Interface description language

An interface description language or interface definition language is a declarative formal language and contains a language syntax to describe the interfaces of a software component.

With their help, you can make objects and methods are applicable to them, along with the possible parameters and data types describe, without using the properties of a particular programming language. The interface description language is used solely for describing the interface, not the formulation of algorithms.

Starting from the interface description language, a specific compiler implement the definitions in a specific programming language and computer architecture, the so-called language binding.

An interface description language is usually found in distributed systems, in which can run a client on another computer methods (Remote Procedure Call), for example, COM ( MIDL ), CORBA or SOAP.

AIDL

The Android Interface Definition Language is a Java -like language for the definition of RPC interfaces ( for inter-process communication, IPC). AIDL programs are saved in the Android development system (eg Eclipse) as. Aidl files from the Android SDK tools automatically generate Java files (similar to and from XML resource files). About this remote procedure calls (Remote Procedure Calls) can be performed.

CORBA IDL

The Interface Definition Language (IDL) OMG is an interface description language with C - like syntax, which was developed for CORBA.

In CORBA, the definitions can be loaded even without special compiler at runtime in the Interface Repository, and can be dynamically queried by the software (Dynamic Invocation Interface and Dynamic Skeleton Interface).