diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/model/PiPipelineInterpreter.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/model/PiPipelineInterpreter.java
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+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/pi/model/PiPipelineInterpreter.java
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+/*
+ * Copyright 2017-present Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.onosproject.net.pi.model;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
+import org.onosproject.net.driver.HandlerBehaviour;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.TrafficTreatment;
+import org.onosproject.net.flow.criteria.Criterion;
+import org.onosproject.net.pi.runtime.PiHeaderFieldId;
+import org.onosproject.net.pi.runtime.PiTableAction;
+
+import java.util.Optional;
+
+/**
+ * An interpreter of a protocol-independent pipeline.
+ */
+@Beta
+public interface PiPipelineInterpreter extends HandlerBehaviour {
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the protocol-independent header field identifier that is equivalent to the given
+     * criterion type, if present. If not present, it means that the given criterion type is not
+     * supported by this interpreter.
+     *
+     * @param type criterion type
+     * @return optional header field identifier
+     */
+    Optional<PiHeaderFieldId> mapCriterionType(Criterion.Type type);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the criterion type that is equivalent to the given protocol-independent header field
+     * identifier, if present. If not present, it means that the given field identifier is not
+     * supported by this interpreter.
+     *
+     * @param headerFieldId header field identifier
+     * @return optional criterion type
+     */
+    Optional<Criterion.Type> mapPiHeaderFieldId(PiHeaderFieldId headerFieldId);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a table action of a protocol-independent pipeline that is functionally equivalent to
+     * the given ONOS traffic treatment for the given pipeline configuration.
+     *
+     * @param treatment a ONOS traffic treatment
+     * @param pipeconf  a pipeline configuration
+     * @return a table action object
+     * @throws PiInterpreterException if the treatment cannot be mapped to any table action
+     */
+    PiTableAction mapTreatment(TrafficTreatment treatment, PiPipeconf pipeconf)
+            throws PiInterpreterException;
+
+    /**
+     * Signals that an error was encountered while executing the interpreter.
+     */
+    @Beta
+    class PiInterpreterException extends Exception {
+        public PiInterpreterException(String message) {
+            super(message);
+        }
+    }
+}