interface
noun
- place where human interaction happens
- boundary between different phases of matter
- structure type in object-oriented programming
- any standardized connection between machines
verb
- to connect by means of an interface
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɪntəfeɪs/ / /ˈɪn(t)ɚˌfeɪs/
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Italic *n̥ter Latin inter Latin inter-bor. English inter- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Late Latin faciō Proto-Italic *-jēs Late Latin -iēs Late Latin faciēs Late Latin facia Old French facebor. Middle English face English face English interface From inter- (“between”) + face (“shape, figure, form”).
- The point of interconnection or contact between entities.
“Public relations firms often serve as the interface between a company and the press.”
- A thin layer or boundary between different substances or two phases of a single substance.
“If water and oil are mixed together, they tend to separate, and at equilibrium they are in different strata with an oil-water interface in between.”
“The surface of a lake is a water-air interface.”
- The point of interconnection between systems or subsystems.
“The data is sent over the air interface to the remote system.”
- The connection between a user and a machine.
“The options are selected via the user interface.”
- The connection between parts of software; also the public or published sections of an object or module.
“This interface is implemented by several Java classes.”
“Traits are somewhat between an interface and a mixin, as an interface contains only method signatures, while a trait includes also the full method definitions; on the other side mixins include method definitions, but they can also carry state through attributes, while traits usually don't.”
- In object-oriented programming, a piece of code defining a set of operations that other code must implement.
“The Audio and Video classes both implement the IPlayable interface.”
- In some languages, a block of code declaring the interface (point of interconnection) between a class and code that interacts with it.
- The internal surface of a coiled protein (compare exoface).
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Italic *n̥ter Latin inter Latin inter-bor. English inter- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Late Latin faciō Proto-Italic *-jēs Late Latin -iēs Late Latin faciēs Late Latin facia Old French facebor. Middle English face English face English interface From inter- (“between”) + face (“shape, figure, form”).
- To construct an interface for.
- To connect through an interface.
- To serve as an interface.
- To meet for discussion.
“Let's interface on Wednesday.”