Sunday, June 19, 2011

What is a java marker interface?

Java marker interface has no members in it. Marker interface ‘was’ used as a tag to inform a message to the java compiler.

Java Marker Interface Examples:

java.lang.Cloneable
java.io.Serializable
java.util.EventListener

Lets take the java.io.Serializable marker interface. It doesnot has any members defined it it. When a java class is to be serialized, you should intimate the java compiler in some way that there is a possibility of serializing this java class. In this scenario, marker interfaces are used. The java class which may be serialized has to implement the java.io.Serializable marker interface. In such way, we are intimating the java compiler.
From java 1.5, the need for marker interface is eliminated by the introduction of the java annotation feature. So, it is wise to use java annotations than the marker interface. It has more feature and advantages than the java marker interface.

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