Java Basics Interview Questions and Answers, Interview on Java Basics

Java Basics Interview Questions and Answers: Java is a high-level programming language originally developed by Sun Microsystems and released in 1995. Java runs on a variety of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and the various versions of UNIX. This tutorial gives a complete understanding of Java.

Java Basics Interview Questions and Answers

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

The important difference between constructors and methods are:

Constructors create and initialize objects that don’t exist yet, while methods perform operations on objects that already exist.

Constructors can’t be called directly; they are called implicitly when the new keyword creates an object. Methods can be called directly on an object that has already been created with new keyword.

Constructors must be named with the same name as the class name. They can’t return anything, even void (the object itself is the implicit return). Methods must be declared to return something, although it can be void.

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.

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 difference between an Interface and an Abstract class?

An abstract class can have instance methods that implement a default behavior. An Interface can only declare constants and instance methods, but cannot implement default behavior and all methods are implicitly abstract.

An interface has all public members and no implementation. An abstract class is a class which may have the usual flavors of class members (private, protected, etc.), but has some abstract methods.

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.