Is this code an API? Beginner learning to write an API and decoupling.

**Learning2Java** · April 22nd, 2014, 11:10 AM

Hello, I am learning about decoupling, dependency injection, etc. and so on. I believe I understand them, but I am now trying to apply them with some learning code, nothing serious. Is this an API?

Here is a very simple example, something just for learning.

   interface Board {
       public void drawBoard();
    }
 
    public class BoardDraw implements Board {
 
       public void drawBoard(){
          System.out.println("  |  |  ");
          System.out.println("--------");
          System.out.println("  |  |  ");
          System.out.println("--------");
          System.out.println("  |  |  ");
 
       }
 
    }
 
    public class TicTacToe {
       public static void main(String args[]) {
 
 
          Board board = new BoardDraw();
          board.drawBoard();
 
 
       }
 
    }

Ok. Another guy comes along and says he wants to draw a board with asterisks.

     public class BoardDraw implements Board {
 
           public void drawBoard(){
              System.out.println("  *  *  ");
              System.out.println("********");
              System.out.println("  *  *  ");
              System.out.println("********");
              System.out.println("  *  *  ");
 
           }
 
        }

- Does the new guy compile this BoardDraw class in the directory where
main is located?
- Does an XML file point to a location for the new
class?
- This is decoupled isn't it?

Also, if I wrote the class with main and produced a document that told how to create a new BoardDraw class and that the programmer must use the Board interface, does this mean I created an "API"?

Thanks for any help.

**KevinWorkman** · April 22nd, 2014, 11:31 AM

The term "API" is pretty broad, so the answer to your question is... sure, depending on your definition.

Your "API" might consist of a single Board interface and a single BoardDraw class. You might wrap them up in a jar or something. Your user might put that jar on his classpath, which would mean he could call your code from his, exactly how you use the standard Java API classes like String, ArrayList, etc.

The programmer might want to extend your API by creating his own Board implementation- either by implementing Board or by extending your BoardDraw class. You probably shouldn't use the same class name for your API and his extension of that API, so let's call his class MyBoardDraw.

The MyBoardDraw class might be directly in his code, or he might create his own API or library by separating that class and just making sure it's on his classpath.

Now, maybe you have another function in your API that takes a Board argument. That function is decoupled (if I understand how you're using the word here) from the implementations of the Board class because it's using the *interface* rather than the *implementation*. So your function will still work whether a programming is using your BoardDraw class or their own MyBoardDraw class.

How everything gets linked together is an open question, and different projects approach it differently. You might specify your classpath as xml that gets fed into a dependency injector. You might specify your classpath in some kind of build script. Or you might specify your classpath simply by feeding it into a console.

**Learning2Java** · April 22nd, 2014, 12:50 PM

How can the other guy compile his code if the interface is in my code already compiled? If he writes that board alternative above, doesn't the interface have to be in his directory (or classpath, or whatever), so he can compile his code? Can you do that with the interface that's already compiled?

EDIT: I reread your second paragraph. I think this is what you are saying. The new programmer can read it even though it is compiled like any Java class.

**KevinWorkman** · April 22nd, 2014, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Learning2Java

How can the other guy compile his code if the interface is in my code already compiled? If he writes that board alternative above, doesn't the interface have to be in his directory (or classpath, or whatever), so he can compile his code? Can you do that with the interface that's already compiled?

Think about it this way: you implement interfaces that have already been compiled every time you implement an interface from the Java API itself. Providing your own API is exactly like that: you give somebody else access to some code you wrote in the form of public methods (which might interact with other private methods you wrote).

Of course, you *could* give the other person access to your source code. But there's nothing saying you *have* to do that.

Thread: Is this code an API? Beginner learning to write an API and decoupling.

LinkBack

Thread Tools

Display

Is this code an API? Beginner learning to write an API and decoupling.

Related threads:

Re: Is this code an API? Beginner learning to write an API and decoupling.

The Following User Says Thank You to KevinWorkman For This Useful Post:

Re: Is this code an API? Beginner learning to write an API and decoupling.

Re: Is this code an API? Beginner learning to write an API and decoupling.

The Following User Says Thank You to KevinWorkman For This Useful Post:

Similar Threads

How to Write a simple XMPP (Jabber) client using the Smack API

Not sure where to start: Trying to write a program dealing with an Amazon API

How to Write a simple XMPP (Jabber) client using the Smack API

Read (using Odbc)and write using (POI api)

Difference between Speech API and Sound API

Tags for this Thread