Glossary · Automation software engineering and architecture
Required interface
Also known as: Needed interface
German: Benötigte Schnittstelle
In component-based software and system modeling, a required interface is an interface that a component depends on and expects another component to provide in order to function.
- Software engineering
In one sentence
A required interface is an interface a component depends on and expects another component to provide in order to work.
Example
The batch execution component requires a data logging interface; in one plant it is connected to a local historian, in another to a cloud service.
How it applies
- Engineering: Declaring required interfaces makes dependencies explicit and lets components be tested with test doubles and connected to different providers. In UML component diagrams, a socket symbol shows them.
- Integration: An unconnected required interface is an integration gap. Architecture reviews check that every required interface is satisfied by a compatible provided one.
- Documentation: Installation and integration documentation should state what a component needs from its environment: services, versions, network access, data. This is often missing when only provided interfaces are documented.
Required vs. provided interface
A Provided interface is offered by a component; a required interface is needed by it. Together they describe a component's contract with its environment.