the functionality that derived classes must implement. These methods lack implementations in the base class, forcing derived classes to provide their own concrete implementations.

Enhancing Interfaces with Virtual Destructors

While abstract base classes provide a solid foundation for interfaces, you may want to consider adding a virtual destructor. This ensures that pointers to interface classes are properly deleted, regardless of the concrete derived class's type. This grants you the flexibility to transfer pointer ownership without revealing the actual implementation.

Example

The following code snippet illustrates an interface IDemo with a pure virtual method OverrideMe, as well as a concrete class Child that inherits from both Parent and IDemo and implements the OverrideMe method:

class IDemo
{
    public:
        virtual ~IDemo() {}
        virtual void OverrideMe() = 0;
};

class Parent
{
    public:
        virtual ~Parent();
};

class Child : public Parent, public IDemo
{
    public:
        virtual void OverrideMe()
        {
            // Implementation
        }
};

In this example, the virtual destructor for IDemo is crucial for proper deallocation of pointers referencing IDemo instances, regardless of the actual derived class.

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