A block explorer can show a contract interaction as a string of hexadecimal data or as named functions with readable arguments. The readable view needs information about how the bytes should be interpreted.
The Solidity ABI specification describes the application binary interface used for contract interactions. The ethers documentation explains its role in encoding inputs and decoding outputs. An ABI describes an interface; it is not the executable contract itself.
Separate a description from an implementation
An ABI can list a function name, its input types and return types. Software uses that structure to prepare a call or interpret returned data. The contract’s actual behaviour comes from the implementation deployed on the relevant network.
For a simple learning example, an interface may describe a function that accepts an address and returns an integer. Knowing those types helps decode the exchange, but it does not explain every condition under which the implementation produces the value.
Match the interface to the target
Check the network, contract address and source of the ABI. An interface for a different version or implementation can lead to failed calls or misleading interpretation. Upgradable arrangements require particular care about which implementation the address currently uses.
Use a read-only example when learning the structure. There is no need to connect a valuable wallet or sign a transaction merely to inspect function names and types.
A nicely decoded transaction is easier to read, but readability does not establish trustworthy behaviour. The names displayed by an interface are not a security audit, a guarantee of the outcome or proof that the intended contract was selected.
The practical value of an ABI is translation between structured meaning and encoded data. Keeping that role clear helps you ask the next question: whether the interface matches the actual code and whether the proposed interaction is appropriate at all.