Core Java Interview Questions

What is a virtual function in C++?
Simply put, the virtual keyword enables a function to be 'virtual' which then gives possibility for that function to be overridden (redefined) in one or more descendant classes. It is a good feature since the specific function to call is determined at run-time. In other words, a virtual function allows derived classes to replace the implementation provided by the base class.

What is the difference between private, protected, and public?
These keywords are for allowing privilages to components such as functions and variables.
Public: accessible to all classes
Private: accessible only to the class to which they belong
Protected: accessible to the class to which they belong and any subclasses.

What is a cartesian product in PL/SQL?
When a Join condition is not specified by the programmer or is invalid(fails), PL/SQL forms a Cartesian product.
In a Cartesian product, all combinations of rows will be displayed.For example, All rows in the first table are joined to all rows in the second table. It joins a bunch of rows and it's result is rarely useful unless you have a need to combine all rows from all tables

What is mutual exclusion?
How can you take care of mutual exclusion using Java threads?
Mutual exclusion is where no two processes can access critical regions of memory at the same time.
Java provides many utilities to deal with mutual exclusion with the use of threaded programming.
For mutual exclusion, you can simply use the synchronized keyword and explicitly or implicitly provide an Object, any Object, to synchronize on.
The runtime system/Java compiler takes care of the gruesome details for you. The synchronized keyword can be applied to a class, to a method, or to a block of code. There are several methods in Java used for communicating mutually exclusive threads such as wait( ), notify( ), or notifyAll( ). For example, the notifyAll( ) method wakes up all threads that are in the wait list of an object.

Since the data formats and protocols remain application specific, the re-use of socket based implementations is limited.

What is the difference between an Interface and an Abstract class?
An Abstract class declares have at least one instance method that is declared abstract which will be implemented by the subclasses. An abstract class can have instance methods that implement a default behavior. An Interface can only declare constants and instance methods, but cannot implement default behavior.

What is the purpose of garbage collection in Java, and when is it used?
The purpose of garbage collection is to identify and discard objects that are no longer needed by a program so that their resources can be reclaimed and reused. A Java object is subject to garbage collection when it becomes unreachable to the program in which it is used.

Describe synchronization in respect to multithreading.?
With respect to multithreading, synchronization is the capability to control the access of multiple threads to shared resources. Without synchonization, it is possible for one thread to modify a shared variable while another thread is in the process of using or updating same shared variable. This usually leads to significant errors.

Explain different way of using thread?
The thread could be implemented by using runnable interface or by inheriting from the Thread class. The former is more advantageous, 'cause when you are going for multiple inheritance..the only interface can help.

What are pass by reference and passby value?
Pass By Reference means the passing the address itself rather than passing the value. Passby Value means passing a copy of the value to be passed.

What is HashMap and Map?
Map is Interface and Hashmap is class that implements that.

Difference between HashMap and HashTable?
The HashMap class is roughly equivalent to Hashtable, except that it is unsynchronized and permits nulls. (HashMap allows null values as key and value whereas Hashtable doesnt allow). HashMap does not guarantee that the order of the map will remain constant over time. HashMap is non synchronized and Hashtable is synchronized.

Difference between Vector and ArrayList?
Vector is synchronized whereas arraylist is not.

Difference between Swing and Awt?
AWT are heavy-weight componenets. Swings are light-weight components. Hence swing works faster than AWT.

What is the difference between a constructor and a method?
A constructor is a member function of a class that is used to create objects of that class. It has the same name as the class itself, has no return type, and is invoked using the new operator. A method is an ordinary member function of a class. It has its own name, a return type (which may be void), and is invoked using the dot operator.

What is an Iterators?
Some of the collection classes provide traversal of their contents via a java.util.Iterator interface. This interface allows you to walk a collection of objects, operating on each object in turn. Remember when using Iterators that they contain a snapshot of the collection at the time the Iterator was obtained; generally it is not advisable to modify the collection itself while traversing an Iterator.

State the significance of public, private, protected, default modifiers both singly and in combination and state the effect of package relationships on declared items qualified by these modifiers.?
public : Public class is visible in other packages, field is visible everywhere (class must be public too) private : Private variables or methods may be used only by an instance of the same class that declares the variable or method, A private feature may only be accessed by the class that owns the feature. protected : Is available to all classes in the same package and also available to all subclasses of the class that owns the protected feature.This access is provided even to subclasses that reside in a different package from the class that owns the protected feature. default :What you get by default ie, without any access modifier (ie, public private or protected).It means that it is visible to all within a particular package.

What is an abstract class?
Abstract class must be extended/subclassed (to be useful). It serves as a template. A class that is abstract may not be instantiated (ie, you may not call its constructor), abstract class may contain static data. Any class with an abstract method is automatically abstract itself, and must be declared as such. A class may be declared abstract even if it has no abstract methods. This prevents it from being instantiated.

What is static in java?
Static means one per class, not one for each object no matter how many instance of a class might exist. This means that you can use them without creating an instance of a class.Static methods are implicitly final, because overriding is done based on the type of the object, and static methods are attached to a class, not an object. A static method in a superclass can be shadowed by another static method in a subclass, as long as the original method was not declared final. However, you can't override a static method with a nonstatic method. In other words, you can't change a static method into an instance method in a subclass.


What is final?
A final class can't be extended ie., final class may not be subclassed. A final method can't be overridden when its class is inherited. You can't change value of a final variable (is a constant).

Are the imports checked for validity at compile time? e.g. will the code containing an import such as java.lang.ABCD compile?
Yes the imports are checked for the semantic validity at compile time. The code containing above line of import will not compile. It will throw an error saying,can not resolve symbol symbol : class ABCD location: package io import java.io.ABCD;

Does importing a package imports the subpackages as well?
e.g. Does importing com.MyTest.* also import com.MyTest.UnitTests.*?
No you will have to import the subpackages explicitly. Importing com.MyTest.* will import classes in the package MyTest only. It will not import any class in any of it's subpackage.

What is the difference between declaring a variable and defining a variable?
In declaration we just mention the type of the variable and it's name. We do not initialize it. But defining means declaration + initialization. e.g String s; is just a declaration while String s = new String ("abcd"); Or String s = "abcd"; are both definitions.

What is the default value of an object reference declared as an instance variable?
null unless we define it explicitly.

Can a level class be private or protected?
No. A level class can not be private or protected. It can have either "public" or no modifier. If it does not have a modifier it is supposed to have a default access.If a level class is declared as private the compiler will complain that the "modifier private is not allowed here". This means that a level class can not be private. Same is the case with protected.

What type of parameter passing does Java support?
In Java the arguments are always passed by value .

Primitive data types are passed by reference or pass by value?
Primitive data types are passed by value.

Objects are passed by value or by reference?
Java only supports pass by value. With objects, the object reference itself is passed by value and so both the original reference and parameter copy both refer to the same object .

What is serialization?
Serialization is a mechanism by which you can save the state of an object by converting it to a byte stream.

How do I serialize an object to a file?
The class whose instances are to be serialized should implement an interface Serializable. Then you pass the instance to the ObjectOutputStream which is connected to a fileoutputstream. This will save the object to a file.

Which methods of Serializable interface should I implement?
The serializable interface is an empty interface, it does not contain any methods. So we do not implement any methods.

How can I customize the seralization process?
i.e. how can one have a control over the serialization process?
Yes it is possible to have control over serialization process. The class should implement Externalizable interface. This interface contains two methods namely readExternal and writeExternal. You should implement these methods and write the logic for customizing the serialization process.

What is an abstract class?
Abstract class must be extended/subclassed (to be useful). It serves as a template. A class that is abstract may not be instantiated (ie, you may not call its constructor), abstract class may contain static data. Any class with an abstract method is automatically abstract itself, and must be declared as such. A class may be declared abstract even if it has no abstract methods. This prevents it from being instantiated.

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

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

What happens to the object references included in the object?
The serialization mechanism generates an object graph for serialization. Thus it determines whether the included object references are serializable or not. This is a recursive process. Thus when an object is serialized, all the included objects are also serialized alongwith the original obect.

What one should take care of while serializing the object?
One should make sure that all the included objects are also serializable. If any of the objects is not serializable then it throws a NotSerializableException.

What if the main method is declared as private?
The program compiles properly but at runtime it will give "Main method not public." message.

What if the static modifier is removed from the signature of the main method?
Program compiles. But at runtime throws an error "NoSuchMethodError".

What if I write static public void instead of public static void?
Program compiles and runs properly.

What if I do not provide the String array as the argument to the method?
Program compiles but throws a runtime error "NoSuchMethodError".

What is the first argument of the String array in main method?
The String array is empty. It does not have any element. This is unlike C/C++ where the first element by default is the program name.

If I do not provide any arguments on the command line, then the String array of Main method will be empty of null?
It is empty. But not null.

How can one prove that the array is not null but empty?
Print args.length. It will print 0. That means it is empty. But if it would have been null then it would have thrown a NullPointerException on attempting to print args.length.

What environment variables do I need to set on my machine in order to be able to run Java programs?
CLASSPATH and PATH are the two variables.

Can an application have multiple classes having main method?
Yes it is possible. While starting the application we mention the class name to be run. The JVM will look for the Main method only in the class whose name you have mentioned. Hence there is not conflict amongst the multiple classes having main method.

Can I have multiple main methods in the same class?
No the program fails to compile. The compiler says that the main method is already defined in the class.

Do I need to import java.lang package any time? Why ?
No. It is by default loaded internally by the JVM.