Here’s a list of basic one-liner questions and answers that HR might ask in a first screening

interview:

Java:

1. What is Java? → Java is a high-level, object-oriented programming language.

2. What is the latest version of Java? → (Mention the latest stable version).

3. Is Java platform-independent? → Yes, because of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine).

4. What is OOP? → Object-Oriented Programming is a paradigm based on objects and

classes.

5. What is the difference between JDK, JRE, and JVM? → JDK includes JRE and
development tools; JRE runs Java applications; JVM executes Java bytecode.

Spring Boot:

6. What is Spring Boot? → A framework to build stand-alone, production-ready Spring

applications.

7. Why is Spring Boot popular? → It simplifies Java application development with auto-
configuration and embedded servers.

8. What is dependency injection? → A design pattern that manages object dependencies

automatically.

9. What is an embedded server in Spring Boot? → A built-in server like Tomcat, Jetty, or
Undertow to run applications without external deployment.

10. What is the default embedded server in Spring Boot? → Tomcat.

Microservices:

11. What are microservices? → A software architecture where applications are built as a
collection of small, independent services.

12. Why are microservices used? → For scalability, flexibility, and faster deployment.

13. What is an API Gateway? → A single entry point for managing requests in a
microservices architecture.

14. How do microservices communicate? → Using REST, gRPC, or messaging queues like
Kafka.

15. What is service discovery? → A mechanism to locate services dynamically, often using
tools like Eureka.

GraphQL:

16. What is GraphQL? → A query language for APIs that allows clients to request only the
data they need.

17. How is GraphQL different from REST? → GraphQL allows flexible queries, whereas
REST relies on fixed endpoints.

18. What are the key components of GraphQL? → Query, Mutation, and Subscription.

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 19. What is a resolver in GraphQL? → A function that fetches data for a GraphQL query.

20. What is a GraphQL schema? → A blueprint that defines the structure of GraphQL
queries and responses.

MongoDB:

21. What is MongoDB? → A NoSQL database that stores data in JSON-like documents.

22. Is MongoDB relational or non-relational? → Non-relational (NoSQL).

23. What is a collection in MongoDB? → A group of MongoDB documents, similar to a table

in relational databases.

24. What is an index in MongoDB? → A data structure that improves query performance.

25. What is the primary advantage of MongoDB? → High scalability and flexibility in
handling unstructured data.

Here are more questions & answers:

Java:

1. What are Java’s main features? → Object-oriented, platform-independent, secure,

robust, multithreaded.

2. What is the main method in Java? → public static void main(String[] args) is the entry
point of a Java program.

3. What is the difference between Java and JavaScript? → Java is a programming

language; JavaScript is a scripting language for web development.

4. What is JVM? → Java Virtual Machine, which runs Java bytecode on any OS.

5. What is the difference between equals() and == in Java? → equals() compares values,
== compares object references.

6. What is a constructor? → A special method used to initialize objects.

7. What is garbage collection in Java? → Automatic memory management by removing

unused objects.

8. What is multithreading? → Running multiple threads (tasks) concurrently for better

performance.

9. What is an interface in Java? → A blueprint of a class with abstract methods.

10. What is the difference between ArrayList and LinkedList? → ArrayList is faster for
retrieval; LinkedList is better for insertions/deletions.

Spring Boot:

11. What is the main advantage of Spring Boot? → Reduces boilerplate code with auto-
configuration.

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 12. What is a Spring Boot starter? → A dependency that simplifies project setup, like
spring-boot-starter-web.

13. What is Spring Boot’s default logging framework? → SLF4J with Logback.

14. What is an actuator in Spring Boot? → A tool to monitor and manage applications.

15. What is a Spring Boot profile? → A way to manage different configurations for
environments like dev, test, prod.

16. What is @RestController in Spring Boot? → A combination of @Controller and

@ResponseBody to create REST APIs.

17. What is the purpose of @Service in Spring Boot? → Marks a class as a business
service layer.

18. What is @Autowired? → A way to inject dependencies automatically.

19. How do you handle exceptions in Spring Boot? → Using @ExceptionHandler or

@ControllerAdvice.

20. What is Spring Security? → A module to handle authentication and authorization in

Spring applications.

Microservices:

21. What are the advantages of microservices? → Scalability, flexibility, independent

deployment.

22. What is the difference between monolithic and microservices architecture? →

Monolithic is a single unit; microservices are small, independent services.

23. What is REST API? → A way to communicate between services using HTTP methods like
GET, POST.

24. What is inter-service communication in microservices? → Communication between

services using REST, gRPC, or messaging (Kafka, RabbitMQ).

25. What is circuit breaker in microservices? → A design pattern to handle failures and
prevent cascading failures (e.g., using Resilience4j).

26. What is Eureka in microservices? → A service discovery tool in the Spring Cloud
ecosystem.

27. What is Hystrix? → A library for fault tolerance in microservices (now replaced by
Resilience4j).

28. What is an API Gateway? → A single entry point for requests, handling authentication,
rate limiting, etc.

29. What is containerization in microservices? → Packaging an application and its

dependencies into a container (e.g., Docker).

30. What is Kubernetes? → A container orchestration tool for deploying and managing
microservices.

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GraphQL:

31. Why use GraphQL instead of REST? → GraphQL allows fetching only required data,
reducing over-fetching and under-fetching.

32. What is a GraphQL Query? → A request to fetch specific data from a server.

33. What is a GraphQL Mutation? → A request to modify (create, update, delete) data.

34. What is a GraphQL Subscription? → A real-time update mechanism in GraphQL.

35. What is a GraphQL Resolver? → A function that processes GraphQL queries and
retrieves the requested data.

36. What is introspection in GraphQL? → A feature that allows querying the schema itself.

37. Does GraphQL use HTTP? → Yes, it usually works over HTTP but can also use
WebSockets for subscriptions.

38. Can GraphQL replace REST APIs? → Not always; it depends on the use case.

39. What is Apollo GraphQL? → A popular client and server framework for GraphQL.

40. What is Relay in GraphQL? → A JavaScript framework that works with GraphQL to
manage data fetching.

MongoDB:

41. Is MongoDB SQL or NoSQL? → NoSQL.

42. What is BSON in MongoDB? → A binary format for storing JSON-like documents.

43. What is a primary key in MongoDB? → _id is the default primary key in MongoDB.

44. What is sharding in MongoDB? → Distributing data across multiple servers for
scalability.

45. What is replication in MongoDB? → Copying data across multiple servers to ensure
high availability.

46. How do you query data in MongoDB? → Using methods like find(), findOne(), and
aggregation pipelines.

47. What is an aggregation pipeline? → A framework for data transformation and analysis in
MongoDB.

48. What is MongoDB Atlas? → A cloud-based managed MongoDB service.

49. How does MongoDB handle transactions? → It supports multi-document ACID

transactions since version 4.0.

50. What is indexing in MongoDB? → A way to improve query performance by creating

indexes on fields.

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