1. What is the difference between a constructor and a method?

A constructor is a member function of a class that is used to create objects of that class. It has the same name
as the class itself, has no return type, and is invoked using the new operator.

A method is an ordinary member function of a class. It has its own name, a return type (which may be void), and
is invoked using the dot operator.
2. What is the purpose of garbage collection in Java, and when is it used?
The purpose of garbage collection is to identify and discard objects that are no longer needed by a program so
that their resources can be reclaimed and reused.

A Java object is subject to garbage collection when it becomes unreachable to the program in which it is used.
3. Describe synchronization in respect to multithreading.
With respect to multithreading, synchronization is the capability to control the access of multiple threads to
shared resources.

Without synchonization, it is possible for one thread to modify a shared variable while another thread is in the
process of using or updating same shared variable. This usually leads to significant errors.
4. What is an abstract class?
Abstract class must be extended/subclassed (to be useful). It serves as a template. A class that is abstract may
not be instantiated (ie. you may not call its constructor), abstract class may contain static data.

Any class with an abstract method is automatically abstract itself, and must be declared as such. A class may be
declared abstract even if it has no abstract methods. This prevents it from being instantiated.
5. What is the difference between an Interface and an Abstract class?
An abstract class can have instance methods that implement a default behavior. An Interface can only declare
constants and instance methods, but cannot implement default behavior and all methods are implicitly abstract.

An interface has all public members and no implementation. An abstract class is a class which may have the
usual flavors of class members (private, protected, etc.), but has some abstract methods.
6. Explain different way of using thread?
The thread could be implemented by using runnable interface or by inheriting from the Thread class. The former
is more advantageous, 'cause when you are going for multiple inheritance, the only interface can help.
7. What is an Iterator?
Some of the collection classes provide traversal of their contents via a java.util.Iterator interface. This
interface allows you to walk through a collection of objects, operating on each object in turn.
Remember when using Iterators that they contain a snapshot of the collection at the time the Iterator was
obtained; generally it is not advisable to modify the collection itself while traversing an Iterator.
8. State the significance of public, private, protected, default modifiers both singly and in
combination and state the effect of package relationships on declared items qualified by these
modifiers.
public: Public class is visible in other packages, field is visible everywhere (class must be public too)
private : Private variables or methods may be used only by an instance of the same class that declares the
variable or method, A private feature may only be accessed by the class that owns the feature.
protected : Is available to all classes in the same package and also available to all subclasses of the class
that owns the protected feature. This access is provided even to subclasses that reside in a different package
from the class that owns the protected feature.
What you get by default ie, without any access modifier (ie, public private or protected). It means that it is visible
to all within a particular package.
9. What is static in java?
Static means one per class, not one for each object no matter how many instance of a class might exist. This
means that you can use them without creating an instance of a class.Static methods are implicitly final, because
overriding is done based on the type of the object, and static methods are attached to a class, not an object.
 A static method in a superclass can be shadowed by another static method in a subclass, as long as the original
method was not declared final. However, you can't override a static method with a nonstatic method. In other
words, you can't change a static method into an instance method in a subclass.
10. What is final class?
A final class can't be extended ie., final class may not be subclassed. A final method can't be overridden when
its class is inherited. You can't change value of a final variable (is a constant).
11. What if the main() method is declared as private?
The program compiles properly but at runtime it will give " main() method not public." message.
12. What if the static modifier is removed from the signature of the main() method?
Program compiles. But at runtime throws an error "NoSuchMethodError".
13. What if I write static public void instead of public static void?
Program compiles and runs properly.
14. What if I do not provide the String array as the argument to the method?
Program compiles but throws a runtime error "NoSuchMethodError".
15. What is the first argument of the String array in main() method?
The String array is empty. It does not have any element. This is unlike C/C++ where the first element by default
is the program name.
16. If I do not provide any arguments on the command line, then the String array of main() method
will be empty or null?
It is empty. But not null.
17. How can one prove that the array is not null but empty using one line of code?
Print args.length. It will print 0. That means it is empty. But if it would have been null then it would have
thrown a NullPointerException on attempting to print args.length.
18. What environment variables do I need to set on my machine in order to be able to run Java
programs?
CLASSPATH and PATH are the two variables.

19. Can an application have multiple classes having main() method?

Yes it is possible. While starting the application we mention the class name to be run. The JVM will look for the
Main method only in the class whose name you have mentioned.

Hence there is not conflict amongst the multiple classes having main() method.
20. Can I have multiple main() methods in the same class?
No the program fails to compile. The compiler says that the main() method is already defined in the class.
21. Do I need to import java.lang package any time? Why ?
No. It is by default loaded internally by the JVM.
22. Can I import same package/class twice? Will the JVM load the package twice at runtime?
One can import the same package or same class multiple times. Neither compiler nor JVM complains about it.
And the JVM will internally load the class only once no matter how many times you import the same class.
23. What are Checked and UnChecked Exception?
A checked exception is some subclass of Exception (or Exception itself), excluding class RuntimeException and
its subclasses. Making an exception checked forces client programmers to deal with the possibility that the
exception will be thrown.

Example: IOException thrown by java.io.FileInputStream's read() method

 Unchecked exceptions are RuntimeException and any of its subclasses. Class Error and its subclasses also are
unchecked. With an unchecked exception, however, the compiler doesn't force client programmers either to
catch the exception or declare it in a throws clause. In fact, client programmers may not even know that the
exception could be thrown.

Example: StringIndexOutOfBoundsException thrown by String's charAt() method Checked exceptions

must be caught at compile time. Runtime exceptions do not need to be. Errors often cannot be.
24. What is Overriding?
When a class defines a method using the same name, return type, and arguments as a method in its superclass,
the method in the class overrides the method in the superclass.

When the method is invoked for an object of the class, it is the new definition of the method that is called, and
not the method definition from superclass. Methods may be overridden to be more public, not more private.
25. Are the imports checked for validity at compile time? Example: will the code containing an import
such as java.lang.ABCD compile?
Yes the imports are checked for the semantic validity at compile time. The code containing above line of import
will not compile. It will throw an error saying, can not resolve symbol

symbol : class ABCD

location: package io
import java.io.ABCD;

26. Does importing a package imports the subpackages as well? Example: Does importing
com.MyTest.* also import com.MyTest.UnitTests.*?
No you will have to import the subpackages explicitly. Importing com.MyTest.* will import classes in the
package MyTest only. It will not import any class in any of it's subpackage.
27. What is the difference between declaring a variable and defining a variable?
In declaration we just mention the type of the variable and it's name. We do not initialize it. But defining means
declaration + initialization.

Example: String s; is just a declaration while String s = new String ("abcd"); Or String s =
"abcd"; are both definitions.

28. What is the default value of an object reference declared as an instance variable?
The default value will be null unless we define it explicitly.
29. Can a top level class be private or protected?
No. A top level class cannot be private or protected. It can have either "public" or no modifier. If it does not have
a modifier it is supposed to have a default access.

If a top level class is declared as private the compiler will complain that the "modifier private is not allowed here".
This means that a top level class can not be private. Same is the case with protected.
30. What type of parameter passing does Java support?
In Java the arguments are always passed by value.
31. Primitive data types are passed by reference or pass by value?
Primitive data types are passed by value.
32. Objects are passed by value or by reference?
Java only supports pass by value. With objects, the object reference itself is passed by value and so both the
original reference and parameter copy both refer to the same object.
33. What is serialization?
Serialization is a mechanism by which you can save the state of an object by converting it to a byte stream.
34. How do I serialize an object to a file?
 The class whose instances are to be serialized should implement an interface Serializable. Then you pass the
instance to the ObjectOutputStream which is connected to a fileoutputstream. This will save the object to
a file.
35. Which methods of Serializable interface should I implement?
The serializable interface is an empty interface, it does not contain any methods. So we do not implement any
methods.
36. How can I customize the seralization process? i.e. how can one have a control over the
serialization process?
Yes it is possible to have control over serialization process. The class should implement Externalizable interface.
This interface contains two methods namely readExternal and writeExternal.
You should implement these methods and write the logic for customizing the serialization process.

What is the common usage of serialization?

Whenever an object is to be sent over the network, objects need to be serialized. Moreover if the state of an
object is to be saved, objects need to be serilazed.

What is Externalizable interface?

Externalizable is an interface which contains two methods readExternal and writeExternal. These methods
give you a control over the serialization mechanism.
Thus if your class implements this interface, you can customize the serialization process by implementing these
methods.

When you serialize an object, what happens to the object references included in the object?
The serialization mechanism generates an object graph for serialization. Thus it determines whether the
included object references are serializable or not. This is a recursive process.

Thus when an object is serialized, all the included objects are also serialized alongwith the original obect.

What one should take care of while serializing the object?

One should make sure that all the included objects are also serializable. If any of the objects is not serializable
then it throws a NotSerializableException.

What happens to the static fields of a class during serialization?

There are three exceptions in which serialization doesnot necessarily read and write to the stream. These are

1. Serialization ignores static fields, because they are not part of ay particular state state.

2. Base class fields are only hendled if the base class itself is serializable.

3. Transient fields.

Does Java provide any construct to find out the size of an object?
No, there is not sizeof operator in Java. So there is not direct way to determine the size of an object directly in
Java.
43. What are wrapper classes?
Java provides specialized classes corresponding to each of the primitive data types. These are called wrapper
classes.

They are example: Integer, Character, Double etc.

44. Why do we need wrapper classes?
It is sometimes easier to deal with primitives as objects. Moreover most of the collection classes store objects
and not primitive data types. And also the wrapper classes provide many utility methods also.

Because of these resons we need wrapper classes. And since we create instances of these classes we can
store them in any of the collection classes and pass them around as a collection. Also we can pass them around
as method parameters where a method expects an object.
45. What are checked exceptions?
Checked exception are those which the Java compiler forces you to catch.
 Example: IOException are checked exceptions.
46. What are runtime exceptions?
Runtime exceptions are those exceptions that are thrown at runtime because of either wrong input data or
because of wrong business logic etc. These are not checked by the compiler at compile time.
47. What is the difference between error and an exception?
An error is an irrecoverable condition occurring at runtime. Such as OutOfMemory error.
These JVM errors and you can not repair them at runtime. While exceptions are conditions that occur because
of bad input etc. Example: FileNotFoundException will be thrown if the specified file does not exist. Or
a NullPointerException will take place if you try using a null reference.
In most of the cases it is possible to recover from an exception (probably by giving user a feedback for entering
proper values etc.).
48. How to create custom exceptions?
Your class should extend class Exception, or some more specific type thereof.
49. If I want an object of my class to be thrown as an exception object, what should I do?
The class should extend from Exception class. Or you can extend your class from some more precise exception
type also.
50. If my class already extends from some other class what should I do if I want an instance of my
class to be thrown as an exception object?
One can not do anytihng in this scenarion. Because Java does not allow multiple inheritance and does not
provide any exception interface as well.
51. How does an exception permeate through the code?
An unhandled exception moves up the method stack in search of a matching When an exception is thrown from
a code which is wrapped in a try block followed by one or more catch blocks, a search is made for matching
catch block. If a matching type is found then that block will be invoked. If a matching type is not found then the
exception moves up the method stack and reaches the caller method.

Same procedure is repeated if the caller method is included in a try catch block. This process continues until a
catch block handling the appropriate type of exception is found. If it does not find such a block then finally the
program terminates.
52. What are the different ways to handle exceptions?
There are two ways to handle exceptions,

1. By wrapping the desired code in a try block followed by a catch block to catch the exceptions. and

2. List the desired exceptions in the throws clause of the method and let the caller of the method hadle those
exceptions.
53. Is it necessary that each try block must be followed by a catch block?
It is not necessary that each try block must be followed by a catch block. It should be followed by either a
catch block or a finally block. And whatever exceptions are likely to be thrown should be declared in the
throws clause of the method.
54. If I write return at the end of the try block, will the finally block still execute?
Yes even if you write return as the last statement in the try block and no exception occurs, the finally block will
execute. The finally block will execute and then the control return.
55. If I write System.exit(0); at the end of the try block, will the finally block still execute?
No. In this case the finally block will not execute because when you say System.exit(0); the control
immediately goes out of the program, and thus finally never executes.
56. How are Observer and Observable used?
 Objects that subclass the Observable class maintain a list of observers. When an Observable object is updated
it invokes the update() method of each of its observers to notify the observers that it has changed state. The
Observer interface is implemented by objects that observe Observable objects.
57. What is synchronization and why is it important?
With respect to multithreading, synchronization is the capability to control the access of multiple threads to
shared resources.

Without synchronization, it is possible for one thread to modify a shared object while another thread is in the
process of using or updating that object's value. This often leads to significant errors.
58. How does Java handle integer overflows and underflows?
It uses those low order bytes of the result that can fit into the size of the type allowed by the operation.
59. Does garbage collection guarantee that a program will not run out of memory?
Garbage collection does not guarantee that a program will not run out of memory. It is possible for programs to
use up memory resources faster than they are garbage collected. It is also possible for programs to create
objects that are not subject to garbage collection.
60. What is the difference between preemptive scheduling and time slicing?
Under preemptive scheduling, the highest priority task executes until it enters the waiting or dead states or a
higher priority task comes into existence.

Under time slicing, a task executes for a predefined slice of time and then reenters the pool of ready tasks. The
scheduler then determines which task should execute next, based on priority and other factors.
61. When a thread is created and started, what is its initial state?
A thread is in the ready state after it has been created and started.
62. What is the purpose of finalization?
The purpose of finalization is to give an unreachable object the opportunity to perform any cleanup processing
before the object is garbage collected.
63. What is the Locale class?
The Locale class is used to tailor program output to the conventions of a particular geographic, political, or
cultural region.
64. What is the difference between a while statement and a do statement?
A while statement checks at the beginning of a loop to see whether the next loop iteration should occur.
A do statement checks at the end of a loop to see whether the next iteration of a loop should occur. The do
statement will always execute the body of a loop at least once.
65. What is the difference between static and non-static variables?
A static variable is associated with the class as a whole rather than with specific instances of a class. Non-static
variables take on unique values with each object instance.
66. How are this() and super() used with constructors?
this() is used to invoke a constructor of the same class. super() is used to invoke a superclass constructor.

67. What is daemon thread and which method is used to create the daemon thread?
Daemon thread is a low priority thread which runs intermittently in the back ground doing the garbage collection
operation for the java runtime system.setDaemon method is used to create a daemon thread.
68. Can applets communicate with each other?
At this point in time applets may communicate with other applets running in the same virtual machine. If the
applets are of the same class, they can communicate via shared static variables. If the applets are of different
classes, then each will need a reference to the same class with static variables. In any case the basic idea is to
pass the information back and forth through a static variable.
 An applet can also get references to all other applets on the same page using the getApplets() method
of java.applet.AppletContext. Once you get the reference to an applet, you can communicate with it by
using its public members.
It is conceivable to have applets in different virtual machines that talk to a server somewhere on the Internet and
store any data that needs to be serialized there. Then, when another applet needs this data, it could connect to
this same server. Implementing this is non-trivial.
69. What are the steps in the JDBC connection?
While making a JDBC connection we go through the following steps :

Step 1 : Register the database driver by using :

Class.forName(\" driver classs for that specific database\" );
Step 2 : Now create a database connection using :

Connection con = DriverManager.getConnection(url,username,password);

Step 3: Now Create a query using :

Statement stmt = Connection.Statement(\"select * from TABLE NAME\");

Step 4 : Exceute the query :

stmt.exceuteUpdate();

70. How does a try statement determine which catch clause should be used to handle an exception?
When an exception is thrown within the body of a try statement, the catch clauses of the try statement are
examined in the order in which they appear. The first catch clause that is capable of handling the exceptionis
executed. The remaining catch clauses are ignored.
71. Can an unreachable object become reachable again?
An unreachable object may become reachable again. This can happen when the object's finalize()method is
invoked and the object performs an operation which causes it to become accessible to reachable objects.
72. What method must be implemented by all threads?
All tasks must implement the run() method, whether they are a subclass of Thread or implement the Runnable
interface.
73. What are synchronized methods and synchronized statements?
Synchronized methods are methods that are used to control access to an object. A thread only executes a
synchronized method after it has acquired the lock for the method's object or class.

Synchronized statements are similar to synchronized methods. A synchronized statement can only be executed
after a thread has acquired the lock for the object or class referenced in the synchronized statement.
74. What is Externalizable?
Externalizable is an Interface that extends Serializable Interface. And sends data into Streams in Compressed
Format. It has two methods, writeExternal(ObjectOuput out) and readExternal(ObjectInput in).
75. What modifiers are allowed for methods in an Interface?
Only public and abstract modifiers are allowed for methods in interfaces.
76. What are some alternatives to inheritance?
Delegation is an alternative to inheritance.

Delegation means that you include an instance of another class as an instance variable, and forward messages
to the instance. It is often safer than inheritance because it forces you to think about each message you forward,
because the instance is of a known class, rather than a new class, and because it doesn't force you to accept all
the methods of the super class: you can provide only the methods that really make sense. On the other hand, it
makes you write more code, and it is harder to re-use (because it is not a subclass).
77. What does it mean that a method or field is "static"?
 Static variables and methods are instantiated only once per class. In other words they are class variables, not
instance variables. If you change the value of a static variable in a particular object, the value of that variable
changes for all instances of that class.

Static methods can be referenced with the name of the class rather than the name of a particular object of the
class (though that works too). That's how library methods like System.out.println() work out is a static field
in the java.lang.System class.
78. What is the difference between preemptive scheduling and time slicing?
Under preemptive scheduling, the highest priority task executes until it enters the waiting or dead states or a
higher priority task comes into existence. Under time slicing, a task executes for a predefined slice of time and
then reenters the pool of ready tasks.

The scheduler then determines which task should execute next, based on priority and other factors.
79. What is the catch or declare rule for method declarations?
If a checked exception may be thrown within the body of a method, the method must either catch the exception
or declare it in its throws clause.
80. Is Empty .java file a valid source file?
Yes. An empty .java file is a perfectly valid source file.
81. Can a .java file contain more than one java classes?
Yes. A .java file contain more than one java classes, provided at the most one of them is a public class.
82. Is String a primitive data type in Java?
No. String is not a primitive data type in Java, even though it is one of the most extensively used object. Strings
in Java are instances of String class defined in java.lang package.
83. Is main a keyword in Java?
No. main is not a keyword in Java.
84. Is next a keyword in Java?
No. next is not a keyword.
85. Is delete a keyword in Java?
No. delete is not a keyword in Java. Java does not make use of explicit destructors the way C++ does.
86. Is exit a keyword in Java?
No. To exit a program explicitly you use exit method in System object.
87. What happens if you dont initialize an instance variable of any of the primitive types in Java?
Java by default initializes it to the default value for that primitive type. Thus an int will be initialized to 0(zero), a
boolean will be initialized to false.
88. What will be the initial value of an object reference which is defined as an instance variable?
The object references are all initialized to null in Java. However in order to do anything useful with these
references, you must set them to a valid object, else you will get NullPointerExceptions everywhere you try
to use such default initialized references.
89. What are the different scopes for Java variables?
The scope of a Java variable is determined by the context in which the variable is declared. Thus a java variable
can have one of the three scopes at any given point in time.

1. Instance : - These are typical object level variables, they are initialized to default values at the time of creation
of object, and remain accessible as long as the object accessible.

2. Local : - These are the variables that are defined within a method. They remain accessbile only during the
course of method excecution. When the method finishes execution, these variables fall out of scope.
 3. Static: - These are the class level variables. They are initialized when the class is loaded in JVM for the first
time and remain there as long as the class remains loaded. They are not tied to any particular object instance.
90. What is the default value of the local variables?
The local variables are not initialized to any default value, neither primitives nor object references. If you try to
use these variables without initializing them explicitly, the java compiler will not compile the code. It will complain
abt the local varaible not being initilized.
91. How many objects are created in the following piece of code?
MyClass c1, c2, c3;
c1 = new MyClass ();
c3 = new MyClass ();
Only 2 objects are created, c1 and c3. The reference c2 is only declared and not initialized.
92. Can a public class MyClass be defined in a source file named YourClass.java?
No. The source file name, if it contains a public class, must be the same as the public class name itself with
a .java extension.
93. Can main() method be declared final?
Yes, the main() method can be declared final, in addition to being public static.
94. What is HashMap and Map?
Map is an Interface and Hashmap is the class that implements Map.
95. Difference between HashMap and HashTable?
The HashMap class is roughly equivalent to Hashtable, except that it is unsynchronized and permits nulls.
(HashMap allows null values as key and value whereas Hashtable doesnt allow).

HashMap does not guarantee that the order of the map will remain constant over time. HashMap is
unsynchronized and Hashtable is synchronized.
96. Difference between Vector and ArrayList?
Vector is synchronized whereas arraylist is not.
97. Difference between Swing and Awt?
AWT are heavy-weight componenets. Swings are light-weight components. Hence swing works faster than AWT.
98. What will be the default values of all the elements of an array defined as an instance variable?
If the array is an array of primitive types, then all the elements of the array will be initialized to the default value
corresponding to that primitive type.

Example: All the elements of an array of int will be initialized to 0(zero), while that of boolean type will be
initialized to false. Whereas if the array is an array of references (of any type), all the elements will be initialized
to null.

DATA STRUCTURES
1. What is data structure?
A data structure is a way of organizing data that considers not only the items stored, but also their relationship to
each other. Advance knowledge about the relationship between data items allows designing of efficient
algorithms for the manipulation of data.
2. List out the areas in which data structures are applied extensively?
1. Compiler Design,
2. Operating System,
3. Database Management System,
4. Statistical analysis package,
5. Numerical Analysis,
6. Graphics,
7. Artificial Intelligence,
8. Simulation
3. What are the major data structures used in the following areas : RDBMS, Network data model and
Hierarchical data model.
1. RDBMS = Array (i.e. Array of structures)
2. Network data model = Graph
3. Hierarchical data model = Trees
4. If you are using C language to implement the heterogeneous linked list, what pointer type will
you use?
The heterogeneous linked list contains different data types in its nodes and we need a link, pointer to connect
them. It is not possible to use ordinary pointers for this. So we go for void pointer. Void pointer is capable of
storing pointer to any type as it is a generic pointer type.
5. Minimum number of queues needed to implement the priority queue?
Two. One queue is used for actual storing of data and another for storing priorities.
6. What is the data structures used to perform recursion?
Stack. Because of its LIFO (Last In First Out) property it remembers its 'caller' so knows whom to return when
the function has to return. Recursion makes use of system stack for storing the return addresses of the function
calls.

Every recursive function has its equivalent iterative (non-recursive) function. Even when such equivalent iterative
procedures are written, explicit stack is to be used.
7. What are the notations used in Evaluation of Arithmetic Expressions using prefix and postfix
forms?
Polish and Reverse Polish notations.
8. Convert the expression ((A + B) * C - (D - E) ^ (F + G)) to equivalent Prefix and Postfix notations.
1. Prefix Notation: - * +ABC ^ - DE + FG
2. Postfix Notation: AB + C * DE - FG + ^ -
9. Sorting is not possible by using which of the following methods? (Insertion, Selection, Exchange,
Deletion)
Sorting is not possible in Deletion. Using insertion we can perform insertion sort, using selection we can
perform selection sort, using exchange we can perform the bubble sort (and other similar sorting methods). But
no sorting method can be done just using deletion.
10. What are the methods available in storing sequential files ?
1. Straight merging,
2. Natural merging,
3. Polyphase sort,
4. Distribution of Initial runs.
11. List out few of the Application of tree data-structure?
1. The manipulation of Arithmetic expression,
2. Symbol Table construction,
3. Syntax analysis.
12. List out few of the applications that make use of Multilinked Structures?
1. Sparse matrix,
2. Index generation.
13. In tree construction which is the suitable efficient data structure? (Array, Linked list, Stack,
Queue)
Linked list is the suitable efficient data structure.
 14. What is the type of the algorithm used in solving the 8 Queens problem?
Backtracking.
15. In an AVL tree, at what condition the balancing is to be done?
If the 'pivotal value' (or the 'Height factor') is greater than 1 or less than -1.
16. What is the bucket size, when the overlapping and collision occur at same time?
One. If there is only one entry possible in the bucket, when the collision occurs, there is no way to accommodate
the colliding value. This results in the overlapping of values.
17. Classify the Hashing Functions based on the various methods by which the key value is found.
1. Direct method,
2. Subtraction method,
3. Modulo-Division method,
4. Digit-Extraction method,
5. Mid-Square method,
6. Folding method,
7. Pseudo-random method.
18. What are the types of Collision Resolution Techniques and the methods used in each of the type?
1. Open addressing (closed hashing), The methods used include: Overflow block.
2. Closed addressing (open hashing), The methods used include: Linked list, Binary tree.
19. In RDBMS, what is the efficient data structure used in the internal storage representation?
B+ tree. Because in B+ tree, all the data is stored only in leaf nodes, that makes searching easier. This
corresponds to the records that shall be stored in leaf nodes.
20. What is a spanning Tree?
A spanning tree is a tree associated with a network. All the nodes of the graph appear on the tree once. A
minimum spanning tree is a spanning tree organized so that the total edge weight between nodes is minimized.
21. Does the minimum spanning tree of a graph give the shortest distance between any 2 specified
nodes?
No. The Minimal spanning tree assures that the total weight of the tree is kept at its minimum. But it doesn't
mean that the distance between any two nodes involved in the minimum-spanning tree is minimum.
22. Which is the simplest file structure? (Sequential, Indexed, Random)
Sequential is the simplest file structure.
23. Whether Linked List is linear or Non-linear data structure?
According to Access strategies Linked list is a linear one.
According to Storage Linked List is a Non-linear one.

PHP
PHP is a recursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor". PHP is a server side scripting language
that is embedded in HTML. It is used to manage dynamic content, databases, session tracking, even
build entire e-commerce sites.

What are the common usage of PHP?

Common uses of PHP

PHP performs system functions, i.e. from files on a system it can create, open, read, write, and
close them.

PHP can handle forms, i.e. gather data from files, save data to a file, thru email you can send
data, return data to the user.
 You add, delete, modify elements within your database thru PHP.

Access cookies variables and set cookies.

Using PHP, you can restrict users to access some pages of your website.

It can encrypt data.

In how many ways you can embed PHP code in an HTML page?

All PHP code must be included inside one of the three special markup tags ate are recognised by the
PHP Parser.

<?php PHP code goes here ?>

<? PHP code goes here ?>

<script language="php"> PHP code goes here </script>

Most common tag is the <?php...?>

What is the purpose of php.ini file?

The PHP configuration file, php.ini, is the final and most immediate way to affect PHP's functionality. The
php.ini file is read each time PHP is initialized.in other words, whenever httpd is restarted for the module
version or with each script execution for the CGI version. If your change isn.t showing up, remember to
stop and restart httpd. If it still isn.t showing up, use phpinfo() to check the path to php.ini.

What is escaping to PHP?

The PHP parsing engine needs a way to differentiate PHP code from other elements in the page. The
mechanism for doing so is known as 'escaping to PHP.'

What do you mean by having PHP as whitespace insensitive?

Whitespace is the stuff you type that is typically invisible on the screen, including spaces, tabs, and
carriage returns (end-of-line characters). PHP whitespace insensitive means that it almost never matters
how many whitespace characters you have in a row.one whitespace character is the same as many such
characters.

Is PHP a case sensitive language?

No, PHP is partially case sensitive.

What are the characteristics of PHP variables?

Here are the most important things to know about variables in PHP.

All variables in PHP are denoted with a leading dollar sign ($).

The value of a variable is the value of its most recent assignment.

Variables are assigned with the = operator, with the variable on the left-hand side and the
expression to be evaluated on the right.

Variables can, but do not need, to be declared before assignment.

Variables in PHP do not have intrinsic types - a variable does not know in advance whether it will
be used to store a number or a string of characters.

Variables used before they are assigned have default values.

PHP does a good job of automatically converting types from one to another when necessary.

PHP variables are Perl-like.

What are the different types of PHP variables?

PHP has a total of eight data types which we use to construct our variables

Integers are whole numbers, without a decimal point, like 4195.

Doubles are floating-point numbers, like 3.14159 or 49.1.

Booleans have only two possible values either true or false.

NULL is a special type that only has one value: NULL.

Strings are sequences of characters, like 'PHP supports string operations.'

Arrays are named and indexed collections of other values.

Objects are instances of programmer-defined classes, which can package up both other kinds
of values and functions that are specific to the class.

Resources are special variables that hold references to resources external to PHP (such as
database connections).

What are rules for naming a PHP variable?

Rules for naming a variable are following

Variable names must begin with a letter or underscore character.

A variable name can consist of numbers, letters, underscores but you cannot use characters like
+ , - , % , ( , ) . & , etc

What are the rules for determine the "truth" of any value not already of the Boolean type?

Here are the rules for determine the "truth" of any value not already of the Boolean type

If the value is a number, it is false if exactly equal to zero and true otherwise.

If the value is a string, it is false if the string is empty (has zero characters) or is the string "0",
and is true otherwise.

Values of type NULL are always false.

If the value is an array, it is false if it contains no other values, and it is true otherwise. For an
object, containing a value means having a member variable that has been assigned a value.

Valid resources are true (although some functions that return resources when they are
successful will return FALSE when unsuccessful).

Don't use double as Booleans.

What is NULL?

NULL is a special type that only has one value: NULL. To give a variable the NULL value, simply assign it
like this

$my_var = NULL;

The special constant NULL is capitalized by convention, but actually it is case insensitive; you could just
as well have typed

$my_var = null;

A variable that has been assigned NULL has the following properties:

It evaluates to FALSE in a Boolean context.

It returns FALSE when tested with IsSet() function.

How will you define a constant in PHP?

To define a constant you have to use define() function and to retrieve the value of a constant, you have
to simply specifying its name. Unlike with variables, you do not need to have a constant with a $.

What is the purpose of constant() function?

As indicated by the name, this function will return the value of the constant. This is useful when you
want to retrieve value of a constant, but you do not know its name, i.e. It is stored in a variable or
returned by a function.

<?php

define("MINSIZE", 50);

echo MINSIZE;

echo constant("MINSIZE"); // same thing as the previous line

?>

Only scalar data (boolean, integer, float and string) can be contained in constants.

What are the differences between PHP constants and variables?

There is no need to write a dollar sign ($) before a constant, where as in Variable one has to write
a dollar sign.

Constants cannot be defined by simple assignment, they may only be defined using the define()
function.

Constants may be defined and accessed anywhere without regard to variable scoping rules.

Once the Constants have been set, may not be redefined or undefined.

What are PHP magic constants?

PHP provides a large number of predefined constants to any script which it runs known as magic
constants.

What is the purpose of _LINE_ constant?

_LINE_ The current line number of the file.

What is the purpose of _FILE_ constant?

_FILE_ The full path and filename of the file. If used inside an include,the name of the included file is
returned. Since PHP 4.0.2, _FILE_ always contains an absolute path whereas in older versions it
contained relative path under some circumstances.

What is the purpose of _FUNCTION_ constant?

_FUNCTION_ The function name. (Added in PHP 4.3.0) As of PHP 5 this constant returns the function
name as it was declared (case-sensitive). In PHP 4 its value is always lowercased.

What is the purpose of _CLASS_ constant?

_CLASS_ The class name. (Added in PHP 4.3.0) As of PHP 5 this constant returns the class name as it
was declared (case-sensitive). In PHP 4 its value is always lowercased.

What is the purpose of _METHOD_ constant?

_METHOD_ The class method name. (Added in PHP 5.0.0) The method name is returned as it was
declared (case-sensitive).

What is the purpose of break statement?

break terminates the for loop or switch statement and transfers execution to the statement immediately
following the for loop or switch.

What is the purpose of continue statement?

continue causes the loop to skip the remainder of its body and immediately retest its condition prior to
reiterating.

Explain the syntax for 'foreach' loop.

The foreach statement is used to loop through arrays. For each pass the value of the current array
element is assigned to $value and the array pointer is moved by one and in the next pass next element
will be processed.

foreach (array as value)

code to be executed;

What is numeric array?

Numeric array An array with a numeric index. Values are stored and accessed in linear fashion.

What is associate array?

Associative array An array with strings as index. This stores element values in association with key
values rather than in a strict linear index order.

What is Multidimensional array?

Multidimensional array An array containing one or more arrays and values are accessed using multiple
indices.

How will you concatenate two strings in PHP?

To concatenate two string variables together, use the dot (.) operator

<?php

$string1="Hello World";

$string2="1234";

echo $string1 . " " . $string2;

?>

This will produce following result

Hello World 1234

How will you find the length of a string in PHP?

The strlen() function is used to find the length of a string. Let's find the length of our string "Hello
world!"

<?php

echo strlen("Hello world!");

?>

This will produce following result

12

How will you locate a string within a string in PHP?

The strpos() function is used to search for a string or character within a string. If a match is found in the
string, this function will return the position of the first match. If no match is found, it will return FALSE.
Let's see if we can find the string "world" in our string

<?php
echo strpos("Hello world!","world");

?>

This will produce following result

How will you get environment variables in PHP?

PHP provides a function getenv() to access the value of all the environment variables.

How will you get the browser's details using PHP?

One of the environemnt variables set by PHP is HTTP_USER_AGENT which identifies the user's browser
and operating system.

How will you generate random numbers using PHP?

The PHP rand() function is used to generate a random number. This function can generate numbers
with-in a given range. The random number generator should be seeded to prevent a regular pattern of
numbers being generated. This is achieved using the srand() function that specifiies the seed number as
its argument.

What is the purpse $_PHP_SELF variable?

The PHP default variable $_PHP_SELF is used for the PHP script name and when you click "submit"
button then same PHP script will be called.

How will you redirect a page using PHP?

The PHP header() function supplies raw HTTP headers to the browser and can be used to redirect it to
another location. The redirection script should be at the very top of the page to prevent any other part of
the page from loading. The target is specified by the Location: header as the argument to the header()
function. After calling this function the exit() function can be used to halt parsing of rest of the code.

How can you display a file download dialog box using PHP?

The HTTP header will be different from the actual header where we send Content-Type as text/html\n\n.
In this case content type will be application/octet-stream and actual file name will be concatenated
alongwith it. For example,if you want make a FileName file downloadable from a given link then its
syntax will be as follows.

#!/usr/bin/perl

# HTTP Header

print "Content-Type:application/octet-stream; name=\"FileName\"\r\n";

print "Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=\"FileName\"\r\n\n";

# Actual File Content

open( FILE, "<FileName" );

while(read(FILE, $buffer, 100) )

print("$buffer");

How will you get information sent via get method in PHP?

The PHP provides $_GET associative array to access all the sent information using GET method.

How will you get information sent via post method in PHP?

The PHP provides $_POST associative array to access all the sent information using POST method.
What is the purpse $_REQUEST variable?

The PHP $_REQUEST variable contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE. We will
discuss $_COOKIE variable when we will explain about cookies. The PHP $_REQUEST variable can be
used to get the result from form data sent with both the GET and POST methods.

Which function will you use to create an array?

array() Creates an array.

How can you sort an array?

sort() Sorts an array.

What is the difference between single quoted string and double quoted string?

Singly quoted strings are treated almost literally, whereas doubly quoted strings replace variables with
their values as well as specially interpreting certain character sequences.

<?php

$variable = "name";

$literally = 'My $variable will not print!\\n';

print($literally);

print "<br />";

$literally = "My $variable will print!\\n";

print($literally);

?>

This will produce following result

My $variable will not print!\n

My name will print

How will you concatenate two strings?

To concatenate two string variables together, use the dot (.) operator.

<?php

$string1="Hello World";

$string2="1234";

echo $string1 . " " . $string2;

?>

This will produce following result

Hello World 1234

What is the use of $_REQUEST variable?

The PHP $_REQUEST variable contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE. We will
discuss $_COOKIE variable when we will explain about cookies. The PHP $_REQUEST variable can be
used to get the result from form data sent with both the GET and POST methods.

How will you include the content of a PHP file into another PHP file?

There are two PHP functions which can be used to included one PHP file into another PHP file.

The include() Function

 The require() Function

What is the difference between include() Function and require() Function?

If there is any problem in loading a file then the require() function generates a fatal error and halt the
execution of the script whereas include() function generates a warning but the script will continue
execution.

How will you open a file in readonly mode?

The PHP fopen() function is used to open a file. It requires two arguments stating first the file name and
then mode in which to operate. "r" mode opens the file for reading only and places the file pointer at the
beginning of the file.

How will you read a file in php?

Once a file is opened using fopen() function it can be read with a function called fread(). This function
requires two arguments. These must be the file pointer and the length of the file expressed in bytes.

How will you get the size of a file in php?

The files's length can be found using the filesize() function which takes the file name as its argument
and returns the size of the file expressed in bytes.

How will you check if a file exists or not using php?

File's existence can be confirmed using file_exist() function which takes file name as an argument.

Can you assign the default values to a function parameters?

Yes! You can set a parameter to have a default value if the function's caller doesn't pass it.

How will you set cookies using PHP?

PHP provided setcookie() function to set a cookie. This function requires upto six arguments and should
be called before <html> tag. For each cookie this function has to be called separately.

setcookie(name, value, expire, path, domain, security);

How will you get cookies using PHP?

PHP provides many ways to access cookies. Simplest way is to use either $_COOKIE or
$HTTP_COOKIE_VARS variables.

How will you make a check that a cookie is set or not?

You can use isset() function to check if a cookie is set or not.

How will you delete a cookie?

To delete a cookie you should call setcookie() with the name argument only.

How will you start a session in PHP?

A PHP session is easily started by making a call to the session_start() function.This function first checks
if a session is already started and if none is started then it starts one. It is recommended to put the call
to session_start() at the beginning of the page.

How will you access session variables in PHP?

Session variables are stored in associative array called $_SESSION[]. These variables can be accessed
during lifetime of a session.

How will you check if session variable is already set or not in PHP?

Make use of isset() function to check if session variable is already set or not.

How will you unset a single session variable?

Here is the example to unset a single variable

<?php

unset($_SESSION['counter']);

?>

How will you destroy the session?

A PHP session can be destroyed by session_destroy() function.

How will you send an email using PHP?

PHP makes use of mail() function to send an email. This function requires three mandatory arguments
that specify the recipient's email address, the subject of the the message and the actual message
additionally there are other two optional parameters.

mail( to, subject, message, headers, parameters );

What is the purpose of $_FILES variable in PHP?

This is a global PHP variable. This variable is an associate double dimension array and keeps all the
information related to uploaded file.

How will you access the uploaded file in PHP?

Using $_FILES['file']['tmp_name'] it provides access to the uploaded file in the temporary directory on
the web server.

How will you access the actual name of the uploaded file in PHP?

Using $_FILES['file']['name'] it provides the actual name of the uploaded file.

How will you access the size of the uploaded file in PHP?

Using $_FILES['file']['size'] it provides the size in bytes of the uploaded file.

How will you access the content type of the uploaded file in PHP?

Using $_FILES['file']['type'] it provides the MIME type of the uploaded file.

How will you access the error code associated with file upload in PHP?

Using $_FILES['file']['error'] it provides the error code associated with this file upload.

What is the purpose of $GLOBALS variable in PHP?

$GLOBALS Contains a reference to every variable which is currently available within the global scope
of the script. The keys of this array are the names of the global variables.

What is the purpose of $_SERVER variable in PHP?

$_SERVER This is an array containing information such as headers, paths, and script locations. The
entries in this array are created by the web server. There is no guarantee that every web server will
provide any of these. See next section for a complete list of all the SERVER variables.

What is the purpose of $_COOKIE variable in PHP?

$_COOKIE An associative array of variables passed to the current script via HTTP cookies.

What is the purpose of $_SESSION variable in PHP?

$_SESSION An associative array containing session variables available to the current script.

What is the purpose of $_PHP_SELF variable in PHP?

$_PHP_SELF A string containing PHP script file name in which it is called.

What is the purpose of $php_errormsg variable in PHP?

$php_errormsg $php_errormsg is a variable containing the text of the last error message generated by
PHP.
How ereg() function works?

ereg() The ereg() function searches a string specified by string for a string specified by pattern,
returning true if the pattern is found, and false otherwise.

How eregi() function works?

eregi() The eregi() function searches throughout a string specified by pattern for a string specified by
string. The search is not case sensitive.

How split() function works?

The split() function will divide a string into various elements, the boundaries of each element based on
the occurrence of pattern in string.

How preg_match() function works?

preg_match() - The preg_match() function searches string for pattern, returning true if pattern exists,
and false otherwise.

How preg_split() function works?

The preg_split() function operates exactly like split(), except that regular expressions are accepted as
input parameters for pattern.

How will you retrieve the error message using Exception class in PHP when error occured?

Using getMessage() method of Exception class which returns the message of exception.

How will you retrieve code of exception using Exception class in PHP when error occured?

Using getCode() method of Exception class which returns the code of exception.

How will you retrieve source filename using Exception class in PHP when error occured?

Using getFile() method of Exception class which returns source filename.

How will you retrieve source line using Exception class in PHP when error occured?

Using getLine() method of Exception class which returns source line.

How will you retrieve stack trace using Exception class in PHP when error occured?

Using getTrace() method of Exception class which returns array of the backtrace.

How will you retrieve formated string of trace in PHP when error occured?

Using getTraceAsString() method of Exception class which returns formated string of trace.

How will you get the current date and time using PHP?

PHP's time() function gives you all the information that you need about the current date and time. It
requires no arguments but returns an integer.

What is the purpose of getdate() function?

The function getdate() optionally accepts a time stamp and returns an associative array containing
information about the date. If you omit the time stamp, it works with the current time stamp as returned
by time().

What is the purpose of date() function?

The date() function returns a formatted string representing a date. You can exercise an enormous
amount of control over the format that date() returns with a string argument that you must pass to it.

How will you connect a MySql database using PHP?

PHP provides mysql_connect function to open a database connection.

connection mysql_connect(server,user,passwd,new_link,client_flag);
How will you create a MySql database using PHP?

PHP uses mysql_query function to create a MySQL database. This function takes two parameters and
returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure.

bool mysql_query( sql, connection );

How will you close a MySql database using PHP?

Its simplest function mysql_close PHP provides to close a database connection. This function takes
connection resource returned by mysql_connect function. It returns TRUE on success or FALSE on
failure.

bool mysql_close ( resource $link_identifier );

If a resource is not specified then last opend database is closed.

How will you parse an XML document using PHP?

PHP 5's new SimpleXML module makes parsing an XML document, well, simple. It turns an XML
document into an object that provides structured access to the XML. To create a SimpleXML object from
an XML document stored in a string, pass the string to simplexml_load_string( ). It returns a SimpleXML
object.

Can you create a class in PHP?

Yes!

How will you add a constructor function to a PHP class?

PHP provides a special function called __construct() to define a constructor. You can pass as many as
arguments you like into the constructor function.

How will you add a destructor function to a PHP class?

Like a constructor function you can define a destructor function using function __destruct(). You can
release all the resourceses with-in a destructor.

How will you access the reference to same object within the object in PHP?

The variable $this is a special variable and it refers to the same object ie. itself.

How will you create objects in PHP?

Once you defined your class, then you can create as many objects as you like of that class type.
Following is an example of how to create object using new operator.

$physics = new Books;

$maths = new Books;

$chemistry = new Books;

How will you call member functions of a class in PHP?

After creating your objects, you will be able to call member functions related to that object. One member
function will be able to process member variable of related object only. Following example shows how to
set title and prices for the three books by calling member functions.

$physics>setTitle( "Physics for High School" );

$chemistry>setTitle( "Advanced Chemistry" );

$maths>setTitle( "Algebra" );

$physics>setPrice( 10 );

$chemistry>setPrice( 15 );

$maths>setPrice( 7 );
What is function overriding?

Function definitions in child classes override definitions with the same name in parent classes. In a
child class, we can modify the definition of a function inherited from parent class.

What are interfaces in PHP?

Interfaces are defined to provide a common function names to the implementors. Different implementors
can implement those interfaces according to their requirements. You can say, interfaces are skeltons
which are implemented by developers.

What is the use of final keyword?

PHP 5 introduces the final keyword, which prevents child classes from overriding a method by prefixing
the definition with final. If the class itself is being defined final then it cannot be extended.