Most Asked Java Interview Questions

Q1. What are 4 OOPS principal in java?

 Encapsulation - encapsulation means data hiding,

 Abstraction - Abstraction means hiding the implementation,
 Inheritance - Inheritance is a process where child class acquires the properties
of super class, and
 Polymorphism -
Compile time polymorphism - can be achieved by using Method
overloading &
Runtime polymorphism - Runtime polymorphism can be achieved by using
Method overriding

Q2. Is there any difference between creating string with and without new
operator?
 When String is created without new operator, it will be created in string pool.
 When String is created using new operator, it will force JVM to create new
string in heap (not in string pool).

         String s1 = "abc";

          String s2 = new String("abc");
          String s3 = "abc";
          String s4 = new String("abc");
          String s5 = new String("abc").intern();

String s1 = "abc";
No string with “abc” is there in pool, so JVM will create string in string pool and s1
will be a reference variable which will refer to it.
String s2 = new String("abc");
String is created using new operator, it will force JVM to create new string in heap
(not in string pool).
String s3 = "abc";
string with “abc” is there in pool, so s3 will be a reference variable which will refer to
“abc” in string pool.

String s4 = new String("abc");

string is created using new operator, it will force JVM to create new string in heap
(not in string pool).

String s5 = new String("abc").intern();

string is created using new operator but intern method has been invoked on it, so s5
will be a reference variable which will refer to “abc” in string pool.

Q3. What is significance of final in java?

1. Final memberVariable/instanceVariable of class must be initialized at time of

declaration, once initialized final memberVariable cannot be assigned a new value.
2. Final method cannot be overridden, any attempt to do so will cause compilation
error.

Runtime polymorphism is not applicable on final methods because they cannot be

overridden.
3. Final class cannot be extended, any attempt to do so will cause compilation error.

Q4. Can we use custom object as key in HashMap? If yes then how?

For using object as Key in HashMap, we must implements equals and hashcode
method.

Q5. How do we override equals and hashcode method, write a code to use
Employee(i.e. custom object) as key in HashMap? (Important)
After answering above question, immediately it will be followed up by this questions
We will override equals() and hashCode() like this -
By overriding equals() and hashCode() method we could use custom object as key in
HashMap.
1)  Check whether obj is null or not.

  if(obj==null) //If obj is null, return without comparing

obj & Employee class.
2)  check whether obj is instance of Employee class or not.

if(this.getClass()!=obj.getClass()) //identifies whether

obj is instance of Employee class or not.
3) Then, type cast obj into employee instance.

 Employee emp=(Employee)obj;  //type cast obj into

employee instance.

   @Override

   public boolean equals(Object obj){

          if(obj==null)

                 return false;

          if(this.getClass()!=obj.getClass())

                 return false;

          Employee emp=(Employee)obj;

          return (emp.id==this.id || emp.id.equals(this.id))

                              && (emp.name==this.name ||

emp.name.equals(this.name));      

   }

  

@Override

   public int hashCode(){

          int hash=(this.id==null ? 0: this.id.hashCode() ) +

                       (this.name==null ? 0: this.name.hashCode() );

          return hash;     

   }
Let’s say in an organisation there exists a employee with id=1 and name=’sam’     and
some data is stored corresponding to him, but if modifications have to be made in
data, previous data must be overridden.

Q6. What classes should i prefer to use a key in HashMap?

(Important)
This question will check your in depth knowledge of Java’s Collection Api’s. we
should prefer String, Integer, Long, Double, Float, Short and any other wrapper
class. Reason behind using them as a key is that they override equals() and
hashCode() method, we need not to write any explicit code for overriding equals()
and hashCode() method.

Let’s use Integer class as key in HashMap.

import java.util.HashMap;

import java.util.Map;

public class StringInMap {

   public static void main(String...a){

         //HashMap's key=Integer class  (Integer’s api has already overridden

hashCode() and equals() method for us )

          Map<Integer, String> hm=new HashMap<Integer, String>();

          hm.put(1, "data");

          hm.put(1, "data OVERRIDDEN");

          System.out.println(hm.get(1));

   }

/*OUTPUT

data OVERRIDDEN

*/

If, we note above program, what we will see is we didn’t override equals() and
hashCode() method, but still we were able to store data in HashMap, override data
and retrieve data using get method.
>Let’s check in Integer’s API, how Integer class has overridden equals() and
hashCode() method :  

public int hashCode() {

       return value;

public boolean equals(Object obj) {

       if (obj instanceof Integer) {

        return value ==

((Integer)obj).intValue();

       }

       return false;

Q7. Can overriding of hashcode() method cause any

performance issues?
Improper implementation of hashCode() can cause performance issues, because in
that most of the key-value pairs will be stored on same bucket location and
unnecessary time will be consumed while fetching value corresponding to key.

Q8. What are immutable classes in java? How we can create

immutable classes in java? And what are advantages of using
immutable classes?
Any change made to object of immutable class produces new object.
Example- String is Immutable class in java, any changes made to Sting class.
We must follow following steps for creating immutable classes -
 

1) Final class - Make class final so that it cannot be inherited

2) private member variable -> Making member variables private ensures that fields
cannot be accessed outside class.

3) final member variable -> Make member variables final so that once assigned their
values cannot be changed

4) Constructor -> Initialize all fields in constructor.

     assign all mutable member variable using new keyword.

5) Don't provide setter methods in class/ provide only getter methods.

Q9. What are some immutable classes in java?

String is Immutable class in java, any changes made to Sting object produces new
String object.

Example of more immutable classes in java (Wrapper class)>

 Integer
 Double
 Long
 Short
 Byte
 And all other Wrapper classes.

Important questions on Differences in Collection>

Q10. What are differences between List and Set?

Please read : List and Set - Similarity and Differences

Q11. What are differences between HashMap and Hashtable?

Please read : HashMap and Hashtable - Similarity and Differences

Q12. What are differences between ArrayList and Vector?

Please read : ArrayList and Vector - Similarity and Differences

Q13. What are differences between ArrayList and LinkedList?

Please read : ArrayList and LinkedList - Similarity and Differences
Q14. What are differences between HashSet vs LinkedHashSet
vs TreeSet?
Please read : HashSet vs LinkedHashSet vs TreeSet - Similarity and Differences

Q15. What are differences between HashMap and

ConcurrentHashMap?
Please read : HashMap and ConcurrentHashMap - Similarity and Differences

Q16. What are differences between HashMap vs Hashtable vs

LinkedHashMap vs TreeMap?
Please read : HashMap vs Hashtable vs LinkedHashMap vs TreeMap - Differences

Q17. What are differences between HashMap vs

IdentityHashMap?
Please read : HashMap and IdentityHashMap - Similarity and Differences with
program

Q18. What are differences between Collection and Collections?

Please read : Collection and Collections - Differences

Q19. What are differences between Comparable and

Comparator?
Please read : Comparable and Comparator - differences

Q20. What are differences between Iterator and ListIterator?

Please read : Iterator and ListIterator - Similarity and Differences

Q21. What are differences between Iterator and ListIterator?

Please read : ArrayList and CopyOnWriteArrayList - Similarity and Differences
with program
Important questions on Similarity and Differences Collection
classes in concurrent and non-concurrent packages >

Q22. What are differences between HashSet and

CopyOnWriteArraySet?
Please read : HashSet and CopyOnWriteArraySet - Similarity and Differences
with program

Q23. What are differences between TreeSet and

ConcurrentSkipListSet?
Please read : TreeSet and ConcurrentSkipListSet - Similarity and Differences
with program

Q24. What are differences between TreeMap and

ConcurrentSkipListMap?
Please read : TreeMap and ConcurrentSkipListMap - Similarity and Differences
with program

Q25. How to implement own HashMap in java?

Answer.

Must Read : HashMap Custom implementation

Q26. What do you mean by fail-fast and fast-safe? What is
ConcurrentModificationException?
Answer.
Iterator returned by few Collection framework Classes are fail-fast, means any
structural modification made to these classes during iteration will throw
ConcurrentModificationException.

Some important classes whose returned iterator is fail-fast >

 ArrayList
 LinkedList
 vector
 HashSet

Iterator returned by few Collection framework Classes are fail-safe, means any
structural modification made to these classes during iteration won’t throw any
Exception.

Some important classes whose returned iterator is fail-safe >

 CopyOnWriteArrayList
 CopyOnWriteArraySet
 ConcurrentSkipListSet

Few important Exception questions>

Q27. What are differences between Iterator and Enumeration?

Please read : Iterator and Enumeration - Differences and similarities

Q28. Does finally block always execute? Will finally block

execute when System.exit is called?
finally is not executed when System.exit is called, finally block is also not executed
when JVM crashes because of some java.util.Error.
Q29. What are differences between checked and unchecked
exceptions?
Please read : Checked (compile time exceptions) and UnChecked (RuntimeExceptions)
in java - Definition and differences

Q30. What are exception handling keywords in java?

5 keyword in java exception handling
 try - Any exception occurring in try block is catched by catch block.
 catch - catch block is always followed by try block.
 finally - finally block can can only exist if try or try-catch block is there,
finally block can’t be used alone in java.
Features of finally >
 finally block is always executed irrespective of exception is
thrown or not.
 finally block is optional in java, we may use it or not.
 finally block is not executed in following scenarios >
 finally is not executed when System.exit is called.
if in case JVM crashes because of some java.util.Error.

 throw - throw is a keyword in java.

throw keyword allows us to throw checked or unchecked exception.

 throws - throws is written in method’s definition to indicate that

method can throw exception.

Q31. What are differences between Exception and Error in

java?

Please read : Differences between Exception and Error in java, Exception  and Error

Q32. What is difference between throw and throws in java?

Please read : Differences between throw and throws in java, throw and throws

Q33. What is Difference between multiple catch block and multi

catch syntax ?
Please read : Difference between multiple catch block and multi catch syntax

Q34. What is Difference between Final, Finally and Finalize?

Please read : Final, Finally and Finalize - difference and similarity in java

Q35. What is exception propagation in java?

Whenever methods are called stack is formed and an exception is first thrown from
the top of the stack and if it is not caught, it starts coming down the stack to
previous methods until it is not caught.
If exception remains uncaught even after reaching bottom of the stack it is
propagated to JVM and program is terminated.
For more read : Exception propagation in java - deep understanding of how
checked and unchecked exceptions are propagated

Q36.  Mention few exception handling best practices ?

Please read : Exception handling best practices and guidelines for
using exceptions in java

Q37. What is cloning in java?

Cloning is done for copying the object, cloning can be done using shallow or deep
copy, we will discuss it later in post.
Few key points about clone method>
 1) Definition of clone method -

protected native Object clone() throws CloneNotSupportedException;

 Clone is a protected method - clone method can’t be called outside class without

inheritance.

 Clone is native method, if not overridden its implementation is provided by JVM.

 It returns Object - Means explicitly cast is needed to convert it to original object.

 2) By default clone method do shallow copy.

 3) Class must implement marker interface java.lang.Cloneable. If class doesn’t

implement Cloneable than calling clone method on its object will throw

CloneNotSupportedException.
 4) shallow copy- If we implement Cloneable interface, we must override clone

method and call super.clone() from it, invoking super.clone() will do shallow copy.

 5) Deep copy - We need to provide custom implementation of clone method for deep

copying.  When the copied object contains some other object its references are copied

recursively in deep copy.

Q38. Is overriding of static method allows in java?

it's one of the favourite question of interviewers. Intention is to test few basic core
java concepts.

Static method cannot be overridden in java, any attempt to do this will not cause
compilation error, but the results won’t be same when we would have overridden
non-static methods.
But why?

Overriding in Java means that the method would be called on the run time based on
type of the object and not on the compile time type of it.

But static methods are class methods access to them is always resolved during
compile time only using the compile time type information.

Accessing static method using object references is a bad practice (we must access
static variable using Class Name) and just an extra liberty given by the java designers.
EXAMPLE :

In below program access to SuperClass’s static method() is resolved during compile

time  only using the compile time type information (i.e. by using SuperClass obj),
means calling obj.method() is always going to invoke static method() of SuperClass.

Assign any sub type object to reference of superclass [obj=new SubClass()] won’t
have any impact on call to static method at runtime.

Accessing static method using object references is bad practice (discussed above)
and just an extra liberty given by the java designers.

Program to static method cannot be overridden in java

class SuperClass{

   static void method(){

          System.out.println("superClass method");

    }

class SubClass extends SuperClass{

   static void method(){

          System.out.println("SubClass method");

   }

/** Copyright (c), AnkitMittal JavaMadeSoEasy.com */

public class StaticMethodTest {

  

   public static void main(String[] args) {

          SuperClass obj=new SubClass();

          obj.method();

   }

         

/*OUTPUT

superClass method

*/

If non-static methods would have been used in above program, output would have been
subClass method

Important points you must know about overriding static methods in java
 Static method cannot be overridden, any attempt to do this will
not cause compilation error. (Discussed above)
 Static method cannot be overridden with non-static method, any
attempt to do this will cause compilation error.

 Non-static method cannot be overridden with static method, any

attempt to do this will cause compilation error.

Q39. Is overriding of private method allows in java?

  No, private methods are inherited in subclass and hence cannot be
overridden.
 Though subclass can have same name of private method in
superclass.

class A {

   private final void m(){

          System.out.println(1);

   }

class B extends A {

   void m(){

          System.out.println(2);

   }

Q40. What is difference between Interface and abstract class in java?

Please read : 10 Differences between Interface and abstract class in java - in
detail with programs

Q41. What is difference between Method overloading and Method overriding in

java?
Please read : 10 Difference between Method overloading and Method
overriding in java - in detail with programs

Q42. What is difference between equals method and == operator in java? And
what will be output of following code snippets?

Code snippet 1
            String s1 = new String("abc");

            String s2 = new String("abc");

         

            System.out.println(s1.equals(s2))
 ;

Code snippet 2
          StringBuffer sb1 = new
StringBuffer("abc");

          StringBuffer sb2 = new

StringBuffer("abc");

         

          System.out.println(sb1.equals(sb2));

== operator
The == operator checks for referential equality of object, it checks whether two
references are referring to same object or not.

equals method
By default equals method checks for referential equality (Class may override the
method and provide different functionality)

By default  if x == y returns true then equals method also returns true.

Example -
 StringBuffer class doesn’t overrides equals method of Object class. The result
is true if both references are referring to same StringBuffer object.
 String class overrides equals method of Object class and compares one string
object to the other string object. The result is true if characters in both String
object appears in same order.

 Output of Code snippet 1 > true

 Output of Code snippet 2 > false

Q43. What is constructor chaining in java?

whenever the object of class is created, implicitly default no-arg constructor of class
and its super class constructor is called.
Q. But how constructor of superclass is called?
A. Implicitly first statement of constructor is super(), [that means by default first
statement of constructor super() is called, super() calls implicit/explicit no-arg
constructor of superclass].

Let’s we have superclass and subclass like this -

class SuperClass{

class SubClass extends

SuperClass{

compiler will add default implicit no-arg constructor -

class SuperClass{

   SuperClass(){ //no-arg
constructor
          super();
}
}

class SubClass extends SuperClass{

   SubClass(){
          super();
   }
}

Q44. What are 4 java platforms ?

 Java SE/ J2SE - Standard Edition,
  Java EE/ J2EE - Enterprise Edition,
 Java ME/ J2ME - Micro Edition,
 JavaFX

Q45. What are Differences between JDK, JRE and JVM, OpenJDK, JIT
Compiler?

1) JDK (Java Development Kit)

As the name suggests, JDK is required for java development.

You need to have JDK in your system for >

developing, compiling and running Java programs.

JDK = JRE + JVM.

JDK diagram >

2) JRE (Java Runtime environment)

JRE provides environment for running/executing programs.
You need to have JRE in your system for >

running Java programs.

JRE = JVM + class libraries (rt.jar)  + other libraries (if any).

3)  JVM (java virtual machine)

JVM is the virtual machine on which java code executes.
JVM is responsible for converting byte code into machine specific code.

Q46. How many primitive data types are provided by java ?

Java provides 8 primitive data types

byte

short
Q47. Explain Implicit casting/promotion of primitive Data type in
java?
char

int Diagram of Implicit casting/promotion of primitive Data type in java >

long

float

boolea
n

boolean cannot be casted implicitly or explicitly to any other datatype.

Q48. What is Thread in java?

 

Threads consumes CPU in best possible manner, hence enables multi processing.
Multi threading reduces idle time of CPU which improves performance of application.

Q49. How to implement Threads in java?

 This is very basic threading question. Threads can be created in two ways i.e. by
implementing java.lang.Runnable interface or extending java.lang.Thread class and
then extending run method.
  Thread creation by  implementing java.lang.Runnable interface.
 We will create object of class which implements Runnable interface :

MyRunnable runnable=new
MyRunnable();

Thread thread=new Thread(runnable);

      2) And then create Thread object by calling constructor and passing
reference of Runnable interface i.e.  runnable object :

Thread thread=new
Thread(runnable);

Q50. We should implement Runnable interface or extend Thread class. What

are differences between implementing Runnable and extending Thread?

Well the answer is you must extend Thread only when you are looking to modify
run() and other methods as well. If you are simply looking to modify only the run()
method implementing Runnable is the best option (Runnable interface has only one
abstract method i.e. run() ).  

 Multiple inheritance in not allowed in java : When we implement Runnable

interface we can extend another class as well, but if we extend Thread class we
cannot extend any other class because java does not allow multiple
inheritance. So, same work is done by implementing Runnable and extending
Thread but in case of implementing Runnable we are still left with option of
extending some other class. So, it’s better to implement Runnable.

 Thread safety : When we implement Runnable interface, same object is shared

amongst multiple threads, but when we extend Thread class each and every
thread gets associated with new object.

Q51. How can you ensure all threads that started from main must end in order in
which they started and also main should end in last? (Important)
Interviewers tend to know interviewees knowledge about Thread methods. So this is
time to prove your point by answering correctly. We can use join() method to ensure
all threads that started from main must end in order in which they started and also
main should end in last.

Q52. What is difference between starting thread with run() and start()
method? (Important)
This is quite interesting question, it might confuse you a bit and at time may make
you think is there really any difference between starting thread with run() and start()
method.
When you call start() method, main thread internally calls run() method to start newly
created thread. So run() method is ultimately called by newly created thread.
When you call run() method main thread rather than starting run() method with
newly thread it start run() method by itself.

Q53. What is significance of using Volatile keyword?

Java allows threads to access shared variables. As a rule, to ensure that shared
variables are consistently updated, a thread should ensure that it has exclusive use of
such variables by obtaining a lock that enforces mutual exclusion for those shared
variables.
If a field is declared volatile, in that case the Java memory model ensures that all
threads see a consistent value for the variable.

Q54. Differences between synchronized and volatile keyword in Java?

(Important)
It’s very important question from interview perspective.

 Volatile does not acquire any lock on variable or object, but Synchronization
acquires lock on method or block in which it is used.
 Volatile variables are not cached, but variables used inside synchronized
method or block are cached.
 When volatile is used will never create deadlock in program, as volatile never
obtains any kind of lock . But in case if synchronization is not done properly,
we might end up creating dedlock in program.

Q55. Can you again start Thread?

No, we cannot start Thread again, doing so will throw runtimeException
java.lang.IllegalThreadStateException. The reason is once run() method is executed by
Thread, it goes into dead state.
Q56. What is race condition in multithreading and how can we solve it?
(Important)
This is very important question, this forms the core of multi threading, you should be
able to explain about race condition in detail. When more than one thread try to
access same resource without synchronization causes race condition.
So we can solve race condition by using either synchronized block or synchronized
method. When no two threads can access same resource at a time phenomenon is
also called as mutual exclusion.

Q57. How threads communicate between each other?

This is very must know question for all the interviewees, you will most probably face
this question in almost every time you go for interview.
Threads can communicate with each other by using wait(), notify() and notifyAll()
methods.

Q58. Why wait(), notify()  and notifyAll() are in Object class and not in Thread
class? (Important)

 Every Object has a monitor, acquiring that monitors allow thread to hold lock
on object. But Thread class does not have any monitors.
 wait(), notify() and notifyAll() are called on objects only > When wait() method
is called on object by thread it waits for another thread on that object to
release object monitor by calling notify() or notifyAll() method on that object.

 When notify() method is called on object by thread it notifies all the threads
which are waiting for that object monitor that object monitor is available now.

 So, this shows that wait(), notify() and notifyAll() are called on objects only.
 Now, Straight forward question that comes to mind is how thread acquires
object lock by acquiring object monitor? Let’s try to understand this basic
concept in detail?

 Wait(), notify() and notifyAll() method being in Object class allows all the
threads created on that object to communicate with other.  [As multiple
threads may exist on same object].

 As multiple threads exists on same object. Only one thread can hold object
monitor at a time. As a result thread can notify other threads of same object
that lock is available now. But, thread having these methods does not make
any sense because multiple threads exists on object it's not other way around
(i.e. multiple objects exists on thread).
  Now let’s discuss one hypothetical scenario, what will happen if Thread class
contains wait(), notify() and notifyAll() methods?

Having wait(), notify() and notifyAll() methods means Thread class also must
have their monitor.

Every thread having their monitor will create few problems -

Thread communication problem.

Synchronization on object won’t be possible- Because object has monitor, one

object can have multiple threads and thread hold lock on object by holding
object monitor. But if each thread will have monitor, we won’t have any way of
achieving synchronization.

Inconsistency in state of object (because synchronization won't be possible).

Q59. Is it important to acquire object lock before calling wait(), notify() and
notifyAll()?
Yes, it’s mandatory to acquire object lock before calling these methods on
object. As discussed above wait(), notify()  and notifyAll() methods are always
called from Synchronized block only, and as soon as thread enters
synchronized block it acquires object lock (by holding object monitor). If we
call these methods without acquiring object lock i.e. from outside synchronize
block then java.lang. IllegalMonitorStateException is thrown at runtime.
Wait() method needs to enclosed in try-catch block, because it throws compile
time exception i.e. InterruptedException.

Q60. How can you solve consumer producer problem by using wait() and
notify() method? (Important)
Here come the time to answer very very important question from interview
perspective. Interviewers tends to check how sound you are in threads inter
communication. Because for solving this problem we got to use
synchronization blocks, wait() and notify() method very cautiously. If you
misplace synchronization block or any of the method, that may cause your
program to go horribly wrong. So, before going into this question first i’ll
recommend you to understand how to use synchronized blocks, wait() and
notify() methods.

Q61. How can you solve consumer producer pattern by using BlockingQueue?
(Important)
 Now it’s time to gear up to face question which is most probably going to be
followed up by previous question i.e. after how to solve consumer producer
problem using wait() and notify() method. Generally you might wonder why
interviewer's are so much interested in asking about solving consumer
producer problem using BlockingQueue, answer is they want to know how
strong knowledge you have about java concurrent Api’s, this Api use
consumer producer pattern in very optimized manner, BlockingQueue is
designed is such a manner that it offer us the best performance.

Key methods for solving consumer producer pattern are >

put(i);      //used by producer to put/produce in

sharedQueue.
take(); //used by consumer to take/consume from sharedQueue.

Q62. What is difference between String, StringBuffer and StringBuilder in

java ?

Q63. What is reflection in java? Have you ever used reflection directly or
directly?
Reflection is used to load java classes at runtime. This is very interesting question,
though you may not have used reflection directly in java, but definitely you must
have used it indirectly, but you must be thinking how. answer is quite simple -
Frameworks like struts, spring and hibernate uses reflection for loading classes at
runtime.

Q64. What is significance of static in java?

 The static is a keyword in java.

 Static variable, method, class are stored in perm gen(permanent generation
memory).

Static variable
 static variables are also known as class variables.

 We need not to create instance of class for accessing static variables.

 Static method
 static methods are also known as class methods.
 We need not to create instance of class for accessing static methods.

Static class
 static class are also known as static nested class.
 Top level class can never be static in java.

Static block
 static blocks are also known as static initialization blocks in java.
 They are called as soon as class is loaded even before instance of class is created (i.e.
before constructor is called).

Q65. Can we override static method in java?

Its one of the favourite question of interviewers. Intention is to test very basic core java
concept.
Static method cannot be overridden, any attempt to do this will not cause compilation
error, but the results won’t be same when we would have overridden non-static
methods.

But why?
Overriding in Java means that the method would be called on the run time based on
type of the object and not on the compile time type of it .
But static methods are class methods access to them is always resolved during
compile time only using the compile time type information.

Q66. How do you ensure different thread access different resources

concurrently without deadlock?
Acquire lock on resources in a particular order and then releasing acquired lock in
reverse order won’t create any deadlock.

Q67. Which method is called for garbage collection in java? What algorithm
does garbage collector follow?

JVM calls finalize method on object for garbage collection

JVM follows mark and sweep algorithm for garbage collection.

Mark and sweep algorithm internal working in 3 steps >  

STEP 1 > Unreferenced objects (garbage) are not reclaimed immediately.

Instead, garbage(unreferenced objects) is gathered until memory is not full.

STEP 2 >When memory becomes full >

execution of the program is suspended temporarily,

mark and sweep algorithm collects all the garbage (i.e. all unreferenced objects are
reclaimed )
STEP 3 >Once garbage is collected >

execution of the program is resumed.

Q68. What is Singleton class/design pattern in java?

Singleton class means only one instance of class can exist.

Q69. objects and primitive types are passed by

value or reference?
Primitive are passed by value  &  objects are passed by reference in java.

Q70. What are different type of classes in java?

 1) Inner class/ nested class

 2) static nested class
 3) Local inner class
 4) Anonymous inner class

For detailed explanation must read : Inner class/ nested class, static nested
class, local and anonymous inner class in java
Q71. What is Differences between Instance
initialization block and Static initialization block?
Please read : Differences between Instance initialization block and Static
initialization block in java - Features in detail with programs

Q72.  How ConcurrentHashMap works? Can 2

threads on same ConcurrentHashMap object access
it concurrently?
ConcurrentHashMap is divided into different segments based on concurrency level. So
different threads can access different segments concurrently.

Can threads read the segment locked by some other thread?

Yes. When thread locks one segment for updation it does not block it for retrieval (done by
get method) hence some other thread can read the segment (by get method), but it will be
able to read the data before locking.

Segments in ConcurrentHashMap with diagram >

we have ConcurrentHashMap with 4 segments -
(Diagram shows how segments are formed in ConcurrentHashMap)
Q73. What is deadlock in multithreading? Write a
program to form DeadLock in multi threading and
also how to solve DeadLock situation. What
measures you should take to avoid deadlock?
(Important)
 This is very important question from interview perspective. But, what makes this question
important is it checks interviewees capability of creating and detecting deadlock. If you
can write a code to form deadlock, than I am sure you must be well capable in solving that
deadlock as well. If not, later on this post we will learn how to solve deadlock as well.
First question comes to mind is, what is deadlock in multi threading program?
Deadlock is a situation where two threads are waiting for each other to release lock
holded by them on resources.

Q74. What is life cycle of Thread, explain thread

states? (Important)
Thread states/ Thread life cycle is very basic question, before going deep into
concepts we must understand Thread life cycle.

Thread have following states >

 New
 Runnable
 Running
 Waiting/blocked/sleeping
 Terminated (Dead)

Thread life cycle in diagram >

You may like to have in depth knowledge of Thread states/ Thread life cycle in
java & explanation of thread methods which method puts thread from which
state to which state.

Q75. What are daemon threads?

Daemon threads are low priority threads which runs intermittently in background for doing
garbage collection.

Q76. Difference between wait() and sleep() ?

(Important)

Please read :

Difference between wait() and sleep() method in threads

wait(),

Sleep() method in threads - 10 key features with programs

Wait() and notify() methods- Definition, 8 key features

Q77. Differences and similarities between yield()

and sleep() ?

Please read :

Differences and similarities between yield() and sleep() in threads

Yield() method in threads - 8 key features with programs
Q78. Mention some guidelines to write thread safe
code, most important point we must take care of in
multithreading programs?
In multithreading environment it’s important very important to write thread safe code,
thread unsafe code can cause a major threat to your application. I have posted many articles
regarding thread safety. So overall this will be revision of what we have learned so far i.e.
writing thread safe healthy code and avoiding any kind of deadlocks.

Q79.Difference between notify() and notifyAll()

methods, can you write a code to prove your point?
Goodness. Theoretically you must have heard or you must be aware of differences between
notify() and notifyAll().But have you created program to achieve it? If not let’s do it.

Please read : Difference between notify() and notifyAll() methods, with program

Q80. What will happen if we don’t override run

method?
This question will test your basic knowledge how start and run methods work internally in
Thread Api.

When we call start() method on thread, it internally calls run() method with newly
created thread. So, if we don’t override run() method newly created thread won’t be
called and nothing will happen.

For more Please read : What will happen if we don’t override run method of thread?

Q81. What will happen if we override start method?

This question will again test your basic core java knowledge how overriding works at
runtime, what what will be called at runtime and how start and run methods work internally in
Thread Api.

When we call start() method on thread, it internally calls run() method with newly created
thread. So, if we override start() method, run() method will not be called until we write
code for calling run() method.
For more Please read : What will happen if we override start method of thread?

Q82. Can we acquire lock on class? What are ways

in which you can acquire lock on class?
Yes, we can acquire lock on class’s class object in 2 ways to acquire lock on class.
Thread can acquire lock on class’s class object by-
1. Entering synchronized block
      synchronized (MyClass.class) {
        //thread has acquired lock on MyClass’s class object.
      }

Or,
2. by entering static synchronized methods.

     public static synchronized void method1() {

        //thread has acquired lock on MyRunnable’s class object.
      }

Q83. Difference between object lock and class lock?

Please read : difference between object lock and class lock to answer interview, ocjp
answers correctly.

Q84.  How can you implement your own Thread

Pool in java?
ThreadPool is a pool of threads which reuses a fixed number of threads  to execute tasks.
At any point, at most nThreads threads will be active processing tasks. If additional
tasks are submitted when all threads are active, they will wait in the queue until a
thread is available.
ThreadPool implementation internally uses LinkedBlockingQueue for adding and removing
tasks.
In this post i will be using LinkedBlockingQueue provided by java Api, you can refer this post
for implementing ThreadPool using custom LinkedBlockingQueue.
For more please read : Implement Thread pool in java.

Q85. What is significance of using ThreadLocal?

This question will test your command in multi threading, can you really create some perfect
multithreading application or not. ThreadLocal is a class which provides thread-local
variables.
For more please read : threadLocal in java.

Q86. What is busy spin?

When one thread loops continuously waiting for another thread to signal.

Performance point of view - Busy spin is very bad from performance point of view, because
one thread keeps on looping continuously ( and consumes CPU) waiting for another thread
to signal.

Solution to busy spin -

We must use sleep() or wait() and notify() method. Using wait() is better option.

Program - Consumer Producer problem with busy spin >

Consumer thread continuously execute (busy spin) in while loop till productionInProcess
is true. Once producer thread has ended it will make boolean variable
productionInProcess false and busy spin will be over.

while(productionInProcess){
  System.out.println("BUSY SPIN - Consumer waiting for production to get
over");
}

Please read : See here for Busy spin in detail.

Q87. What is executor framework?

Executor and ExecutorService are used for  following purposes >
 creating thread,
 starting threads,
 managing whole life cycle of Threads.
Executor creates pool of threads and manages life cycle of all threads in
it.
In Executor framework, Executor interface and  ExecutorService  class
are most prominently used.
Executor interface defines very important execute() method which
executes command.
ExecutorService interface extends Executor interface.
An Executor interface provides following type of methods >
 methods for managing termination and
 methods that can produce a Future for tracking progress of tasks.

For more Please read : Executor and ExecutorService framework in java.

Q88. What are differences between execute() and

submit() method of executor framework?

For more Please read : Differences between execute() and submit() method of
executor framework

Q89. What is Semaphore in java 7?

A semaphore controls access to a shared resource by using permits.
 If permits are greater than zero, then semaphore allow access to shared
resource.
 If permits are zero or less than zero, then semaphore does not allow access to
shared resource.
These permits are sort of counters, which allow access to the shared resource. Thus, to
access the resource, a thread must be granted a permit from the semaphore.

For more Please read : Semaphore in java.

Q90. How can you implement Producer Consumer

pattern using Semaphore?
For more Please read : Semaphore used for implementing Producer Consumer
pattern.

Q91. What is significance of atomic classes in java

7?
Java provides some classes in java.util.concurrent.atomic which offers an alternative to
the other synchronization.

Classes found in java.util.concurrent.atomic are >

 AtomicInteger,
 AtomicLong, and
 AtomicBoolean.

Q92. What are Future and Callable? How are they

related?
Future<V> interface provides method for >
 for returning result of computation, wait until computation is not completed
Callable<V> interface provides method for computing a result and returning that computed
result or throws an exception if unable to do so
Any class implementing Callable interface must override call() method for computing a
result.

How Callable and Future are related?

If you submit a Callable object to an Executor returned object is of Future type.

Future<Double> futureDouble=executor.submit(new
SquareDoubleCallable(2.2));

where, SquareDoubleCallable is a class which implements Callable.

For more Please read : Executor and ExecutorService framework in java.

Q93. What is CountDownLatch?

There might be situation where we might like our thread to wait until one or more threads
completes certain operation.
A CountDownLatch is initialized with a given count .
count specifies the number of events that must occur before latch is released.
Every time a event happens count is reduced by 1. Once count reaches 0 latch is released.

Read more about : CountDownLatch in java.

Q94. Where can you use CountDownLatch in real

world?
When you go in amusement park, you must have seen on certain rides there is mandate that
at least 3 people (3 is count) should be there to take a ride. So, ride keeper (ride keeper is
main thread) waits for 3 persons (ride keeper has called await()).
Every time a person comes count is reduced by 1 (let’s say every person is calling
countDown() method). Ultimately when 3 persons reach count becomes 0 & wait for ride
keeper comes to end.

Read more about : CountDownLatch in java.

Q95.What is CyclicBarrier?
There might be situation where we might have to trigger event only when one or more
threads completes certain operation.

2 or more threads wait for each other to reach a common barrier point. When all
threads have reached common barrier point (i.e. when all threads have called await()
method) >
 All waiting threads are released, and
 Event can be triggered as well.

For more Please read : CyclicBarrier in java.

Q96. Why is CyclicBarrier cyclic?

The barrier is called cyclic because CyclicBarrier can be reused after -
 All the waiting threads are released and
 event has been triggered.
Q97. Where could we use CyclicBarrier in real
world?
Let’s say 10 friends (friends are threads) have planned for picnic on place A (Here place A
is common barrier point). And they all decided to play certain game (game is event) only
on everyone's arrival at place A. So, all 10 friends must wait for each other to reach place A
before launching event.

Now, when all threads have reached common barrier point (i.e. all friends have reached
place A) >
 All waiting threads are released  (All friends can play game), and
 Event can be triggered (they will start playing game).

Q98. Similarity and Difference between CyclicBarrier

and CountDownLatch in Java?

CyclicBarrier can be awaited repeatedly, but CountDownLatch can’t be awaited

repeatedly. i.e. once count has become 0 cyclicBarrier can be used again but
CountDownLatch cannot be used again.

For more Please read :Similarity and Difference between CyclicBarrier and
CountDownLatch in Java

Q99. What is Phaser in java? Is Phaser similar to

CyclicBarrier?
Phaser is somewhat similar in functionality of CyclicBarrier and CountDownLatch but it
provides more flexibility than both of them.

Phaser provides us flexibility of registering and deRegistering parties at any time.

For registering parties, we may use any of the following -
 constructors, or
 int register(), or
 bulkRegister().
For deRegistering parties, we may use any of the following -
 arriveAndDeregister()

For more Please read : Phaser in java

Q100. Differences and similarity between Phaser
and CyclicBarrier?
Like a CyclicBarrier, a Phaser can be awaited repeatedly.
But, in CyclicBarrier we used to register parties in constructor but Phaser provides us
flexibility of registering and deRegistering parties at any time.

Q101. What is Lock in java?

The java.util.concurrent.locks.Locks is a  interface and its implementations provide more
extensive locking operations than can be obtained using synchronized methods and
statements.
A lock helps in controlling access to a shared resource by multiple threads. Only one
thread at a time can acquire the lock and access the shared resource.
If a second thread attempts to acquire the lock on shared resource when it is acquired by
another thread, the second thread will wait until the lock is released. In this way we can
achieve synchronization and race conditions can be avoided.
Read lock of a ReadWriteLock may allow concurrent access to a shared resource.

For more Please read : locks and ReEntrantLocks in java

Q102. Difference between synchronized and

ReentrantLock?
Please read : Difference between synchronized and ReentrantLock

Question 103. What is Fork/Join Framework ?

Fork/Join framework enables parallel programming. Parallel programming means taking
advantage two or more processors (multicore) in computers.  Parallel programming
improves program performance.

Read more about Fork/Join Framework - Parallel programming in java.

Question 104. What is Serialization in java?

Let’s start by understanding what is Serialization, it’s most basic question which you will
have to answer almost in each and every java interview. Serialization is process of
converting object into byte stream.
Serialized object (byte stream) can be:
>Transferred over network.
>Persisted/saved into file.
>Persisted/saved into database.
Once, object have have been transferred over network or persisted in file or in database, we
could deserialize the object and retain its state as it is in which it was serialized.

Q105 . Difference between Externalizable and

Serialization interface ?
Difference between Externalizable and Serialization interface in java

Q106. How can you avoid certain member variables

of class from getting Serialized?
Mark member variables as static or transient, and those member variables will no more be
a part of Serialization.

Q107. What is serialVersionUID? What will be impact of not defining

serialVersionUID in class?
This is one my favourite question, The serialization at runtime associates with each
serializable class a version number, called a serialVersionUID, which is used during
deserialization to verify that the sender and receiver of a serialized object have loaded
classes for that object that are compatible with respect to serialization.
If we  don’t define serialVersionUID in the class, and any modification is made in class,
then we won’t be able to deSerialize our class because serialVersionUID generated by
java compiler for modified class will be different from old serialized object. And
deserialization process will end up throwing java.io.InvalidClassException  (because of
serialVersionUID mismatch)
What is serialVersionUID? Impact of not defining serialVersionUID in class and  avoiding
InvalidClassException

Q108. What are compatible and incompatible

changes in Serialization process?
compatible and incompatible changes in Serialization and deSerialization
process in java
Q109. What will happen if one the member of class
does not implement Serializable interface
(Important)?
This is classy question which will check your in depth knowledge of Serialization concepts. If
any of the member does not implement Serializable than  NotSerializableException is
thrown. Now, let’s see a program.

Q110. What will happen if we have used List, Set

and Map as member of class?
This question which will check your in depth knowledge of Serialization and Java Api’s.
ArrayList, HashSet and HashMap implements Serializable interface, so if we will use them
as member of class they will get Serialized and DeSerialized as well.  Now, let’s see a
program.

Question 111. Is constructor of class called during

DeSerialization process?
This question which will check your in depth knowledge of Serialization and constructor
chaining concepts. It depends on whether our object has implemented Serializable or
Externalizable.
If Serializable has been implemented - constructor is not called during DeSerialization
process.
But, if Externalizable has been implemented - constructor is called during DeSerialization
process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION : Is constructor of class called during DeSerialization

process

Question 112. Is constructor of super class called

during DeSerialization process of subclass?
Again your basic java concepts will be tested over here. It is depends on whether our
superclass has implemented Serializable or not.
If superclass has implemented Serializable - constructor is not called during
DeSerialization process.
If superclass has not implemented Serializable - constructor is called during
DeSerialization process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION : Is constructor of super class called during DeSerialization
process of sub class

Q113. How you can avoid Deserialization process

creating another instance of Singleton class?
This is another classy and very important question which will check your in depth knowledge
of Serialization and Singleton concepts. I’ll prefer you must understand this concept in detail.
We can simply use readResove() method to return same instance of class, rather than
creating a new one.
  

 private Object readResolve() throws ObjectStreamException

{

      return INSTANCE;

 }

DETAILED DESCRIPTION : Avoid Deserialization process creating another instance of

Singleton class

Q114. How can subclass avoid Serialization if its

superClass has implemented Serialization
interface ?
If superClass has implemented Serializable that means subclass is also Serializable (as
subclass always inherits all features from its parent class), for avoiding Serialization in
sub-class we can define writeObject() method and throw NotSerializableException().

private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream os) throws NotSerializableException

{

       throw new NotSerializableException("This class cannot be Serialized");

  

DETAILED DESCRIPTION : Can subclass avoid Serialization if its superClass has

implemented Serialization interface
Q115. Are primitive types part of serialization
process?
Yes, primitive types are part of serialization process. Interviewer tends to check your basic
java concepts over here.

Q116. Name few methods of Object class?

wait(), notify() and notifyAll()

equals and hashcode

clone()
toString()