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Java
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 CONTENTS

Java Basics
1. What is the difference between JDK and JRE?
2. What is Java Virtual Machine (JVM)?
3. What are the different types of memory areas allocated by JVM?
4. What is JIT compiler?
5. How Java platform is different from other platforms?
6. Why people say that Java is 'write once and run anywhere' language?
7. How does ClassLoader work in Java?
8. Do you think ‘main’ used for main method is a keyword in Java?
9. Can we write main method as public void static instead of public static
void?
10. In Java, if we do not specify any value for local variables, then what
will be the default value of the local variables?
11. Let say, we run a java class without passing any arguments. What will
be the value of String array of arguments in Main method?
12. What is the difference between byte and char data types in Java?
OOPS
13. What are the main principles of Object Oriented Programming?
14. What is the difference between Object Oriented Programming
language and Object Based Programming language?
15. In Java what is the default value of an object reference defined as an
instance variable in an Object?
16. Why do we need constructor in Java?
17. Why do we need default constructor in Java classes?
18. What is the value returned by Constructor in Java?
19. Can we inherit a Constructor?
20. Why constructors cannot be final, static, or abstract in Java?
Inheritance
21. What is the purpose of ‘this’ keyword in java?
22. Explain the concept of Inheritance?
23. Which class in Java is superclass of every other class?
24. Why Java does not support multiple inheritance?
25. In OOPS, what is meant by composition?
26. How aggregation and composition are different concepts?
27. Why there are no pointers in Java?
28. If there are no pointers in Java, then why do we get
NullPointerException?
29. What is the purpose of ‘super’ keyword in java?
30. Is it possible to use this() and super() both in same constructor?
31. What is the meaning of object cloning in Java?
Static
32. In Java, why do we use static variable?
33. Why it is not a good practice to create static variables in Java?
34. What is the purpose of static method in Java?
35. Why do we mark main method as static in Java?
36. In what scenario do we use a static block?
37. Is it possible to execute a program without defining a main() method?
38. What happens when static modifier is not mentioned in the signature
of main method?
39. What is the difference between static method and instance method in
Java?
Method Overloading and Overriding
40. What is the other name of Method Overloading?
41. How will you implement method overloading in Java?
42. What kinds of argument variations are allowed in Method
Overloading?
43. Why it is not possible to do method overloading by changing return
type of method in java?
44. Is it allowed to overload main() method in Java?
45. How do we implement method overriding in Java?
46. Are we allowed to override a static method in Java?
47. Why Java does not allow overriding a static method?
48. Is it allowed to override an overloaded method?
49. What is the difference between method overloading and method
overriding in Java?
50. Does Java allow virtual functions?
51. What is meant by covariant return type in Java?
Polymorphism
52. What is Runtime Polymorphism?
53. Is it possible to achieve Runtime Polymorphism by data members in
Java?
54. Explain the difference between static and dynamic binding?
Abstraction
55. What is Abstraction in Object Oriented programming?
56. How is Abstraction different from Encapsulation?
57. What is an abstract class in Java?
58. Is it allowed to mark a method abstract method without marking the
class abstract?
59. Is it allowed to mark a method abstract as well as final?
60. Can we instantiate an abstract class in Java?
61. What is an interface in Java?
62. Is it allowed to mark an interface method as static?
63. Why an Interface cannot be marked as final in Java?
64. What is a marker interface?
65. What can we use instead of Marker interface?
66. How Annotations are better than Marker Interfaces?
67. What is the difference between abstract class and interface in Java?
68. Does Java allow us to use private and protected modifiers for
variables in interfaces?
69. How can we cast to an object reference to an interface reference?
Final
70. How can you change the value of a final variable in Java?
71. Can a class be marked final in Java?
72. How can we create a final method in Java?
73. How can we prohibit inheritance in Java?
74. Why Integer class in final in Java?
75. What is a blank final variable in Java?
76. How can we initialize a blank final variable?
77. Is it allowed to declare main method as final?
Package
78. What is the purpose of package in Java?
79. What is java.lang package?
80. Which is the most important class in Java?
81. Is it mandatory to import java.lang package every time?
82. Can you import same package or class twice in your class?
83. What is a static import in Java?
84. What is the difference between import static com.test.Fooclass and
import com.test.Fooclass?
Internationalization
85. What is Locale in Java?
86. How will you use a specific Locale in Java?
Serialization
87. What is the serialization?
88. What is the purpose of serialization?
89. What is Deserialization?
90. What is Serialization and Deserialization conceptually?
91. Why do we mark a data member transient?
92. Is it allowed to mark a method as transient?
93. How does marking a field as transient makes it possible to serialize an
object?
94. What is Externalizable interface in Java?
95. What is the difference between Serializable and Externalizable
interface?
Reflection
96. What is Reflection in Java?
97. What are the uses of Reflection in Java?
98. How can we access private method of a class from outside the class?
99. How can we create an Object dynamically at Runtime in Java?
Garbage Collection
100.What is Garbage Collection in Java?
101. Why Java provides Garbage Collector?
102.What is the purpose of gc() in Java?
103.How does Garbage Collection work in Java?
104.When does an object become eligible for Garbage Collection in Java?
105.Why do we use finalize() method in Java?
106.What are the different types of References in Java?
107.How can we reference an unreferenced object again?
108.What kind of process is the Garbage collector thread?
109.What is the purpose of the Runtime class?
110. How can we invoke an external process in Java?
111. What are the uses of Runtime class?
Inner Classes
112. What is a Nested class?
113. How many types of Nested classes are in Java?
114. Why do we use Nested Classes?
115. What is the difference between a Nested class and an Inner class in
Java?
116. What is a Nested interface?
117. How can we access the non-final local variable, inside a Local Inner
class?
118. Can an Interface be defined in a Class?
119. Do we have to explicitly mark a Nested Interface public static?
120.Why do we use Static Nested interface in Java?
String
121. What is the meaning of Immutable in the context of String class in
Java?
122.Why a String object is considered immutable in java?
123.How many objects does following code create?
124.How many ways are there in Java to create a String object?
125.How many objects does following code create?
126.What is String interning?
127.Why Java uses String literal concept?
128.What is the basic difference between a String and StringBuffer
object?
129.How will you create an immutable class in Java?
130.What is the use of toString() method in java ?
131. Arrange the three classes String, StringBuffer and StringBuilder in
the order of efficiency for String processing operations?
Exception Handling
132.What is Exception Handling in Java?
133.In Java, what are the differences between a Checked and
Unchecked?
134.What is the base class for Error and Exception classes in Java?
135.What is a finally block in Java?
136.What is the use of finally block in Java?
137.Can we create a finally block without creating a catch block?
138.Do we have to always put a catch block after a try block?
139.In what scenarios, a finally block will not be executed?
140.Can we re-throw an Exception in Java?
141. What is the difference between throw and throws in Java?
142.What is the concept of Exception Propagation?
143.When we override a method in a Child class, can we throw an
additional Exception that is not thrown by the Parent class method?
Multi-threading
144.How Multi-threading works in Java?
145.What are the advantages of Multithreading?
146.What are the disadvantages of Multithreading?
147.What is a Thread in Java?
148.What is a Thread’s priority and how it is used in scheduling?
149.What are the differences between Pre-emptive Scheduling Scheduler
and Time Slicing Scheduler?
150.Is it possible to call run() method instead of start() on a thread in
Java?
151. How will you make a user thread into daemon thread if it has already
started?
152.Can we start a thread two times in Java?
153.In what scenarios can we interrupt a thread?
154.In Java, is it possible to lock an object for exclusive use by a thread?
155.How notify() method is different from notifyAll() method?
Collections
156.What are the differences between the two data structures: a Vector
and an ArrayList?
157.What are the differences between Collection and Collections in Java?
158.In which scenario, LinkedList is better than ArrayList in Java?
159.What are the differences between a List and Set collection in Java?
160.What are the differences between a HashSet and TreeSet collection
in Java?
161. In Java, how will you decide when to use a List, Set or a Map
collection?
162.What are the differences between a HashMap and a Hashtable in
Java?
163.What are the differences between a HashMap and a TreeMap?
164.What are the differences between Comparable and Comparator?
165.In Java, what is the purpose of Properties file?
166.What is the reason for overriding equals() method?
167.How does hashCode() method work in Java?
168.Is it a good idea to use Generics in collections?
Mixed Questions
169.What are Wrapper classes in Java?
170.What is the purpose of native method in Java?
171. What is System class?
172.What is System, out and println in System.out.println method call?
173.What is the other name of Shallow Copy in Java?
174.What is the difference between Shallow Copy and Deep Copy in
Java?
175.What is a Singleton class?
176.What is the difference between Singleton class and Static class?
Java Collection
177.What is the difference between Collection and Collections
Framework in Java?
178.What are the main benefits of Collections Framework in Java?
179.What is the root interface of Collection hierarchy in Java?
180.What are the main differences between Collection and Collections?
181. What are the Thread-safe classes in Java Collections framework?
182.How will you efficiently remove elements while iterating a
Collection?
183.How will you convert a List into an array of integers like- int[]?
184.How will you convert an array of primitive integers int[] to a List
collection?
185.How will you run a filter on a Collection?
186.How will you convert a List to a Set?
187.How will you remove duplicate elements from an ArrayList?
188.How can you maintain a Collection with elements in Sorted order?
189.What is the difference between Collections.emptyList() and creating
new instance of Collection?
190.How will you copy elements from a Source List to another list?
191. What are the Java Collection classes that implement List interface?
192.What are the Java Collection classes that implement Set interface?
193.What is the difference between an Iterator and ListIterator in Java?
194.What is the difference between Iterator and Enumeration?
195.What is the difference between an ArrayList and a LinkedList data
structure?
196.What is the difference between a Set and a Map in Java?
197.What is the use of a Dictionary class?
198.What is the default size of load factor in a HashMap collection in
Java?
199.What is the significance of load factor in a HashMap in Java?
200.What are the major differences between a HashSet and a HashMap?
201.What are the similarities between a HashSet and a HashMap in Java?
202.What is the reason for overriding equals() method?
203.How can we synchronize the elements of a List, a Set or a Map?
204.What is Hash Collision? How Java handles hash-collision in
HashMap?
205.What are the Hash Collision resolution techniques?
206.What is the difference between Queue and Stack data structures?
207.What is an Iterator in Java?
208.What is the difference between Iterator and Enumeration in Java?
209.What is the design pattern used in the implementation of Enumeration
in Java?
210.Which methods do we need to override to use an object as key in a
HashMap?
211. How will you reverse a List in Java?
212.How will you convert an array of String objects into a List?
213.What is the difference between peek(), poll() and remove() methods
of Queue interface in java?
214.What is the difference between Array and ArrayList in Java?
215.How will you insert, delete and retrieve elements from a HashMap
collection in Java?
216.What are the main differences between HashMap and
ConcurrentHashMap in Java?
217.What is the increasing order of performance for following collection
classes in Java?
218.Why does Map interface not extend Collection interface in Java?
219.What are the different ways to iterate elements of a list in Java?
220.What is CopyOnWriteArrayList? How it is different from ArrayList
in Java?
221.How remove() method is implemented in a HashMap?
222.What is BlockingQueue in Java Collections?
223.How is TreeMap class implemented in Java?
224.What is the difference between Fail-fast and Fail-safe iterator in
Java?
225.How does ConcurrentHashMap work in Java?
226.What is the importance of hashCode() and equals() methods?
227.What is the contract of hashCode() and equals() methods in Java?
228.What is an EnumSet in Java?
229.What are the main Concurrent Collection classes in Java?
230.How will you convert a Collection to SynchronizedCollection in Java?
231.How IdentityHashMap is different from a regular Map in Java?
232.What is the main use of IdentityHashMap?
233.How can we improve the performance of IdentityHashMap?
234.Is IdentityHashMap thread-safe?
235.What is a WeakHashMap in Java?
236.How can you make a Collection class read Only in Java?
237.When is UnsupportedOperationException thrown in Java?
238.Let say there is a Customer class. We add objects of Customer class
to an ArrayList. How can we sort the Customer objects in ArrayList by
using customer firstName attribute of Customer class?
239.What is the difference between Synchronized Collection and
Concurrent Collection?
240.What is the scenario to use ConcurrentHashMap in Java?
241.How will you create an empty Map in Java?
242.What is the difference between remove() method of Collection and
remove() method of Iterator?
243.Between an Array and ArrayList, which one is the preferred
collection for storing objects?
244.Is it possible to replace Hashtable with ConcurrentHashMap in Java?
245.How CopyOnWriteArrayList class is different from ArrayList and
Vector classes?
246.Why ListIterator has add() method but Iterator does not have?
247.Why do we sometime get ConcurrentModificationException during
iteration?
248.How will you convert a Map to a List in Java?
249.How can we create a Map with reverse view and lookup in Java?
250.How will you create a shallow copy of a Map?
251.Why we cannot create a generic array in Java?
252.What is a PriorityQueue in Java?
253.What are the important points to remember while using Java
Collections Framework?
254.How can we pass a Collection as an argument to a method and ensure
that method will not be able to modify it?
255.Can you explain how HashMap works in Java?
256.Can you explain how HashSet is implemented in Java?
257.What is a NavigableMap in Java?
258.What is the difference between descendingKeySet() and
descendingMap() methods of NavigableMap?
259.What is the advantage of NavigableMap over Map?
260.What is the difference between headMap(), tailMap() and subMap()
methods of NavigableMap?
261.How will you sort objects by Natural order in a Java List?
262.How can we get a Stream from a List in Java?
263.Can we get a Map from a Stream in Java?
264.What are the popular implementations of Deque in Java?
Advanced Multi-threading
265.What is a Thread in Java?
266.What is the priority of a Thread and how it is used in scheduling?
267.What is the default priority of a thread in Java?
268.What are the three different priorities that can be set on a Thread in
Java?
269.What is the purpose of join() method in Thread class?
270.What is the fundamental difference between wait() and sleep()
methods?
271.Is it possible to call run() method instead of start() on a thread in
Java?
272.What is a daemon thread in Java?
273.How can we make a regular thread Daemon thread in Java?
274.How will you make a user thread into daemon thread if it has already
started?
275.Can we start a thread two times in Java?
276.What is a Shutdown hook in Java?
277.What is synchronization in Java?
278.What is the purpose of Synchronized block in Java?
279.What is static synchronization?
280.What is a Deadlock situation?
281.What is the meaning of concurrency?
282.What is the main difference between process and thread?
283.What is a process and thread in the context of Java?
284.What is a Scheduler?
285.What is the minimum number of Threads in a Java program?
286.What are the properties of a Java thread?
287.What are the different states of a Thread in Java?
288.How will you set the priority of a thread in Java?
289.What is the purpose of Thread Groups in Java?
290.Why we should not stop a thread by calling its stop() method?
291.How will you create a Thread in Java?
292.How can we stop a thread in the middle of execution in Java?
293.How do you access the current thread in a Java program?
294.What is Busy waiting in Multi-threading?
295.How can we prevent busy waiting in Java?
296.Can we use Thread.sleep() method for real-time processing in Java?
297.Can we wake up a thread that has been put to sleep by using
Thread.sleep() method?
298.What are the two ways to check if a Thread has been interrupted?
299.How can we make sure that Parent thread waits for termination of
Child thread?
300.How will you handle InterruptedException in Java?
301.Which intrinsic lock is acquired by a synchronized method in Java?
302.Can we mark a constructor as synchronized in Java?
303.Can we use primitive values for intrinsic locks?
304.Do we have re-entrant property in intrinsic locks?
305.What is an atomic operation?
306.Can we consider the statement i++ as an atomic operation in Java?
307.What are the Atomic operations in Java?
308.Can you check if following code is thread-safe?
309.What are the minimum requirements for a Deadlock situation in a
program?
310.How can we prevent a Deadlock?
311. How can we detect a Deadlock situation?
312.What is a Livelock?
313.What is Thread starvation?
314.How can a synchronized block cause Thread starvation in Java?
315.What is a Race condition?
316.What is a Fair lock in multi-threading?
317.Which two methods of Object class can be used to implement a
Producer Consumer scenario?
318.How JVM determines which thread should wake up on notify()?
319.Check if following code is thread-safe for retrieving an integer value
from a Queue?
320.How can we check if a thread has a monitor lock on a given object?
321.What is the use of yield() method in Thread class?
322.What is an important point to consider while passing an object from
one thread to another thread?
323.What are the rules for creating Immutable Objects?
324.What is the use of ThreadLocal class?
325.What are the scenarios suitable for using ThreadLocal class?
326.How will you improve the performance of an application by multi-
threading?
327.What is scalability in a Software program?
328.How will you calculate the maximum speed up of an application by
using multiple processors?
329.What is Lock contention in multi-threading?
330.What are the techniques to reduce Lock contention?
331.What technique can be used in following code to reduce Lock
contention?
332.What is Lock splitting technique?
333.Which technique is used in ReadWriteLock class for reducing Lock
contention?
334.What is Lock striping?
335.What is a CAS operation?
336.Which Java classes use CAS operation?
337.Is it always possible to improve performance by object pooling in a
multi-threading application?
338.How can techniques used for performance improvement in a single
thread application may degrade the performance in a multi-threading
application?
339.What is the relation between Executor and ExecutorService
interface?
340.What will happen on calling submit() method of an ExecutorService
instance whose queue is already full?
341.What is a ScheduledExecutorService?

342.How will you create a Thread pool in Java?

343.What is the main difference between Runnable and Callable
interface?
344.What are the uses of Future interface in Java?
345.What is the difference in concurrency in HashMap and in Hashtable?
346.How will you create synchronized instance of List or Map Collection?
347.What is a Semaphore in Java?
348.What is a CountDownLatch in Java?
349.What is the difference between CountDownLatch and CyclicBarrier?
350.What are the scenarios suitable for using Fork/Join framework?
351.What is the difference between RecursiveTask and RecursiveAction
class?
352.In Java 8, can we process stream operations with a Thread pool?
353.What are the scenarios to use parallel stream in Java 8?
354.How Stack and Heap work in Java multi-threading environment?
355.How can we take Thread dump in Java?
356.Which parameter can be used to control stack size of a thread in
Java?
357.There are two threads T1 and T2? How will you ensure that these
threads run in sequence T1, T2 in Java?
Java 8
358.What are the new features released in Java 8?
359.What are the main benefits of new features introduced in Java 8?
360.What is a Lambda expression in Java 8?
361.What are the three main parts of a Lambda expression in Java?
362.What is the data type of a Lambda expression?
363.What is the meaning of following lambda expression?
364.Why did Oracle release a new version of Java like Java 8?
365.What are the advantages of a lambda expression?
366.What is a Functional interface in Java 8?
367.What is a Single Abstract Method (SAM) interface in Java 8?
368.How can we define a Functional interface in Java 8?
369.Why do we need Functional interface in Java?
370.Is it mandatory to use @FunctionalInterface annotation to define a
Functional interface in Java 8?
371.What are the differences between Collection and Stream API in Java
8?
372.What are the main uses of Stream API in Java 8?
373.What are the differences between Intermediate and Terminal
Operations in Java 8 Streams?
374.What is a Spliterator in Java 8?
375.What are the differences between Iterator and Spliterator in Java 8?
376.What is Type Inference in Java 8?
377.Does Java 7 support Type Inference?
378.How does Internal Iteration work in Java 8?
379.What are the main differences between Internal and External
Iterator?
380.What are the main advantages of Internal Iterator over External
Iterator in Java 8?
381.What are the applications in which we should use Internal Iteration?
382.What is the main disadvantage of Internal Iteration over External
Iteration?
383.Can we provide implementation of a method in a Java Interface?
384.What is a Default Method in an Interface?
385.Why do we need Default method in a Java 8 Interface?
386.What is the purpose of a Static method in an Interface in Java 8?
387.What are the core ideas behind the Date/Time API of Java 8?
388.What are the advantages of new Date and Time API in Java 8 over
old Date API?
389.What are the main differences between legacy Date/Time API in Java
and Date/Time API of Java 8?
390.How can we get duration between two dates or time in Java 8?
391.What is the new method family introduced in Java 8 for processing of
Arrays on multi core machines?
392.How does Java 8 solve Diamond problem of Multiple Inheritance?
393.What are the differences between Predicate, Supplier and Consumer
in Java 8?
394.Is it possible to have default method definition in an interface without
marking it with default keyword?
395.Can we create a class that implements two Interfaces with default
methods of same name and signature?
396.How Java 8 supports Multiple Inheritance?
397.In case we create a class that extends a base class and implements an
interface. If both base class and interface have a default method with
same name and arguments, then which definition will be picked by JVM?
398.If we create same method and define it in a class , in its parent class
and in an interface implemented by the class, then definition will be
invoked if we access it using the reference of Interface and the object of
class?
399.Can we access a static method of an interface by using reference of
the interface?
400.How can you get the name of Parameter in Java by using reflection?
401.What is Optional in Java 8?
402.What are the uses of Optional?
403.Which method in Optional provides the fallback mechanism in case of
null value?
404.How can we get current time by using Date/Time API of Java 8?
405.Is it possible to define a static method in an Interface?
406.How can we analyze the dependencies in Java classes and packages?
407.What are the new JVM arguments introduced by Java 8?
408.What are the popular annotations introduced in Java 8?
409.What is a StringJoiner in Java 8?
410.What is the type of a Lambda expression in Java 8?
411. What is the target type of a lambda expression ?
412.What are the main differences between an interface with default
method and an abstract class in Java 8?
Java Tricky Questions
413.Is there any difference between a = a + b and a += b expressions?
414.What does the expression 1.0 / 0.0 return? Will there be any
compilation error?
415.Can we use multiple main methods in multiple classes?
416.Does Java allow you to override a private or static method?
417.What happens when you put a key object in a HashMap that is
already present?
418.How can you make sure that N threads can access N resources
without deadlock?
419.How can you determine if JVM is 32-bit or 64-bit from Java
Program?
420.What is the right data type to represent Money (like Dollar/Pound) in
Java?
421.How can you do multiple inheritances in Java?
422.Is ++ operation thread-safe in Java?
423.How can you access a non-static variable from the static context?
424.Let say there is a method that throws NullPointerException in the
superclass. Can we override it with a method that throws
RuntimeException?
425.How can you mark an array volatile in Java?
426.What is a thread local variable in Java?
427.What is the difference between sleep() and wait() methods in Java?
428.Can you create an Immutable object that contains a mutable object?
429.How can you convert an Array of bytes to String?
430.What is difference between CyclicBarrier and CountDownLatch
class?
431.What is the difference between StringBuffer and StringBuilder?
432.Which class contains clone method? Cloneable or Object class?
433.How will you take thread dump in Java?
434.Can you cast an int variable into a byte variable? What happens if the
value of int is larger than byte?
435.In Java, can we store a double value in a long variable without explicit
casting?
436.What will this return 5*0.1 == 0.5? true or false?
437.Out of an int and Integer, which one takes more memory?
438.Can we use String in the switch case statement in Java?
439.Can we use multiple main methods in same class?
440.When creating an abstract class, is it a good idea to call abstract
methods inside its constructor?
441.How can you do constructor chaining in Java?
442.How can we find the memory usage of JVM from Java code?
443.What is the difference between x == y and x.equals(y) expressions in
Java?
444. How can you guarantee that the garbage collection takes place?
445.What is the relation between x.hashCode() method and x.equals(y)
method of Object class?
446.What is a compile time constant in Java?
447.Explain the difference between fail-fast and fail-safe iterators?
448. You have a character array and a String. Which one is more secure
to store sensitive data (like password, date of birth, etc.)?
449.Why do you use volatile keyword in Java?
450.What is the difference between poll() and remove() methods of Queue
in Java?
451.Can you catch an exception thrown by another thread in Java?
452.How do you decide which type of Inner Class – Static or Non-Static to
use in Java?
453.What are the different types of Classloaders in Java?
454.What are the situations in which you choose HashSet or TreeSet?
455.What is the use of method references in Java?
456.Do you think Java Enums are more powerful than integer constants?
457.Why do we use static initializers in Java?
458.Your client is complaining that your code is throwing
NoClassDefFoundError or NoSuchMethodError, even though you are able
to compile your code without error and method exists in your code. What
could be the reason behind this?
459.How can you check if a String is a number by using regular
expression?
460.What is the difference between the expressions String s =
"Temporary" and String s = new String("Temporary ")? Which one is
better and more efficient?
461.In Java, can two equal objects have the different hash code?
462.How can we print an Array in Java?
463.Is it ok to use random numbers in the implementation of hashcode()
method in Java?
464.Between two types of dependency injections, constructor injection
and setter dependency injection, which one is better?
465.What is the difference between DOM and SAX parser in Java?
466.Between Enumeration and Iterator, which one has better performance
in Java?
467.What is the difference between pass by reference and pass by value?
468.What are the different ways to sort a collection in Java?
469.Why Collection interface doesn’t extend Cloneable and Serializable
interfaces?
470.What is the difference between a process and a thread in Java?
471.What are the benefits of using an unordered array over an ordered
array?
472.Between HashSet and TreeSet collections in Java, which one is
better?
473.When does JVM call the finalize() method?
474.When would you use Serial Garabage collector or Throughput
Garbage collector in Java?
475.In Java, if you set an object reference to null, will the Garbage
Collector immediately free the memory held by that object?
476.How can you make an Object eligible for Garbage collection in Java?
477.When do you use Exception or Error in Java? What is the difference
between these two?
478.What is the advantage of PreparedStatement over Statement class in
Java?
479.In Java, what is the difference between throw and throws keywords?
480.What happens to the Exception object after the exception handling is
done?
481.How do you find which client machine is sending request to your
servlet in Java?
482.What is the difference between a Cookie and a Session object in
Java?
483.Which protocol does Browser and Servlet use to communicate with
each other?
484. What is HTTP Tunneling?
485.Why do we use JSP instead of Servlet in Java?
486.Is empty ‘.java’ file name a valid source file name in Java?
487.How do you implement Servlet Chaining in Java?
488.Can you instantiate this class?
489.Why Java does not support operator overloading?
490.Why String class is Immutable or Final in Java?
491.What is the difference between sendRedirect and forward methods?
492.How do you fix your Serializable class, if it contains a member that is
not serializable?
493.What is the use of run time polymorphism in Java?
494.What are the rules of method overloading and method overriding in
Java?
495.What is the difference between a class and an object in Java?
496.Can we create an abstract class that extends another abstract class?
497.Why do you use Upcasting or Downcasting in Java ?
498.What is the reason to organize classes and interfaces in a package in
Java?
499.What is information hiding in Java?
500.Why does Java provide default constructor?
501.What is the difference between super and this keywords in Java?
502.What is the advantage of using Unicode characters in Java?
503.Can you override an overloaded method in Java?
504.How can we change the heap size of a JVM?
505.Why should you define a default constructor in Java?
506.How will you make an Object Immutable in Java?
507.How can you prevent SQL Injection in Java Code?
508.Which two methods should be always implemented by HashMap key
Object?
509.Why an Object used as Key in HashMap should be Immutable?
510.How can we share an object between multiple threads?
511. How can you determine if your program has a deadlock?
JSP
512.What are the implicit objects in JSP?
513.How will you extend JSP code?
514.How will you handle runtime exceptions in JSP?
515.How will you prevent multiple submits of a page that come by clicking
refresh button multiple times?
516.How will you implement a thread safe JSP page?
517.How will you include a static file in a JSP page?
518.What are the lifecycle methods of a JSP?
519.What are the advantages of using JSP in web architecture?
520.What is the advantage of JSP over Javascript?
521.What is the Lifecycle of JSP?
522.What is a JSP expression?
523.What are the different types of directive tags in JSP?
524.What is session attribute in JSP?
525.What are the different scopes of a JSP object?
526.What is pageContext in JSP?
527.What is the use of jsp:useBean in JSP?
528.What is difference between include Directive and include Action of
JSP?
529.How will you use other Java files of your application in JSP code?
530.How will you use an existing class and extend it to use in the JSP?
531.Why _jspService method starts with _ symbol in JSP?
532.Why do we use tag library in JSP?
533.What is the different type of tag library groups in JSTL?
534.How will you pass information from one JSP to another JSP?
535.How will you call a stored procedure from JSP?
536.Can we override _jspService() method in JSP?
537.What is a directive in JSP?
538.How will you implement Session tracking in JSP?
539.How do you debug code in JSP?
540.How will you implement error page in JSP?
541.How will you send XML data from a JSP?
542.What happens when we request for a JSP page from web browser?
543.How will you implement Auto Refresh of page in JSP?
544.What are the important status codes in HTTP?
545.What is the meaning of Accept attribute in HTTP header?
546.What is the difference between Expression and Scriptlet in JSP?
547.How will you delete a Cookie in JSP?
548.How will you use a Cookie in JSP?
549.What is the main difference between a Session and Cookie in JSP?
550.How will you prevent creation of session in JSP?
551.What is an output comment in JSP?
552.How will you prevent caching of HTML output by web browser in
JSP?
553.How will you redirect request to another page in browser in JSP
code?
554.What is the difference between sendRedirect and forward in a JSP?
555.What is the use of config implicit object in JSP?
556.What is the difference between init-param and context-param?
557.What is the purpose of RequestDispatcher?
558.How can be read data from a Form in a JSP?
559.What is a filter in JSP?
560.How can you upload a large file in JSP?
561.In which scenario, Container initializes multiple JSP/Servlet objects?
Java Design Patterns
562.When will you use Strategy Design Pattern in Java?
563.What is Observer design pattern?
564.What are the examples of Observer design pattern in JDK?
565.How Strategy design pattern is different from State design pattern in
Java?
566.Can you explain Decorator design pattern with an example in Java?
567.What is a good scenario for using Composite design Pattern in Java?
568.Have you used Singleton design pattern in your Java project?
569.What are the main uses of Singleton design pattern in Java project?
570.Why java.lang.Runtime is a Singleton in Java?
571.What is the way to implement a thread-safe Singleton design pattern
in Java?
572.What are the examples of Singleton design pattern in JDK?
573.What is Template Method design pattern in Java?
574.What are the examples of Template method design pattern in JDK?
575.Can you tell some examples of Factory Method design pattern
implementation in Java?
576.What is the benefit we get by using static factory method to create
object?
577.What are the examples of Builder design pattern in JDK?
578.What are the examples of Abstract Factory design pattern in JDK?
579.What are the examples of Decorator design pattern in JDK?
580.What are the examples of Proxy design pattern in JDK?
581.What are the examples of Chain of Responsibility design pattern in
JDK?
582.What are the main uses of Command design pattern?
583.What are the examples of Command design pattern in JDK?
584.What are the examples of Interpreter design pattern in JDK?
585.What are the examples of Mediator design pattern in JDK?
586.What are the examples of Strategy design pattern in JDK?
587.What are the examples of Visitor design pattern in JDK?
588.How Decorator design pattern is different from Proxy pattern?
589.What are the different scenarios to use Setter and Constructor based
injection in Dependency Injection (DI) design pattern?
590.What are the different scenarios for using Proxy design pattern?
591.What is the main difference between Adapter and Proxy design
pattern?
592.When will you use Adapter design pattern in Java?
593.What are the examples of Adapter design pattern in JDK?
594.What is the difference between Factory and Abstract Factory design
pattern?
595.What is Open/closed design principle in Software engineering?
596.What is SOLID design principle?
597.What is Builder design pattern?
598.What are the different categories of Design Patterns used in Object
Oriented Design?
599.What is the design pattern suitable to access elements of a
Collection?
600.How can we implement Producer Consumer design pattern in Java?
601.What design pattern is suitable to add new features to an existing
object?
602.Which design pattern can be used when to decouple abstraction from
the implementation?
603.Which is the design pattern used in Android applications?
604.How can we prevent users from creating more than one instance of
singleton object by using clone() method?
605.What is the use of Interceptor design pattern?
606.What are the Architectural patterns that you have used?
607.What are the popular uses of Façade design pattern?
608.What is the difference between Builder design pattern and Factory
design pattern?
609.What is Memento design pattern?
610.What is an AntiPattern?
611. What is a Data Access Object (DAO) design pattern?
Spring Questions
612.What is Spring framework?
613.What are the benefits of Spring framework in software development?
614.What are the modules in Core Container of Spring framework?
615.What are the modules in Data Access/Integration layer of Spring
framework?
616.What are the modules in Web layer of Spring framework?
617.What is the main use of Core Container module in Spring framework?
618.What kind of testing can be done in Spring Test Module?
619.What is the use of BeanFactory in Spring framework?
620.Which is the most popular implementation of BeanFactory in Spring?
621.What is XMLBeanFactory in Spring framework?
622.What are the uses of AOP module in Spring framework?
623.What are the benefits of JDBC abstraction layer module in Spring
framework?
624.How does Spring support Object Relational Mapping (ORM)
integration?
625.How does Web module work in Spring framework?
626.What are the main uses of Spring MVC module?
627.What is the purpose of Spring configuration file?
628.What is the purpose of Spring IoC container?
629.What is the main benefit of Inversion of Control (IOC) principle?
630.Does IOC containers support Eager Instantiation or Lazy loading of
beans?
631.What are the benefits of ApplicationContext in Spring?
632.How will you implement ApplicationContext in Spring framework?
633.Explain the difference between ApplicationContext and BeanFactory
in Spring?
634.Between ApplicationContext and BeanFactory which one is
preferable to use in Spring?
635.What are the main components of a typical Spring based application?
636.Explain Dependency Injection (DI) concept in Spring framework?
637.What are the different roles in Dependency Injection (DI)?
638.Spring framework provides what kinds of Dependency Injection
mechanism?
639.In Spring framework, which Dependency Injection is better?
Constructor-based DI or Setter-based DI?
640.What are the advantages of Dependency Injection (DI)?
641.What are the disadvantages of Dependency Injection (DI)?
642.What is a Spring Bean?
643.What does the definition of a Spring Bean contain?
644.What are the different ways to provide configuration metadata to a
Spring Container?
645.What are the different scopes of a Bean supported by Spring?
646.How will you define the scope of a bean in Spring?
647.Is it safe to assume that a Singleton bean is thread safe in Spring
Framework?
648.What are the design-patterns used in Spring framework?
649.What is the lifecycle of a Bean in Spring framework?
650.What are the two main groups of methods in a Bean’s lifecycle?
651.Can we override main lifecycle methods of a Bean in Spring?
652.What are Inner beans in Spring?
653.How can we inject a Java Collection in Spring framework?
654.What is Bean wiring in Spring?
655.What is Autowiring in Spring?
656.What are the different modes of Autowiring supported by Spring?
657.What are the cases in which Autowiring may not work in Spring
framework?
658.Is it allowed to inject null or empty String values in Spring?
659.What is a Java-based Configuration in Spring?
660.What is the purpose of @Configuration annotation?
661.What is the difference between Full @Configuration and 'lite'
@Beans mode?
662.In Spring framework, what is Annotation-based container
configuration?
663.How will you switch on Annotation based wiring in Spring?
664.What is @Autowired annotation?
665.What is @Required annotation?
666.What are the two ways to enable
RequiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor in Spring?
667.What is @Qualifier annotation in Spring?
668.How Spring framework makes JDBC coding easier for developers?
669.What is the purpose of JdbcTemplate?
670.What are the benefits of using Spring DAO?
671.What are the different ways to use Hibernate in Spring?
672.What types of Object Relational Mapping (ORM) are supported by
Spring?
673.How will you integrate Spring and Hibernate by using
HibernateDaoSupport?
674.What are the different types of the Transaction Management
supported by Spring framework?
675.What are the benefits provided by Spring Framework’s Transaction
Management?
676.Given a choice between declarative and programmatic Transaction
Management, which method will you choose?
677.What is Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP)
678.What is an Aspect in Spring?
679.In Spring AOP, what is the main difference between a Concern and a
Cross cutting concern?
680.What is a Joinpoint in Spring AOP?
681.What is an Advice in Spring AOP?
682.What are the different types of Advice in Spring AOP?
683.What is a Pointcut in Spring AOP?
684.What is an Introduction in Spring AOP?
685.What is a Target object in Spring AOP?
686.What is a Proxy in Spring AOP?
687.What are the different types of AutoProxy creators in Spring?
688.What is Weaving in Spring AOP?
689.In Spring AOP, Weaving is done at compile time or run time?
690.What is XML Schema-based Aspect implementation?
691.What is Annotation-based aspect implementation in Spring AOP?
692.How does Spring MVC framework work?
693.What is DispatcherServlet?
694.Can we have more than one DispatcherServlet in Spring MVC?
695.What is WebApplicationContext in Spring MVC?
696.What is Controller in Spring MVC framework?
697.What is @RequestMapping annotation in Spring?
698.What are the main features of Spring MVC?
699.What is the difference between a Singleton and Prototype bean in
Spring?
700.How will you decide which scope- Prototype or Singleton to use for a
bean in Spring?
701.What is the difference between Setter and Constructor based
Dependency Injection (DI) in Spring framework?
702.What are the drawbacks of Setter based Dependency Injection (DI) in
Spring?
703.What are the differences between Dependency Injection (DI) and
Factory Pattern?
704.In Spring framework, what is the difference between
FileSystemResource and ClassPathResource?
705.Name some popular Spring framework annotations that you use in
your project?
706.How can you upload a file in Spring MVC Application?
707.What are the different types of events provided by Spring
framework?
708.What is the difference between DispatcherServlet and
ContextLoaderListener in Spring?
709.How will you handle exceptions in Spring MVC Framework?
710.What are the best practices of Spring Framework?
711. What is Spring Boot?
Hibernate
712.What is Hibernate framework?
713.What is an Object Relational Mapping (ORM)?
714.What is the purpose of Configuration Interface in Hibernate?
715.What is Object Relational Impedance Mismatch?
716.What are the main problems of Object Relational Impedance
Mismatch?
717.What are the key characteristics of Hibernate?
718.Can you tell us about the core interfaces of Hibernate framework?
719.How will you map the columns of a DB table to the properties of a
Java class in Hibernate?
720.Does Hibernate make it mandatory for a mapping file to have
.hbm.xml extension?
721.What are the steps for creating a SessionFactory in Hibernate?
722.Why do we use POJO in Hibernate?
723.What is Hibernate Query Language (HQL)?
724.How will you call a stored procedure in Hibernate?
725.What is Criteria API in Hibernate?
726.Why do we use HibernateTemplate?
727.How can you see SQL code generated by Hibernate on console?
728.What are the different types of collections supported by Hibernate?
729.What is the difference between session.save() and
session.saveOrUpdate() methods in Hibernate?
730.What are the advantages of Hibernate framework over JDBC?
731.How can we get statistics of a SessionFactory in Hibernate?
732.What is the Transient state of an object in Hibernate?
733.What is the Detached state of an object in Hibernate?
734.What is the use of Dirty Checking in Hibernate?
735.What is the purpose of Callback interface in Hibernate?
736.What are the different ORM levels in Hibernate?
737.What are the different ways to configure a Hibernate application?
738.What is Query Cache in Hibernate?
739.What are the different types of Association mappings supported by
Hibernate?
740.What are the different types of Unidirectional Association mappings
in Hibernate?
741.What is Unit of Work design pattern?
742.In Hibernate, how can an object go in Detached state?
743.How will you order the results returned by a Criteria in Hibernate?
744.How does Example criterion work in Hibernate?
745.How does Transaction management work in Hibernate?
746.How can we mark an entity/collection as immutable in Hibernate?
747.What are the different options to retrieve an object from database in
Hibernate?
748.How can we auto-generate primary key in Hibernate?
749.How will you re-attach an object in Detached state in Hibernate?
750.What is the first level of cache in Hibernate?
751.What are the different second level caches available in Hibernate?
752.Which is the default transaction factory in Hibernate?
753.What are the options to disable second level cache in Hibernate?
754.What are the different fetching strategies in Hibernate?
755.What is the difference between Immediate fetching and Lazy
collection fetching?
756.What is ‘Extra lazy fetching’ in Hibernate?
757.How can we check is a collection is initialized or not under Lazy
Initialization strategy?
758.What are the different strategies for cache mapping in Hibernate?
759.What is the difference between a Set and a Bag in Hibernate?
760.How can we monitor the performance of Hibernate in an application?
761.How can we check if an Object is in Persistent, Detached or
Transient state in Hibernate?
762.What is ‘the inverse side of association’ in a mapping?
763.What is ORM metadata?
764.What is the difference between load() and get() method in Hibernate?
765.When should we use get() method or load() method in Hibernate?
766.What is a derived property in Hibernate?
767.How can we use Named Query in Hibernate?
768.What are the two locking strategies in Hibernate?
769.What is the use of version number in Hibernate?
770.What is the use of session.lock() method in Hibernate?
771.What inheritance mapping strategies are supported by Hibernate?
Maven
772.What is Maven?
773.What are the main features of Maven?
774.What areas of a Project can you manage by using Maven?
775.What are the main advantages of Maven?
776.Why do we say “Maven uses convention over configuration”?
777.What are the responsibilities of a Build tool like Maven?
778.What are the differences between Ant and Maven?
779.What is MOJO in Maven?
780.What is a Repository in Maven?
781.What are the different types of repositories in Maven?
782.What is a local repository in Maven?
783.What is a central repository in Maven?
784.What is a Remote repository in Maven?
785.Why we should not store jars in CVS or any other version control
system instead of Maven repository?
786.Can anyone upload JARS or artifacts to Central Repository?
787.What is a POM?
788.What is Super POM?
789.What are the main required elements in POM file?
790.What are the phases in Build lifecycle in Maven?
791.What command will you use to package your Maven project?
792.What is the format of fully qualified artifact name of a Maven
project?
793.What is an Archetype in Maven?
794.What is the command in Maven to generate an Archetype?
795.What are the three main build lifecycles of Maven?
796.What are the main uses of a Maven plugin?
797.How will you find the version of a plugin being used?
798.What are the different types of profile in Maven? Where will you
define these profiles?
799.What are the different setting files in Maven? Where will you find
these files?
800.What are the main elements we can find in settings.xml?
801.How will you check the version of Maven in your system?
802.How will you verify if Maven is installed on Windows?
803.What is a Maven artifact?
804.What are the different dependency scopes in Maven?
805.How can we exclude a dependency in Maven?
806.How Maven searches for JAR corresponding to a dependency?
807.What is a transitive dependency in Maven?
808.What are Excluded dependencies in Maven?
809.What are Optional dependencies in Maven?
810.Where will you find the class files after compiling a Maven project
successfully?
811. What are the default locations for source, test and build directories in
Maven?
812.What is the result of jar:jar goal in Maven?
813.How can we get the debug or error messages from the execution of
Maven?
814.What is the difference between a Release version and SNAPSHOT
version in Maven?
815.How will you run test classes in Maven?
816.Sometimes Maven compiles the test classes but doesn't run them?
What could be the reason for it?
817.How can we skip the running of tests in Maven?
818.Can we create our own directory structure for a project in Maven?
819.What are the differences between Gradle and Maven?
820.What is the difference between Inheritance and Multi-module in
Maven?
821.What is Build portability in Maven?
GIT
822.How can we see n most recent commits in GIT?
823.How can we know if a branch is already merged into master in GIT?
824.What is the purpose of git stash drop?
825.What is the HEAD in GIT?
826.What is the most popular branching strategy in GIT?
827.What is SubGit?
828.What is the use of git instaweb?
829.What are git hooks?
830.What is GIT?
831.What is a repository in GIT?
832.What are the main benefits of GIT?
833.What are the disadvantages of GIT?
834.What are the main differences between GIT and SVN?
835.How will you start GIT for your project?
836.What is git clone in GIT?
837.How will you create a repository in GIT?
838.What are the different ways to start work in GIT?
839.GIT is written in which language?
840.What does ‘git pull’ command in GIT do internally?
841.What does ‘git push’ command in GIT do internally?
842.What is git stash?
843.What is the meaning of ‘stage’ in GIT?
844. What is the purpose of git config command?
845.How can we see the configuration settings of GIT installation?
846.How will you write a message with commit command in GIT?
847.What is stored inside a commit object in GIT?
848.How many heads can you create in a GIT repository?
849.Why do we create branches in GIT?
850.What are the different kinds of branches that can be created in GIT?
851.How will you create a new branch in GIT?
852.How will you add a new feature to the main branch?
853.What is a pull request in GIT?
854.What is merge conflict in GIT?
855.How can we resolve a merge conflict in GIT?
856.What command will you use to delete a branch?
857.What command will you use to delete a branch that has unmerged
changes?
858.What is the alternative command to merging in GIT?
859.What is Rebasing in GIT?
860.What is the ‘Golden Rule of Rebasing’ in GIT?
861.Why do we use Interactive Rebasing in place of Auto Rebasing?
862.What is the command for Rebasing in Git?
863.What is the main difference between git clone and git remote?
864.What is GIT version control?
865.What GUI do you use for working on GIT?
866.What is the use of git diff command in GIT?
867.What is git rerere?
868.What are the three most popular version of git diff command?
869.What is the use of git status command?
870.What is the main difference between git diff and git status?
871.What is the use of git rm command in GIT?
872.What is the command to apply a stash?
873.Why do we use git log command?
874.Why do we need git add command in GIT?
875.Why do we use git reset command?
876.What does a commit object contain?
877.How can we convert git log messages to a different format?
878.What are the programming languages in which git hooks can be
written?
879.What is a commit message in GIT?
880.How GIT protects the code in a repository?
881.How GIT provides flexibility in version control?
882.How can we change a commit message in GIT?
883.Why is it advisable to create an additional commit instead of amending
an existing commit?
884.What is a bare repository in GIT?
885.How do we put a local repository on GitHub server?
886.How will you delete a branch in GIT?
887.How can we set up a Git repository to run code sanity checks and
UAT tests just before a commit?
888.How can we revert a commit that was pushed earlier and is public
now?
889.In GIT, how will you compress last n commits into a single commit?
890.How will you switch from one branch to a new branch in GIT?
891.How can we clean unwanted files from our working directory in GIT?
892.What is the purpose of git tag command?
893.What is cherry-pick in GIT?
894.What is shortlog in GIT?
895.How can you find the names of files that were changed in a specific
commit?
896.How can we attach an automated script to run on the event of a new
commit by push command?
897.What is the difference between pre-receive, update and post-receive
hooks in GIT?
898.Do we have to store Scripts for GIT hooks within same repository?
899.How can we determine the commit that is the source of a bug in GIT?
900.How can we see differences between two commits in GIT?
901.What are the different ways to identify a commit in GIT?
902.When we run git branch <branchname>, how does GIT know the
SHA-1 of the last commit?
903.What are the different types of Tags you can create in GIT?
904.How can we rename a remote repository?
905.Some people use git checkout and some use git co for checkout. How
is that possible?
906.How can we see the last commit on each of our branch in GIT?
907.Is origin a special branch in GIT?
908.How can we configure GIT to not ask for password every time?
909.What are the four major protocols used by GIT for data transfer?
910.What is GIT protocol?
911. How can we work on a project where we do not have push access?
912.What is git grep?
913.How can your reorder commits in GIT?
914.How will you split a commit into multiple commits?
915.What is filter-branch in GIT?
916.What are the three main trees maintained by GIT?
917.What are the three main steps of working GIT?
918.What are ours and theirs merge options in GIT?
919.How can we ignore merge conflicts due to Whitespace?
920.What is git blame?
921.What is a submodule in GIT?
AWS
922.What do you know about AWS Region?
923.What are the important components of IAM?
924.What are the important points about AWS IAM?
925.What are the important features of Amazon S3?
926.What is the scale of durability in Amazon S3?
927.What are the Consistency levels supported by Amazon S3?
928.What are the different tiers in Amazon S3 storage?
929.How will you upload a file greater than 100 megabytes in Amazon S3?
930.What happens to an Object when we delete it from Amazon S3?
931.What is the use of Amazon Glacier?
932.Can we disable versioning on a version-enabled bucket in Amazon S3?
933.What are the use cases of Cross Region Replication Amazon S3?
934.Can we do Cross Region replication in Amazon S3 without enabling
versioning on a bucket?
935.What are the different types of actions in Object Lifecycle
Management in Amazon S3?
936.How do we get higher performance in our application by using
Amazon CloudFront?
937.What is the mechanism behind Regional Edge Cache in Amazon
CloudFront?
938.What are the benefits of Streaming content?
939.What is Lambda@Edge in AWS?
940.What are the different types of events triggered by Amazon
CloudFront?
941.What is Geo Targeting in Amazon CloudFront?
942.What are the main features of Amazon CloudFront?
943.What are the security mechanisms available in Amazon S3?
Cloud Computing
944.What are the benefits of Cloud Computing?
945.What is On-demand computing in Cloud Computing?
946.What are the different layers of Cloud computing?
947.What resources are provided by Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS)
provider?
948.What is the benefit of Platform as a Service?
949.What are the main advantages of PaaS?
950.What is the main disadvantage of PaaS?
951.What are the different deployment models in Cloud computing?
952.What is the difference between Scalability and Elasticity?
953.What is Software as a Service?
954.What are the different types of Datacenters in Cloud computing?
955.Explain the various modes of Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud
environment?
956.What are the important things to care about in Security in a cloud
environment?
957.Why do we use API in cloud computing environment?
958.What are the different areas of Security Management in cloud?
959.What are the main cost factors of cloud based data center?
960.How can we measure the cloud-based services?
961.How a traditional datacenter is different from a cloud environment?
962.How will you optimize availability of your application in a Cloud
environment?
963.What are the requirements for implementing IaaS strategy in Cloud?
DOCKER
964.What is Docker?
965.What is the difference between Docker image and Docker container?
966.How will you remove an image from Docker?
967.How is a Docker container different from a hypervisor?
968.Can we write compose file in json file instead of yaml?
969.Can we run multiple apps on one server with Docker?
970.What are the common use cases of Docker?
971.What are the main features of Docker-compose?
972.What is the most popular use of Docker?
973.What is the role of open source development in the popularity of
Docker?
UNIX Shell
974.How will you remove all files in current directory? Including the files
that are two levels down in a sub-directory.
975.What is the difference between the –v and –x options in Bash shell
scripts?
976.What is a Filter in Unix command?
977.What is Kernel in Unix operating system?
978.What is a Shell in Unix OS?
979.What are the different shells in Unix that you know about?
980.What is the first character of the output in ls –l command ?
981.What is the difference between Multi-tasking and Multi-user
environment?
982.What is Command Substitution in Unix?
983.What is an Inode in Unix?
984.What is the difference between absolute path and relative path in
Unix file system?
985.What are the main responsibilities of a Unix Shell?
986.What is a Shell variable?
Microservices
987.What is a Microservice?
988.What are the benefits of Microservices architecture?
989.What is the role of architect in Microservices architecture?
990.What is the advantage of Microservices architecture over Service
Oriented Architecture (SOA)?
991.Is it a good idea to provide a Tailored Service Template for
Microservices development in an organization?
992.What are the disadvantages of using Shared libraries approach to
decompose a monolith application?
993.What are the characteristics of a Good Microservice?
994.What is Bounded Context?
995.What are the points to remember during integration of
Microservices?
996.Is it a good idea for Microservices to share a common database?
997.What is the preferred type of communication between Microservices?
Synchronous or Asynchronous?
998.What is the difference between Orchestration and Choreography in
Microservices architecture?
999.What are the issues in using REST over HTTP for Microservices?
1000. Can we create Microservices as State Machines?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 We thank our readers who constantly send
feedback and reviews to motivate us in creating
these useful books with the latest information!
 INTRODUCTION

Java is one of the most popular programming language. There is a growing

demand for Java Developer jobs in technology companies.
This book contains technical interview questions that an interviewer asks for
Java technology and related topics like Spring, Hibernate, Maven, Git,
Microservices, AWS etc.
Each question is accompanied with an answer so that you can prepare for job
interview in short time.
We have compiled this list after attending dozens of technical interviews in
top-notch companies like- Facebook, Oracle, Netflix, Amazon etc.
Once you go through them in the first pass, mark the questions that you could
not answer by yourself. Then, in second pass go through only the difficult
questions.
After going through this book 2-3 times, you will be well prepared to face a
technical interview for a Java Developer position from Software Engineer
level to Principal Engineer level.

All the best!!

Java Interview Questions

Java Basics
1. What is the difference between
JDK and JRE?
JDK stands for Java Development Kit. It contains the tools and
libraries for development of Java programs. It also contains
compilers and debuggers needed to compile Java program,

JRE stands for Java Runtime Environment. This is included in JDK.

JRE provides libraries and JVM that is required to run a Java
program.
2. What is Java Virtual Machine
(JVM)?
Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is an abstract machine that executes
Java Bytecode. There are different JVM for different hardware and
software platforms. So JVM is platform dependent. JVM is
responsible for loading, verifying and executing the Bytecode on a
platform.
3. What are the different types of
memory areas allocated by JVM?
In java, JVM allocates memory to different processes, methods and
objects. Some of the memory areas allocated by JVM are:

1. ClassLoader: It is a component of JVM used to load class

files.
2. Class (Method) Area: It stores per-class structures such as
the runtime constant pool, field and method data, and the
code for methods.
3. Heap: Heap is created a runtime and it contains the runtime
data area in which objects are allocated.
4. Stack: Stack stores local variables and partial results at
runtime. It also helps in method invocation and return
value. Each thread creates a private JVM stack at the time
of thread creation.
5. Program Counter Register: This memory area contains the
address of the Java virtual machine instruction that is
currently being executed.
6. Native Method Stack: This area is reserved for all the
native methods used in the application.
4. What is JIT compiler?

Just In Time compiler also known as JIT compiler is used for

performance improvement in Java. It is enabled by default. It is
compilation done at execution time rather earlier.
Java has popularized the use of JIT compiler by including it in
JVM.
5. How Java platform is different
from other platforms?
Java is a platform independent language. Java compiler converts
Java code in to byte code that can be interpreted by JVM. There are
JVM written for almost all the popular platforms in the world.

Java byte code can run on any supported platform in same way.
Where as other languages require libraries compiled for a specific
platform to run.
6. Why people say that Java is 'write
once and run anywhere' language?
You can write Java code on Windows and compile it in Windows
platform. The class and jar files that you get from Windows
platform can run as it is on Unix environment. So it is a truly
platform independent language.

Behind all this portability is Java byte code. Byte code generated by
Java compiler can be interpreted by any JVM. So it becomes much
easier to write programs in Java and expect those to run on any
platform.

Java compiler javac compiles java code and JVM java runs that
code.
7. How does ClassLoader work in
Java?
In Java, ClassLoader is a class that is used to load files in JVM.
ClassLoader loads files from their physical file locations e.g.
Filesystem, Network location etc.

There are three main types of ClassLoaders in Java.

1. Bootstrap ClassLoader: This is the first ClassLoader. It

loads classes from rt.jar file.
2. Extension ClassLoader: It loads class files from jre/lib/ext
location.
3. Application ClassLoader: This ClassLoader depends on
CLASSPATH to find the location of class files. If you
specify your jars in CLASSPATH, then this ClassLoader
will load them.
8. Do you think ‘main’ used for main
method is a keyword in Java?
No, main is just a name of method. There can be multiple methods
with same name main in a class file. It is not a keyword in Java.
9. Can we write main method as
public void static instead of public
static void?
No, you cannot write it like this. Any method has to first specify the
modifiers and then the return value. The order of modifiers can
change.

We can write static public void main() instead of public static void
main().
10. In Java, if we do not specify any
value for local variables, then what
will be the default value of the local
variables?
Java does not initialize local variables with any default value. So
these variables will be just null by default.
11. Let say, we run a java class without
passing any arguments. What will be
the value of String array of
arguments in Main method?
By default, the value of String array of arguments is empty in Java.
It is not null.
12. What is the difference between
byte and char data types in Java?
Both byte and char are numeric data types in Java. They are used to
represent numbers in a specific range.

Major difference between them is that a byte can store raw binary
data where as a char stores characters or text data.

Usage of char is E.g. char ch = ‘x’;

Byte values range from -128 to 127.

A byte is made of 8 bits. But a char is made of 16 bits. So it is

equivalent to 2 bytes.
OOPS
13. What are the main principles of
Object Oriented Programming?
Main principles of Object Oriented Programming (OOPS) are:
1. Abstraction
2. Encapsulation
3. Inheritance
4. Polymorphism
14. What is the difference between
Object Oriented Programming
language and Object Based
Programming language?
Object Oriented Programming languages like Java and C++ follow
concepts of OOPS like- Encapsulation, Abstraction, Polymorphism
and Inheritance etc.

Object Based Programming languages follow some features of

OOPS but they do not provide support for Polymorphism and
Inheritance. Egg. JavaScript, VBScript etc.

Object Based Programming languages provide support for Objects

and you can build objects from constructor. They languages also
support Encapsulation. These are also known as Prototype-oriented
languages.
15. In Java what is the default value of
an object reference defined as an
instance variable in an Object?
All the instance variable object references in Java are null.
16. Why do we need constructor in
Java?
Java is an object-oriented language, in which we create and use
objects. A constructor is a piece of code similar to a method. It is
used to create an object and set the initial state of the object.

A constructor is a special function that has same name as class

name.

Without a constructor, there is no other way to create an object.

By default, Java provides a default constructor for every object. If

we overload a constructor then we have to implement default
constructor.
17. Why do we need default
constructor in Java classes?
Default constructor is the no-argument constructor that is
automatically generated by Java if no other constructor is defined.

Java specification says that it will provide a default constructor if

there is no overloaded constructor in a class. But it does not say
anything about the scenario in which we write an overloaded
constructor in a class.

We need at least one constructor to create an object, that’s why Java

provides a default constructor.

When we have overloaded constructor, then Java assumes that we

want some custom treatment in our code. Due to which it does not
provide default constructor. But it needs default constructor as per
the specification. So it gives error.
18. What is the value returned by
Constructor in Java?
When we call a constructor in Java, it returns the object created by
it. That is how we create new objects in Java.
19. Can we inherit a Constructor?

No, Java does not support inheritance of constructor.

20. Why constructors cannot be final,
static, or abstract in Java?
If we set a method as final it means we do not want any class to
override it. But the constructor (as per Java Language
Specification) cannot be overridden. So there is no use of marking it
final.

If we set a method as abstract it means that it has no body and it

should be implemented in a child class. But the constructor is called
implicitly when the new keyword is used. Therefore it needs a
body.

If we set a method as static it means that it belongs to the class, but

not a particular object. The constructor is always called to initialize
an object. Therefore, there is no use of marking constructor static.
Inheritance
21. What is the purpose of ‘this’
keyword in java?
In Java, ‘this’ keyword refers to current instance of the object.

It is useful for differentiating between instance variables and local

variables.

It can be used to call constructors. Or it can be used to refer to the

instance.

In case of method overriding, this is used for falling the method of

current class.
22. Explain the concept of
Inheritance?
Inheritance is an important concept in Object Oriented
Programming. Some objects share certain characteristics and
behavior. By using Inheritance, we can put the common behavior
and characteristics in a base class which also known as super class.
And then all the objects with common behavior inherit from this
base class.

It is also represented by IS-A relationship.

Inheritance promotes, code reuse, method overriding and poly-

morphism.
23. Which class in Java is superclass
of every other class?
Java is an object oriented programming language. In Java, Object
class is the superclass of every other class.
24. Why Java does not support
multiple inheritance?
Multiple Inheritance means that a class can inherit behavior from
two or more parent classes.

The issue with Multiple Inheritance is that both the parent classes
may have different implementation for the same method. So they
have different ways of doing the same thing. Now which
implementation should the child class choose?

This leads to ambiguity in Multiple Inheritance. This is the main

reason for Java not supporting Multiple Inheritance in
implementation.

Lets say you have a class TV and another class AtomBomb. Both
have method switchOn() but only TV has switchOff() method. If
your class inherits from both these classes then you have an issue
that you can switchOn() both parents, but switchOff will only
switchOff() TV.

But you can implement multiple interfaces in Java.

25. In OOPS, what is meant by
composition?
Composition is also known as “has-a” relationship. In composition,
“has-a” relation relates two classes. E.g. Class Car has a steering
wheel.

If a class holds the instance of another class, then it is called

composition.
26. How aggregation and composition
are different concepts?
In OOPS, Aggregation and Composition are the types of association
relations. A composition is a strong relationship. If the composite
object is destroyed, then all its parts are destroyed. E.g. A Car has a
Steering Wheel. If Car object is destroyed, then there is no meaning
of Steering Wheel.

In Aggregation, the relationship is weaker than Composition.

E.g. A Library has students. If a Library is destroyed, Students still

exist. So Library and Student are related by Aggregation. A Library
has Books. If Library is destroyed, the Books are also destroyed.
Books of a Library cannot exist without the Library. So Book and
Library are related by Composition.
27. Why there are no pointers in
Java?
In Java there are references instead of pointers. These references
point to objects in memory. But there is no direct access to these
memory locations. JVM is free to move the objects within VM
memory.

The absence of pointers helps Java in managing memory and

garbage collection effectively. Also it provides developers with
convenience of not getting worried about memory allocation and de-
allocation.
28. If there are no pointers in Java,
then why do we get
NullPointerException?
In Java, the pointer equivalent is Object reference. When we use a .
it points to object reference. So JVM uses pointers but
programmers only see object references.

In case an object reference points to null object, and we try to

access a method or member variable on it, then we get
NullPointerException.
29. What is the purpose of ‘super’
keyword in java?
‘super’ keyword is used in the methods or constructor of a child
class. It refers to immediate parent class of an object.

By using ‘super’ we can call a method of parent class from the

method of a child class.

We can also call the constructor of a parent class from the

constructor of a child class by using ‘super’ keyword.
30. Is it possible to use this() and
super() both in same constructor?
No, Java does not allow using both super() and this() in same
constructor. As per Java specification, super() or this() must be the
first statement in a constructor.
31. What is the meaning of object
cloning in Java?
Object.clone() method is used for creating an exact copy of the
object in Java. It acts like a copy constructor. It creates and returns
a copy of the object, with the same class and with all the fields
having same values as of the original object.

One disadvantage of cloning is that the return type is an Object. It

has to be explicitly cast to actual type.
Static
32. In Java, why do we use static
variable?
Whenever we want to have a common property for all objects of a
class, we use a class level variable i.e. a static variable.

This variable is loaded in memory only once at the time of class

loading. So it saves memory, since it is not defined per object in
Java.
33. Why it is not a good practice to
create static variables in Java?
Static variables are common to all the objects of a class. If a new
object is created, there is no need to test the value of static variable.
Any code that uses static variable can be in any state. It can be
within a new object or at a class level. So the scope of static
variable is open ended in a Java class.

If we want tighter control on scope, then variables should be

created at the object creation level.

Also defining static variables is not a good practice because they go

against the principles of Object Oriented Programming.
34. What is the purpose of static
method in Java?
Java provides the feature of static method to create behavior at the
class level. The static method is common to all the objects of a
class. We do not need to create any object of a class to call a static
method. So it provides convenience of not creating an object for
calling it.

Also a static method can access and modify static data members.
This also helps in keeping the behavior as well as state at the class
level.
35. Why do we mark main method as
static in Java?
The main method in Java is marked as static, so that JVM can call it
to start the program. If main method is not static, then which
constructor will be called by Java process?

As such it is a known as convention to mark main method static in

Java. But if we remove the static, then there will be ambiguity. Java
process may not know which method of a class to call to start the
program.

So this convention helps in Java process to identify the starting code

for a program in class that is passed as an argument to java process.
36. In what scenario do we use a static
block?
At times, there is a class that has static member variables. These
variables need some complicated initialization. At this time static
block helps as a tool to initialize complex static member variable
initialization.

The static block is executed even before the execution of main.

Sometimes, we can also replace static block with a static method of

class.
37. Is it possible to execute a program
without defining a main() method?
No, with Java 7 onwards, you need a main() method to execute a
program. In earlier versions of Java, there was a workaround
available to use static blocks for execution. But now this gap has
been closed.
38. What happens when static
modifier is not mentioned in the
signature of main method?
As per Java specification, main method has to be marked as static.
It needs only one argument that is an array of String.

A program can compile with a non-static method. But on execution

it will give NoSuchMethodError.
39. What is the difference between
static method and instance method in
Java?
Often, there is a need to define a behavior for a class that is not
dependent on member variables of an object. Such behavior is
captured in a static method. If there is a behavior dependent upon
the member variables of an object, then we do not mark it static, it
remains as instance method.

To call as static method, we do not need to create an object. We just

call it with class name. But to call an instance method, we need to
create/get an object first.

Instance member variables cannot be accessed by a static method.

But an instance method can call both instance variables and static
variables.
Method Overloading and Overriding
40. What is the other name of Method
Overloading?
Method Overloading is also known as Static Polymorphism.
41. How will you implement method
overloading in Java?
In Java, a class can have multiple methods with same name but
different arguments. It is called Method Overloading. To implement
method overloading we have to create two methods with same name
in a class and do one/more of the following:

1. Different number of parameters

2. Different data type of parameters
3. Different sequence of data type of parameters
42. What kinds of argument
variations are allowed in Method
Overloading?
Method Overloading allows two methods with same name to differ
in:
1. Number of parameters
2. Data type of parameters
3. Sequence of data type of parameters
43. Why it is not possible to do
method overloading by changing
return type of method in java?
If we change the return type of overloaded methods then it will lead
to ambiguous behavior. How will clients know which method will
return what type. Due to this different return type are not allowed in
overloaded methods.
44. Is it allowed to overload main()
method in Java?
Yes, Java allows users to create many methods with same name
‘main’. But only public static void main(String[] args) method is
used for execution.
45. How do we implement method
overriding in Java?
To override a method, we just provide a new implementation of a
method with same name in subclass. So there will be at least two
implementations of the method with same name. One
implementation is in parent class. And another implementation is in
child class.
46. Are we allowed to override a static
method in Java?
No. Java does not allow overriding a static method. If you create a
static method with same name in subclass, then it is a new method,
not an overridden method.
47. Why Java does not allow
overriding a static method?
To override a method, you need an instance of a class. Static method
is not associated with any instance of the class. So the concept of
overriding does not apply here.

Therefore, Java does not allow overriding a static method.

48. Is it allowed to override an
overloaded method?
Yes. You can override an overloaded method in Java.
49. What is the difference between
method overloading and method
overriding in Java?
Differences between method overloading and overriding are:

1. Method overloading is static polymorphism. Method

overriding is runtime polymorphism.
2. Method overloading occurs within the same class. Method
overriding happens in two classes with hierarchy
relationship.
3. Parameters must be different in method overloading.
Parameters must be same in method overriding.
4. Method overloading is a compile time concept. Method
overriding is a runtime concept.
50. Does Java allow virtual functions?

Yes. All instance methods in Java are virtual functions by default.

Only class methods and private instance methods are not virtual
methods in Java.
51. What is meant by covariant return
type in Java?
A covariant return type of a method is one that can be replaced by a
"narrower" type when the method is overridden in a subclass.

Let say class B is child of class A. There is a get() method in class

A as well as class B. get() method of class A can return an instance
of A, and get() method of class B return an instance of B. Here
class B overrides get() method, but the return type is different.

Before Java 5, any method that overrides the method of parent class
would have same return type.

From Java 5 onwards, a child class can override a method of parent

class and the child class method can return an object that is child of
object return by parent class method.
Polymorphism
52. What is Runtime Polymorphism?

Runtime Polymorphism or Dynamic Polymorphism is the

polymorphism that exists at runtime. In case of method overriding it
is not known which method will be called at runtime. Based on the
type of object, JVM decides the exact method that should be called.

So at compile time it is not known which method will be called at

run time.
53. Is it possible to achieve Runtime
Polymorphism by data members in
Java?
No. We need to create Runtime Polymorphism by implementing
methods at two levels of inheritance in Java.
54. Explain the difference between
static and dynamic binding?
In Static binding references are resolved at compile time. In
Dynamic binding references are resolved at Run time.

E.g.
Person p = new Person();
p.walk(); // Java compiler resolves this binding at compile time.

public void walk(Object o){

((Person) o).walk(); // this is dynamic binding.
}
Abstraction
55. What is Abstraction in Object
Oriented programming?
Abstraction is the process of hiding certain implementation details
of an object and showing only essential features of the object to
outside world.

It is different from Abstract class in Java.

Abstraction process identifies commonalities and hides the

complexity of implementation. It helps us in focusing on the
interface that we share with the outside world.
56. How is Abstraction different from
Encapsulation?
Abstraction happens at class level design. It results in hiding the
implementation details. Encapsulation is also known as
“Information Hiding”. An example of encapsulation is marking the
member variables private and providing getter and setter for these
member variables.
57. What is an abstract class in Java?

An abstract class in Java has one or more abstract methods. An

abstract method is just declared in the abstract class, but it is not
implemented.

An abstract class has to be extended in Java and its abstract

methods have to be implemented by a child class. Also Java does
not allow new instance of Abstract class.
58. Is it allowed to mark a method
abstract method without marking the
class abstract?
No. Java specification says that if there is at least one abstract
method in a class, the class has to be marked abstract.
59. Is it allowed to mark a method
abstract as well as final?
No. It will be contradictory statement to mark a method abstract as
well as final.

An abstract method has to be overridden by a child class. And a

final method cannot be overridden. Therefore a method can be
either abstract or final in Java.
60. Can we instantiate an abstract
class in Java?
No. We cannot create an instance of an abstract class in Java.
61. What is an interface in Java?

An Interface in Java is an abstract type blueprint of a class. It

contains the methods that a class must implement. It is like a
protocol.

It has method signatures and constant declarations.

62. Is it allowed to mark an interface
method as static?
Yes, from Java 8 onwards, we can define static and default methods
in an interface. Prior to Java 8, it was not allowed.
63. Why an Interface cannot be
marked as final in Java?
A final method cannot be overridden. But an interface method has to
be implemented by another class. So the interface method cannot be
marked as final.
64. What is a marker interface?

There are interfaces that do not have any data member or methods.
These interfaces are called Marker interface.
E.g. Serializable, Cloneable, Remote etc.
65. What can we use instead of
Marker interface?
We can use annotations instead of Marker interface.
66. How Annotations are better than
Marker Interfaces?
Annotations serve the purpose of conveying metadata about the
class to its consumers without creating a separate type for it.

Annotations are more powerful than a Marker interface. They allow

programmers to pass more sophisticated information to classes that
"consume" it.
67. What is the difference between
abstract class and interface in Java?
Differences between Abstract class and Interface are as follows:

1. An abstract class can have implemented methods with

body (non-abstract methods). Interface has only abstract
methods. From Java 8 onwards, interface can have
static/default methods in implemented form.
2. An abstract class can have instance member variables. An
interface cannot have instance variables. It can only have
constants.
3. An abstract class can have a constructor. Interface cannot
have constructor. It has to be implemented by another
class.
4. A class can extend only one abstract class. A class can
implement more than one interface.
68. Does Java allow us to use private
and protected modifiers for variables
in interfaces?
No. All the variables in an interface are implicitly public.
69. How can we cast to an object
reference to an interface reference?
An Object that implements an Interface can be cast to the same
Interface. Since An Object implementing an Interface already
provides implementation for the methods of that Interface, it is
allowed to do so as per the rules of Inheritance.
Final
70. How can you change the value of a
final variable in Java?
Java does not allow changing the value of a final variable. Once the
value is set, it cannot be changed.
71. Can a class be marked final in
Java?
Yes a class can be marked final in Java. Once a class is marked
final, it cannot be extended.
72. How can we create a final method
in Java?
To mark a method, add modifier final to that method. A final method
can not be overridden by a child class.
73. How can we prohibit inheritance
in Java?
If you mark a class final, it cannot be extended. This will prohibit
the inheritance of that class in Java.
74. Why Integer class in final in Java?

Integer class is a wrapper for int. If it is not marked final, then any
other class can extend it and modify the behavior of Integer
operations. To avoid this Integer wrapper class is marked as final.
75. What is a blank final variable in
Java?
When we declare a final variable without giving any initial value,
then it is called blank final variable.
76. How can we initialize a blank final
variable?
A blank final instance variable can be initialized in a constructor.

A blank final static variable can be initialized in the static block of

class.
77. Is it allowed to declare main
method as final?
Yes, we can mark the main method as final.
Package
78. What is the purpose of package in
Java?
A package is used to encapsulate a group of classes, interfaces and
sub-packages. Often, it is a hierarchical structure of storing
information. It is easier to organize the related classes and sub-
packages in this manner.

A Package also provides access protection for classes and

interfaces. A package also helps in removing naming collision.
79. What is java.lang package?

In Java, java.lang package contains the classes that are fundamental

to the design of Java programming language. The most important
class in this package is Object class.

It also contains wrapper classes like- Integer, Boolean, Character

etc. It provides Math class for mathematical operations.
80. Which is the most important class
in Java?
It is an open-ended question with many answers. In my view, Object
class is the most important class of Java programming language. It
is the root of all the classes in Java. It provides some very
important and fundamental methods.
81. Is it mandatory to import java.lang
package every time?
No. By default, JVM loads it internally.
82. Can you import same package or
class twice in your class?
If we import same package multiple times in a class, compiler
includes it only once. So neither JVM nor Compiler gives any
error/warning on including a package multiple times.

If you have two classes with same name, then you may get name
collision on importing the class erroneously.

JVM internally loads the class only one time.

83. What is a static import in Java?

Static import is similar to normal import declaration. Normal

import allows us to import classes from packages without using
package qualifier. Static import allows us to import static members
from a class without using class qualifier.
84. What is the difference between
import static com.test.Fooclass and
import com.test.Fooclass?
First import is a static import and the second import is normal
import of a class. First import allows us to import static members of
class.
Internationalization
85. What is Locale in Java?

A Locale object represents a specific geographical, political, or

cultural region. It is used to locale-sensitive operations in Java.

It helps is following the local conventions of a country, native or

region. These conventions can be for formatting the dates, money,
numbers etc.
86. How will you use a specific Locale
in Java?
To use a specific Locale, we need to load that Locale. We can use
ResourceBundle.getBundle("Locale.UK") method to load a Locale.
Serialization
87. What is the serialization?

Serialization is a process converting an object into a byte array.

This byte array represents the class, version and internal state of the
object. JVM can use this byte array to transmit/read the object over
a network.
88. What is the purpose of
serialization?
Some of the uses of serialization are:

1. Communication: It is used for transmitting an object over

network between two machines.
2. Persistence: We can store the object’s state in a database
and retrieve it from database later on.
3. Caching: Serialization can be used for caching to improve
performance. We may need 10 minutes to build an object,
but it may take just 10 seconds to de-serialize the object.
4. Cross JVM Synchronization: It can be used in same way
across multiple JVM that follow different architecture.
89. What is Deserialization?

Deserialization is the process of reconstructing the object from the

serialized state. It is the reverse process of serialization.
90. What is Serialization and
Deserialization conceptually?
Serialization is to convert Object data into a stream of bytes

Deserialization is to convert a stream of bytes back into a copy of

the original object.
91. Why do we mark a data member
transient?
Member variables of an object are marked transient to indicate that
they should not be serialized.

During serialization process the transient variables are not

considered part of the persistent state of an object.
92. Is it allowed to mark a method as
transient?
No, Java does not allow marking a method as transient. The
transient keyword is valid only for member variables.
93. How does marking a field as
transient makes it possible to serialize
an object?
Let say we have a class ABC that implements Serializable
interface, but it contains a member variable object of class XYZ
that does not implement Serializable interface. Due to this it is not
possible to Serialize the class ABC.

To solve this issue, we can mark the member variable XYZ as

Transient in class ABC. This will allow us to serialize the class
ABC.
94. What is Externalizable interface
in Java?
Externalizable interface extends Serializable interface in Java. It is
used for giving the Class control over saving and restoring the
contents of its instances.

A class implements methods writeExternal() and readExternal() to

store and restore the object.
95. What is the difference between
Serializable and Externalizable
interface?
Serializable is a marker interface but Externalizable is not a marker
interface.

When we implement Serializable interface, the class is serialized

automatically by default. We can override writeObject() and
readObject()methods to control more complex object Serialization
process.

In case of Externalizable, we use readExternal() and

writeExternal() methods to give control to class for class's
serialization process.

Serializable interface is based on recursive algorithm.

Serializable gives you two options. One option is to provide custom

way of serialization, the other default way. In Externalizable, you
have to always implement readExternal() and writeExternal()
methods.

A public no-arg constructor is needed while using Externalizable

interface.

In Serialization, we need to define serialVersionUID. If it is not

explicitly defined it will be generated automatically based on all the
fields, methods of the class.
Reflection
96. What is Reflection in Java?

Reflection is Java language's ability to inspect and dynamically call

classes, methods, attributes etc. at Runtime. It helps in examining or
modifying the Runtime behavior of a class at Runtime.
97. What are the uses of Reflection in
Java?
Reflection is often used in Testing, Debugging and in Integrated
Development Environment (IDE).

Reflection allows you to write programs that do not have to "know"

everything at compile time. It makes programs more dynamic, since
they can be tied together at runtime.

Many modern frameworks like Spring etc. use Reflection. Some

modern languages like Python etc. also use Reflection.

JAVA API for XML Parsing (JAXP) also uses Reflection.

98. How can we access private
method of a class from outside the
class?
We can use Reflection to access private method of a class from
outside the class. IN Java, we use getDeclaredMethod() to get
instance of a private method. Then we mark this method accessible
and finally invoke it.

In following sample code, we are accessing private method

message() of class Foo by Reflection.

FileName: Foo.java
public class Foo {
private void message(){System.out.println("hello java"); }
}

FileName: FooMethodCall.java
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
public class FooMethodCall{
public static void main(String[] args)throws Exception{

Class c = Class.forName("Foo");
Object o= c.newInstance();
Method m =c.getDeclaredMethod("message", null);
m.setAccessible(true);
m.invoke(o, null);
}
}
99. How can we create an Object
dynamically at Runtime in Java?
We can use Reflection to create an Object dynamically at Runtime
in Java. We can use Class.newInstance() or
Constructor.newInstance() methods for creating such Objects.
Garbage Collection
100. What is Garbage Collection in
Java?
Java has an internal mechanism called Garbage collection to
reclaim the memory of unused projects at run time.

Garbage collection is also known as automatic memory

management.
101. Why Java provides Garbage
Collector?
In Java, there are no pointers. Memory management and allocation
is done by JVM. Since memory allocation is automated, after some
time JVM may go low on memory. At that time, JVM has to free
memory from unused objects. To help with the process of
reclaiming memory, Java provides an automated process called
Garbage Collector.
102. What is the purpose of gc() in
Java?
Java provides two methods System.gc() and Runtime.gc() to request
the JVM to run the garbage collection. By using these methods,
programmers can explicitly send request for Garbage Collection.
But JVM process can reject this request and wait for some time
before running the GC.
103. How does Garbage Collection
work in Java?
Java has an automated process called Garbage Collector for
Memory Management. It is a daemon in JVM that monitors the
memory usage and performs memory cleanup. Once JVM is low on
memory, GC process finds the unused objects that are not
referenced by other objects. These unused objects are cleaned up by
Garbage Collector daemon in JVM.
104. When does an object become
eligible for Garbage Collection in
Java?
An object can be Garbage Collected by JVM, if it is not reachable.
There are two cases for deciding eligibility of objects for Garbage
Collection:

1. An Object/instance that cannot be reached by a live thread.

2. A set of circularly referenced instances that cannot be
reached by any other instance outside that set.
105. Why do we use finalize() method
in Java?
Java provides finalize() method to perform any cleanup before
Garbage Collection. This method is in Object class, and it is
invoked by JVM internally. Developers are free to implement this
method for any custom cleanup in case of Garbage Collection.

If an Object is not Garbage Collected, then this method may not be

called.

This method is never invoked more than once by JVM.

106. What are the different types of
References in Java?
In Java, there are four types of references:

1. Strong Reference
2. Soft Reference
3. Weak Reference
4. Phantom Reference
107. How can we reference an
unreferenced object again?
We can provide implementation in finalize() method to reference
and unreferenced object. For an unreferenced object, finalize()
method is called at the time of Garbage Collection. At this time,
Object can pass its reference ‘this’ to finalize() method and revive
itself.
108. What kind of process is the
Garbage collector thread?
Garbage Collection is a Daemon process in JVM. It is an internal
process that keep checking Memory usage and cleans up the
memory.
109. What is the purpose of the
Runtime class?
The purpose of the Runtime class is to provide access to the Java
Runtime system. This class provides certain important methods like:

1. Runtime.freeMemory() – This method returns the value of

free memory in JVM

2. Runtime.maxMemory() - This method returns the value of

maximum memory that JVM can use.

3. Runtime.gc() – This method can invoke garbage collection.

110. How can we invoke an external
process in Java?
Java provides the method Runtime.getRuntime().exec() to invoke an
external process from JVM.
111. What are the uses of Runtime
class?
Runtime class in Java provides following benefits:

1. It allows to read data via key board

2. It can use system properties and environment variables
3. It helps in running non-java programs from within a java
application.
Inner Classes
112. What is a Nested class?

In Java, a Nested class is a class declared inside another class. We

can have more than one class declared inside a file.
113. How many types of Nested classes
are in Java?
Java provides four types of Nested classes:

1. Member inner class

2. Local inner class
3. Anonymous inner class
4. Static nested class
114. Why do we use Nested Classes?
There are following reasons for using nested classes:

1. Logical Grouping: We can logically group classes in one

place. If one class is useful to only one other class, then
we put smaller class within the larger class and keep them
in one file. This kind of nesting "helper classes" in a top-
level class makes the package more streamlined.

2. Encapsulation: Nested classes increase encapsulation. Let

say there are two top-level classes, Foo and Bar. Bar
needs access to private members of Foo. We can hide
class Bar within class Foo. In this way, private members
of Foo can be accessed by class Bar. So class Foo remains
encapsulated. Also, class Bar remains hidden from the
outside world.

3. Code Clarity: Nested classed make the code more

readable and well organized. Only Top-level classes are
exposed. The helper classes are kept hidden and closer the
code where it is used by a Top-level class.
115. What is the difference between a
Nested class and an Inner class in
Java?
An Inner class in Java is non-static class. It is a type of Nested class
that is defined in another class but not qualified with a Static
modifier. A Nested class is also a class can be Static Nested class
or a non-Static Inner class.

An Inner class has access to other members of the enclosing class,

even if they are declared private. A Static Nested class can not
access the other members of the enclosing class.
116. What is a Nested interface?

A Nested interface is declared inside another interface or a top-

level class. By default it is static.

A Nested interface is also known as Static interface.

117. How can we access the non-final
local variable, inside a Local Inner
class?
Java allows a Local Inner class to access only Constant local
members. So we have to make the non-final local variable as final
constant to access it inside a Local Inner class.
118. Can an Interface be defined in a
Class?
Yes, we can define a Static Nested interface within a class. Only the
enclosing class can access it.
119. Do we have to explicitly mark a
Nested Interface public static?
A Nested Interface is implicitly public static. So the modifiers
public and static are redundant in declaration.
120. Why do we use Static Nested
interface in Java?
Only the enclosing class can access a Static Nested interface.
Consider following code in which interface Xyz is enclosed in
class Abc.

public class Abc {

public interface Xyz {

void callback();
}

public static void registerCallback(Xyz xyz) {...}

}

// Client Code
Abc.registerCallback(new Abc.Xyz() {
public void callback() {...}
});

Any code that cannot access Abc can not access interface Xyz also.

So the purpose of declaring an Inner interface is to restrict its

access from outside world.
String
121. What is the meaning of
Immutable in the context of String
class in Java?
An Immutable object cannot be modified or changed in Java. String
is an Immutable class in Java.

Once a String object is created, it cannot be changed. When we

assign the String to a new value, a new object is created.
122. Why a String object is considered
immutable in java?
Java language uses String for a variety of purposes. For this it has
marked String Immutable.

There is a concept of String literal in Java.

Let say there are 2 String variables A and B that reference to a

String object “TestData”. All these variables refer to same String
literal. If one reference variable A changes the value of the String
literal from “TestData” to “RealData”, then it will affect the other
variable as well. Due to which String is considered Immutable. In
this case, if one variable A changes the value to “RealData”, then a
new String literal with “RealData” is created and A will point to
new String literal. While B will keep pointing to “TestData”
123. How many objects does following
code create?
Code:
String s1="HelloWorld";
String s2=" HelloWorld ";
String s3=" HelloWorld ";

The above code creates only one object. Since there is only one
String Literal “HelloWorld” created, all the references point to
same object.
124. How many ways are there in
Java to create a String object?
Java provides two ways to create a String object. One is by using
String Literal, the other is by using new operator.
125. How many objects does
following code create?
Code:
String s = new String("HelloWorld");

The above code creates two objects. One object is created in String
constant pool and the other is created on the heap in non-pool area.
126. What is String interning?

String interning refers to the concept of using only one copy of a

distinct String value that is Immutable.

It provides the advantage of making String processing efficient in

Time as well as Space complexity. But it introduces extra time in
creation of String.
127. Why Java uses String literal
concept?
Java uses String literal concept to make Java more efficient in
memory. If same String already exists in String constant pool, it can
be reused. This saves memory usage.
128. What is the basic difference
between a String and StringBuffer
object?
String is an immutable object. Its value cannot change after creation.
StringBuffer is a mutable object. We can keep appending or
modifying the contents of a StringBuffer in Java.
129. How will you create an immutable
class in Java?
In Java, we can declare a class final to make it immutable. There
are following detailed steps to make it Immutable:

1. Add final modifier to class to prevent it from getting

extended
2. Add private modifier to all the fields to prevent direct
access
3. Do not provide any setter methods for member variables
4. Add final modifier to all the mutable fields to assign value
only once
5. Use Deep Copy to initialize all the fields by a constructor
6. In clone method, return a copy of object instead of the
actual object reference
130. What is the use of toString()
method in java ?
In Java, Object class has toString() method. This method can be
used to return the String representation of an Object. When we print
an object, Java implicitly calls toString() method.

Java provides a default implementation for toString() method. But

we can override this method to return the format that we want to
print.
131. Arrange the three classes String,
StringBuffer and StringBuilder in the
order of efficiency for String
processing operations?
StringBuilder is the most efficient class. It does not have the
overhead of Synchronization. StringBuffer is a Synchronized class.
It has better performance than String but it is slower than
StringBuilder. String is the slowest for any String processing
operations, since it is leads to creation of new String literal with
each modification.

So the decreasing order of efficiency is: StringBuilder, StringBuffer,

String
Exception Handling
132. What is Exception Handling in
Java?
Java provides Exception Handling mechanism to handle Runtime
errors that occur in JVM. There are checked exceptions in a
program that we expect to occur in certain situations.

Exception handling mechanism catches these checked exceptions

and takes relevant actions.
133. In Java, what are the differences
between a Checked and Unchecked?
Checked Exceptions extend Throwable class, but they do not extend
RuntimeException or Error classes. UncheckedException extend
RuntimeException class.

Checked Exceptions are checked at compile time in Java.

Unchecked Exceptions happen at Runtime, so they are not checked
at compile time.

IOException, SQLException etc. are examples of Checked

Exceptions. NullPointerException, ArithmeticException etc. are
examples of Unchecked Exceptions.
134. What is the base class for
Error and Exception classes in Java?
Error as well as Exception class is derived from Throwable class
in Java.
135. What is a finally block in Java?

Java provides a finally block with a try block. This is an optional

block. But finally block is always executed after the execution of try
block.
136. What is the use of finally block in
Java?
As per Java specification, a finally block is always executed,
whether an error occurs or not, whether an exception is handled or
not. It helps in doing the cleanup like- Rollback Transaction, Close
Connection, Close a file etc.
137. Can we create a finally block
without creating a catch block?
Yes. A finally block can follow a try block or catch block. So we
can defined a finally block just after a try block.
138. Do we have to always put a catch
block after a try block?
Java does not enforce the rule to put a catch block after try block.
We can write catch block or finally block after a try block.

Any exception that we want to catch is mentioned in catch block.

139. In what scenarios, a finally block
will not be executed?
There are two main scenarios in which finally block is not
executed:

1. Program exits by calling system.exit() call.

2. A fatal error causes JVM to crash.
140. Can we re-throw an Exception
in Java?
Yes, Java allows to re-throw an Exception.
141. What is the difference between
throw and throws in Java?
Java provides throw keyword to throw an exception from a method
or a static block. Java provides throws keyword to mention the
probable exception thrown by a method in its declaration.

We use throw to explicitly throw an exception. We used

throws to declare an exception in method definition.

We cannot propagate checked exceptions with throw only. But

checked exceptions can be propagated with throws keyword.

A throw call is followed by an instance. Class or Exception follows

a throws keyword.

Call to throw occurs within a method. throws is just used with

method signature.

We can throw only one exception at a time. But we can mention as

many exceptions in throws clause.
142. What is the concept of
Exception Propagation?
In Exception Propagation, uncaught exceptions are propagated in the
call stack until stack becomes empty. This propagation is called
Exception Propagation.

Let say an exception propagates from one method to another method.

A() calls B(), which calls C(), which calls D(). And if D() throws
an exception, the exception will propagate from D to C to B to A,
unless one of the methods catches the exception.
143. When we override a method in
a Child class, can we throw an
additional Exception that is not
thrown by the Parent class method?
Yes, Java allows us to throw additional Exception in a child class,
but the additional exception should be an unchecked exception
(RuntimeException).
Java Collection
144. What is the difference between
Collection and Collections
Framework in Java?
In Java, a Collection is an object that contains multiple elements of
same type in a single unit. These multiple elements can be accessed
through one Collection object.

In Java Collections Framework is a library that provides common

architecture for creating, updating and accessing different types of
collections. In Collections framework there are common methods
that are frequently used by developers for working on a Collection
object.
145. What are the main benefits of
Collections Framework in Java?
Main benefits of Collections Framework in Java are as follows:

1. Reusability: Java Collections Framework provides

common classes and utility methods than can be used with
different types of collections. This promotes the reusability
of the code. A developer does not have to re-invent the
wheel by writing the same method again.

2. Quality: Using Java Collection Framework improves the

program quality, since the code is already tested and used
by thousands of developers.

3. Speed: Most of programmers report that their development

speed increased since they can focus on core logic and use
the generic collections provided by Java framework.

4. Maintenance: Since most of the Java Collections

framework code is open source and API documents is
widely available, it is easy to maintain the code written
with the help of Java Collections framework. One
developer can easily pick the code of previous developer.
146. What is the root interface of
Collection hierarchy in Java?
The root interface of Collection hierarchy in Java is Collection
interface.

But the Collection interface extends Iterable interface. Due to this

some people consider Iterable interface as the root interface.

Iterable interface is present in java.lang package but Collection

interface is present in java.util package. Oracle Java API docs
mention that Collection interface is a member of the Java
Collections framework.

Whereas, Iterable interface is not stated as a part of Java

Collections framework in Java docs.

Due to this Collection interface is the root of Collections

Framework.
147. What are the main differences
between Collection and Collections?
Main differences between Collection and Collections are as
follows:

1. Collection is an interface in Java. But Collections is a

class in Java.

2. Collection is a base interface. Collections is a utility class

in Java.

3. Collection defines methods that are used for data structures

that contain the objects. Collections defines the methods
that are used for operations like access, find etc. on a
Collection.
148. What are the Thread-safe
classes in Java Collections
framework?
The Thread-safe classes in Java Collections framework are:

Stack
Properties
Vector
Hashtable
BlockingQueue
ConcurrentMap
ConcurrentNavigableMap
149. How will you efficiently
remove elements while iterating a
Collection?
The right way to remove elements from a collection while iterating
is by using ListIterator.remove() method.

E.g.

ListIterator<Integer> iter = myList.iterator();

while(iter.hasNext()) {
itr.remove();
}

Some developers use following code to remove an element which is

incorrect:

Iterator<Integer> iter = myList.iterator();

while(iter.hasNext()) {
itr.remove();
}

By doing so we get ConcurrentModificationException.

An iterator is first created to traverse the list. But at the same time
the list is changed by remove() method.

In Java, it is not allowed for a thread to modify a collection while

another thread is iterating it. ListIterator provides the capability of
removing an object during traversal.
150. How will you convert a List into
an array of integers like- int[]?
We can use ArrayUtils class in Apache Commons Lang library.

Sample code is:

int[]intArray = ArrayUtils.toPrimitive(myList.toArray(new
Integer[0]));

If we use List.toArray(), it will convert List to Integer[].

Another option is:

int[] intArray = new int[myList.size()];

for (int i=0; i < myList.size(); i++) {
intArray [i] = myList.get(i);
}
151. How will you convert an array of
primitive integers int[] to a List
collection?
We can use ArrayUtils in Apache Commons Lang library for this
purpose.

Sample code is:

List intList = Arrays.asList(ArrayUtils.toObject(intArray));

The other option would be to use a for loop and explicitly adding
integers to a List.

Sample code is:

int[]intArray = {10,20,30};
List<Integer> intList = new ArrayList<Integer>();
for (int i: intArray) {
intList.add(i);
}
152. How will you run a filter on a
Collection?
We can use CollectionUtils of Apache for this purpose. We will
have to create a Predicate that will define the condition for our
filter. Then we can apply this Predicate in filter() method.

Sample code is:

In this example we filter any names that are less than 5 characters
long.

List<String> namesList = asList( "Red", "Blue", "Green" );

List<String> shortNamesList = new ArrayList<String>();

shortNamesList.addAll( namesList );

CollectionUtils.filter( shortNamesList, new Predicate(){

public boolean evaluate( Object input ) {
return ((String) input).length() < 5;
}
} );

We can also use Google Guava library for this.

In Java 8, we can use Predicate to filter a Collection through

Stream.
153. How will you convert a List to a
Set?
There are two ways to convert a List to a Set in Java.

Option 1: Use HashSet

Set<Integer> mySet = new HashSet<Integer>(myList);

In this case we put a list into a HashSet. Internally hashCode()

method is used to identify duplicate elements.

Option 2: Use TreeSet

In this case we use our own comparator to find duplicate objects.

Set<Integer> mySet = new TreeSet<Integer>(myComparator);

mySet.addAll(myList);
154. How will you remove duplicate
elements from an ArrayList?
The trick in this question is to use a collection that does not allow
duplicate elements. So we use a Set for this purpose.

Option 1: Use Set

If ordering of elements is not important then we just put the elements
of ArrayList in a HashSet and then add them back to the ArrayList.

Sample Code is:

ArrayList myList = // ArrayList with duplicate elements
Set<Integer> mySet = new HashSet<Integer>(myList);
myList.clear();
myList.addAll(mySet);

Option 2: Use LinkedHashSet

If ordering of elements is important then we put the elements of
ArrayList in a LinkedHashSet and then add them back to the
ArrayList.

Sample Code is:

ArrayList myList = // ArrayList with duplicate elements
Set<Integer> mySet = new LinkedHashSet<Integer>(myList);
myList.clear();
myList.addAll(mySet);
155. How can you maintain a
Collection with elements in Sorted
order?
In Java, there are many ways to maintain a Collection with elements
in sorted order.

Some collections like TreeSet store elements in the natural

ordering. In case of natural ordering we have to implement
Comparable interface for comparing the elements.

We can also maintain custom ordering by providing a custom

Comparator to a Collection.

Another option is to use the utility method Collections.sort() to sort

a List. This sorting gives nlog(n) order of performance. But if we
have to use this method multiple times then it will be costly on
performance.

Another option is to use a PriorityQueue that provides an ordered

queue. The main difference between PriorityQueue and
Collections.sort() is that PriorityQueue maintains a queue in Order
all the time, but we can only retrieve head element from queue. We
cannot access the elements of PriorityQueue in Random order.

We can use TreeSet to maintain sorted order of elements in

collection if there are no duplicate elements in collection.
 156. What are the differences between
the two data structures: a Vector and
an ArrayList?

An ArrayList is a newer class than a Vector. A Vector is considered a

legacy class in Java. The differences are:

1. Synchronization: Vector is synchronized, but the ArrayList

is not synchronized. So an ArrayList has faster operations
than a Vector.
2. Data Growth: Internally both an ArrayList and Vector use
an array to store data. When an ArrayList is almost full it
increases its size by 50% of the array size. Whereas a
Vector increases it by doubling the underlying array size.
157. What are the differences between
Collection and Collections in Java?
Main differences between Collection and Collections are:

1. Type: Collection is an interface in Java. Collections is a

class.
2. Features: Collection interface provides basic features of
data structure to List, Set and Queue interfaces.
Collections is a utility class to sort and synchronize
collection elements. It has polymorphic algorithms to
operate on collections.
3. Method Type: Most of the methods in Collection are at
instance level. Collections class has mainly static methods
that can work on an instance of Collection.
158. In which scenario, LinkedList
is better than ArrayList in Java?
ArrayList is more popular than LinkedList in Java due to its ease of
use and random access to elements feature.

But LinkedList is better in the scenario when we do not need

random access to elements or there are a lot of insertion, deletion of
elements.
159. What are the differences between
a List and Set collection in Java?
Main differences between a List and a Set are:

1. Order: List collection is an ordered sequence of elements.

A Set is just a distinct collection of elements that is
unordered.

2. Positional Access: When we use a List, we can specify

where exactly we want to insert an element. In a Set there
is no order, so we can insert element anywhere without
worrying about order.

3. Duplicate: In a List we can store duplicate elements. A Set

can hold only unique elements.
160. What are the differences between
a HashSet and TreeSet collection in
Java?
Main differences between a HashSet and TreeSet are:

1. Ordering: In a HashSet elements are stored in a random

order. In a TreeSet, elements are stored according to
natural ordering.

2. Null Value Element: We can store null value object in a

HashSet. A TreeSet does not allow to add a null value
object.

3. Performance: HashSet performs basic operations like

add(), remove(), contains(), size() etc in a constant size
time. A TreeSet performs these operations at the order of
log(n) time.

4. Speed: A HashSet is better than a TreeSet in performance

for most of operations like add(), remove(), contains(),
size() etc .

5. Internal Structure: a HashMap in Java internally backs a

HashSet. A NavigableMap backs a TreeSet internally.

6. Features: A TreeSet has more features compared to a

HashSet. It has methods like pollFirst(), pollLast(), first(),
last(), ceiling(), lower() etc.

7. Element Comparison: A HashSet uses equals() method for

comparison. A TreeSet uses compareTo() method for
comparison to maintain ordering of elements.
161. In Java, how will you decide when
to use a List, Set or a Map collection?
1. If we want a Collection that does not store duplicate
values, then we use a Set based collection.
2. If we want to frequently access elements operations based
on an index value then we use a List based collection. E.g.
ArrayList

3. If we want to maintain the insertion order of elements in a

collection then we use a List based collection.

4. For fast search operation based on a key, value pair, we

use a HashMap based collection.

5. If we want to maintain the elements in a sorted order, then

we use a TreeSet based collection.
162. What are the differences between
a HashMap and a Hashtable in Java?
Main differences between a HashMap and a Hashtable are:

1. Synchronization: HashMap is not a synchronized

collection. If it is used in multi-thread environment, it may
not provide thread safety. A Hashtable is a synchronized
collection. Not more than one thread can access a
Hashtable at a given moment of time. The thread that
works on Hashtable acquires a lock on it and it makes
other threads wait till its work is completed.

2. Null values: A HashMap allows only one null key and any
number of null values. A Hashtable does not allow null
keys and null values.

3. Ordering: A HashMap implementation by LinkedHashMap

maintains the insertion order of elements. A TreeMap sorts
the mappings based on the ascending order of keys. On the
other hand, a Hashtable does not provide guarantee of any
kind of order of elements. It does not maintain the
mappings of key values in any specific order.

4. Legacy: Hashtable was not the initial part of collection

framework in Java. It has been made a collection
framework member, after being retrofitted to implement the
Map interface. A HashMap implements Map interface and
is a part of collection framework since the beginning.

5. Iterator: The Iterator of HashMap is a fail-fast and it

throws ConcurrentModificationException if any other
Thread modifies the map by inserting or removing any
element except iterator’s own remove() method.
Enumerator of the Hashtable is not fail-fast.
163. What are the differences between
a HashMap and a TreeMap?
Main differences between a HashMap and a TreeMap in Java are:

1. Order: A HashMap does not maintain any order of its keys.

In a HashMap there is no guarantee that the element
inserted first will be retrieved first.

2. In a TreeMap elements are stored according to natural

ordering of elements. A TreeMap uses compareTo()
method to store elements in a natural order.

3. Internal Implementation: A HashMap uses Hashing

internally. A TreeMap internally uses Red-Black tree
implementation.

4. Parent Interfaces: A HashMap implements Map interface.

TreeMap implements NavigableMap interface.

5. Null values: A HashMap can store one null key and

multiple null values. A TreeMap can not contain null key
but it may contain multiple null values.

6. Performance: A HashMap gives constant time performance

for operations like get() and put(). A TreeMap gives order
of log(n) time performance for get() and put() methods.

7. Comparison: A HashMap uses equals() method to compare

keys. A TreeMap uses compareTo() method for
maintaining natural ordering.
8. Features: A TreeMap has more features than a HashMap. It
has methods like pollFirstEntry() , pollLastEntry() ,
tailMap() , firstKey() , lastKey() etc. that are not provided
by a HashMap.
164. What are the differences
between Comparable and
Comparator?
Main differences between Comparable and Comparator are:

1. Type: Comparable<T> is an interface in Java where T is

the type of objects that this object may be compared to.

2. Comparator<T> is also an interface where T is the type of

objects that may be compared by this comparator.

3. Sorting: In Comparable, we can only create one sort

sequence. In Comparator we can create multiple sort
sequences.

4. Method Used: Comparator<T> interface in Java has

method public int compare (Object o1, Object o2) that
returns a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer when
the object o1 is less than, equal to, or greater than the
object o2. A Comparable<T> interface has method public
int compareTo(Object o) that returns a negative integer,
zero, or a positive integer when this object is less than,
equal to, or greater than the object o.

5. Objects for Comparison: The Comparator compares two

objects given to it as input. Comparable interface
compares "this" reference with the object given as input.

6. Package location: Comparable interface in Java is defined

in java.lang package. Comparator interface in Java is
defined in java.util package.
165. In Java, what is the purpose of
Properties file?
A Properties file in Java is a list of key-value pairs that can be
parsed by java.util.Properties class.

Generally a Properties file has extension .properties e.g.

myapp.properties.

Properties files are used for many purposes in all kinds of Java
applications. Some of the uses are to store configuration, initial
data, application options etc.
When we change the value of a key in a properties file, there is no
need to recompile the Java application. So it provides benefit of
changing values at runtime.
166. What is the reason for overriding
equals() method?
The equals() method in Object class is used to check whether two
objects are same or not. If we want a custom implementation we can
override this method.

For example, a Person class has first name, last name and age. If we
want two Person objects to be equal based on name and age, then
we can override equals() method to compare the first name, last
name and age of Person objects.

Generally in HashMap implementation, if we want to use an object

as key, then we override equals() method.
167. How does hashCode() method
work in Java?
Object class in Java has hashCode() method. This method returns a
hash code value, which is an integer.

The hashCode() is a native method and its implementation is not

pure Java.

Java doesn't generate hashCode(). However, Object generates a

HashCode based on the memory address of the instance of the
object.

If two objects are same then their hashCode() is also same.

168. Is it a good idea to use Generics
in collections?
Yes. A collection is a group of elements put together in an order or
based on a property. Often the type of element can vary. But the
properties and behavior of a Collection remains same. Therefore it
is good to create a Collection with Generics so that it is type-safe
and it can be used with wide variety of elements.
169. What is the difference between
Collections.emptyList() and creating
new instance of Collection?
In both the approaches, we get an empty list. But
Collections.emptyList() returns an Immutable list. We cannot add
new elements to an Immutable empty list.

Collections.emptyList() works like Singleton pattern. It does not

create a new instance of List. It reuses an existing empty list
instance.

Therefore, Collections.emptylist() gives better performance if we

need to get an emptyList multiple times.
170. How will you copy elements from
a Source List to another list?
There are two options to copy a Source List to another list.

Option 1: Use ArrayList constructor

ArrayList<Integer> newList = new ArrayList<Integer>(sourceList);

Option 2: Use Collection.copy()

To use Collections.copy() destination list should be of same or
larger size than source list.

ArrayList<Integer> newList = new ArrayList<Integer>

(sourceList.size());
Collections.copy(newList, sourceList);

Collections.copy() does not reallocate the capacity of destination

List if it does not have enough space to contain all elements of
source List. It throws IndexOutOfBoundsException.

The benefit of Collection.copy() is that it guarantees that the copy

will happen in linear time. It is also good for the scenario when we
want to reuse an array instead of allocating more memory in the
constructor of ArrayList.

One limitation of Collections.copy() is that it can accept only List

as source and destination parameters.
171. What are the Java Collection
classes that implement List interface?
Java classes that implement List interface are:

AbstractList
AbstractSequentialList
ArrayList
AttributeList
CopyOnWriteArrayList
LinkedList
RoleList
RoleUnresolvedList
Stack
Vector
172. What are the Java Collection
classes that implement Set interface?
Java classes that implement Set interface are:

AbstractSet
ConcurrentSkipListSet
CopyOnWriteArraySet
EnumSet
HashSet
JobStateReasons
LinkedHashSet
TreeSet
173. What is the difference between an
Iterator and ListIterator in Java?
Iterator and ListIterator are two interfaces in Java to traverse data
structures. The differences between these two are:

1. ListIterator can be used to traverse only a List. But Iterator

can be used to traverse List, Set, and Queue etc.

2. An Iterator traverses the elements in one direction only. It

just goes. ListIterator can traverse the elements in two
directions i.e. backward as well as forward directions.

3. Iterator cannot provide us index of an element in the Data

Structure. ListIterator provides us methods like nextIndex()
and previousIndex() to get the index of an element during
traversal.

4. Iterator does not allow us to add an element to collection

while traversing it. It throws
ConcurrentModificationException. ListIterator allows use
to add an element at any point of time while traversing a
list.

5. An existing element’s value cannot be replaced by using

Iterator. ListIterator provides the method set(e) to replace
the value of last element returned by next() or previous()
methods.