5 min read
Overview
In Solana programming, an Interface Definition Language (IDL) specifies a program's public interface. It defines a Solana program's account structures, instructions, and error codes. IDLs are .json
files used to generate client-side code, allowing users to easily interact with a Solana program. IDL's are not a new concept created by Solana--in fact they are used in many applications and programming languages. Since Anchor, introduced IDLs to Solana, they have become an essential part of building and interacting with Solana programs. Though you can interact with Solana programs without IDLs, they make the process much easier.
The most optimal way to generate an IDL for a Solana program is by using Anchor. Anchor is a framework that accelerates building secure Rust programs on Solana, and with its automatic generation of IDLs, it enables developers to quickly build programs and communicate with them via a front end. In this guide, you will learn the purpose of IDLs and how to generate them using Anchor.