Avoiding Interface Pollution with the Interface Segregation Principle
The Benefits of Role Interfaces in SOLID Code
One of the themes that has popped up throughout our SOLID series is that of decoupling. In short, this theme argues that entities (objects, modules, functions, etc.) in a software program should be loosely coupled so as to prevent changes in one place from propagating to another. The reason this is desirable is that loosely coupled entities are easier to maintain, more flexible, and more mobile. We reviewed some of the reasons why this is the case in part 2 of the series, which covered the Open/Closed Principle, and in part 3, which covered the Liskov Substitution Principle. And yet, decoupling is so important that there is still more to say on the topic, namely, how to avoid so-called “interface pollution,” wherein classes are unnecessarily forced to implement behaviors that they don’t need. It is here that our next SOLID principle appears: the Interface Segregation Principle.
A Quick Refresher on SOLID
SOLID is an acronym for a set of five software development principles, which if followed, are intended to help developers create flexible and clean code. The five principles are:
- The Single Responsibility Principle — Classes should have a single…
