Ports

A port is an occurrence of an interface on a surface. It states who provides or requires that interface at this boundary, under which policy and assumptions. Two ports can share an interface while exposing different authority or failure conditions.

An endpoint binds a port into a particular channel arrangement. A port need not select an address, transport, or runtime. The ports and adapters practice uses this distinction to organize an application and its adapters; a port can be modeled without adopting the practice.

Formal relations

• arranges: Interfaces — Places an occurrence of a reusable interface on a surface with boundary-specific roles and obligations.
• distinguished_from: Endpoints — The port declares participation; the endpoint identifies its attachment in a channel arrangement.