Interview Questions and Answers for 'System' | Search Interview Question

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Frequently asked for Lead and Architect positions. Recently asked in many US companies.

Q61. What are Anti Patterns ?

Design

Ans. Anti-pattern is simply the creation of a pattern in your coding that negatively affects your code i.e the Negatives surpasses the positives.

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Q62. What are the fail fast systems ?

Ans. Fail fast systems are intolerant systems that fails at the first instance of smelling any problem. The objective here is to break the system instead of continuing with the possibly flawed processing. Example could be breaking the processing upon an exception.

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Q63. What are the fail safe systems ?

Operating System

Ans. Fail Safe systems are tolerant systems that continue processing even if they sense any problem. the objective here is to continue with the processing even if there are some problems instead of completely shutting it down. Example could be to catch an exception and still letting it complete with partial results.

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Very frequently asked. Favorite question in Walk in Drive of many Indian service companies.

Q64. Difference between TreeMap and HashMap ?

Core Java

Ans. They are different the way their elements are stored in memory. TreeMap stores the Keys in order whereas HashMap stores the key value pairs randomly.

Sample Code for treemap

Sample Code for hashmap

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Frequently asked in Indian Service Companies. Tech Mahindra ( Based on 3 inputs ) and Infosys ( 3 inputs )

Q65. What is the difference between List, Set and Map ?

or

What are the different Java Collections Interfaces ?

Core Java

Ans. List - Members are stored in sequence in memory and can be accessed through index.
Set - There is no relevance of sequence and index. Sets doesn't contain duplicates whereas multiset can have duplicates.
Map - Contains Key , Value pairs.

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Q66. Does Java support Multiple Inheritance ?

Core Java

Ans. Java doesn't support multiple inheritance. Interfaces does't facilitate inheritance and hence implementation of multiple interfaces doesn't make multiple inheritance.

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Very frequently asked. Among first few questions in almost all interviews. Among Top 5 frequently asked questions. Frequently asked in Indian service companies (HCL,TCS,Infosys,Capgemini etc based on multiple feedback ) and Epam Systems

Q67. Difference between == and .equals() ?

Core Java

Ans. "equals" is the method of object class which is supposed to be overridden to check object equality, whereas "==" operator evaluate to see if the object handlers on the left and right are pointing to the same object in memory.

x.equals(y) means the references x and y are holding objects that are equal. x==y means that the references x and y have same object.

Sample code:

String x = new String("str");
String y = new String("str");

System.out.println(x == y); // prints false
System.out.println(x.equals(y)); // prints true

Sample Code for equals

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Frequently asked at HCL Technologies ( Based on 3 feedback )

Q68. Difference between Checked and Unchecked exceptions ?

Core Java

Ans. Checked exceptions are the exceptions for which compiler throws an errors if they are not checked whereas unchecked exceptions are caught during run time only and hence can't be checked.

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Frequently asked to fresh graduates.

Q69. What are the difference between Threads and Processes ?

Operating System

Ans. 1. when an OS wants to start running program it creates new process means a process is a program that is currently executing and every process has at least one thread running within it.
2). A thread is a path of code execution in the program, which has its own local variables, program counter(pointer to current execution being executed) and lifetime.
3. When the JavaVirtual Machine (JavaVM, or just VM) is started by the operating system, a new process is created. Within that process, many threads can be created.
4. Consider an example : when you open Microsoft word in your OS and you check your task manger then you can see this running program as a process. now when you write something in opened word document, then it performs more than one work at same time like it checks for the correct spelling, it formats the word you enter , so within that process ( word) , due to different path execution(thread) all different works are done at same time.
5. Within a process , every thread has independent path of execution but there may be situation where two threads can interfere with each other then concurrency and deadlock come is picture.
6. like two process can communicate ( ex:u open an word document and file explorer and on word document you drag and drop another another file from file explorer), same way two threads can also communicate with each other and communication with two threads is relatively low.
7. Every thread in java is created and controlled by unique object of java.lang.Thread class.
8. prior to jdk 1.5, there were lack in support of asynchronous programming in java, so in that case it was considered that thread makes the runtime environment asynchronous and allow different task to perform concurrently.

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Frequently asked to fresh graduates and less experienced developers.

Q70. Explain multithreading in Java ?

Core Java

Ans. 1. Multithreading provides better interaction with the user by distribution of task

2. Threads in Java appear to run concurrently, so it provides simulation for simultaneous activities.The processor runs each thread for a short time and switches among the threads to simulate sim-ultaneous execution (context-switching) and it make appears that each thread has its own processor.By using this feature, users can make it appear as if multiple tasks are occurring simultaneously when, in fact, each is running for only a brief time before the context is switched to the next thread.

3. We can do other things while waiting for slow I/O operations.In the java.iopackage, the class InputStreamhas a method, read(), that blocks until a byte is read from the stream or until an IOExceptionis thrown. The thread that executes this method cannot do anything elsewhile awaiting the arrival of another byte on the stream.

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Usually asked only to fresh graduates.

Q71. Why threads block or enters to waiting state on I/O?

Operating System

Ans. Threads enters to waiting state or block on I/O because other threads can execute while the I/O operations are performed.

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Frequently asked to fresh graduates.

Q72. What is the difference between yield() and sleep()?

Operating System

Ans. When a object invokes yield() it returns to ready state. But when an object invokes sleep() method enters to not ready state.

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Usually asked only to fresh graduates.

Q73. What is the difference between time slicing and preemptive scheduling ?

Operating System

Ans. In preemptive scheduling, highest priority task continues execution till it enters a not running state or a higher priority task comes into existence. In time slicing, the task continues its execution for a predefined period of time and reenters the pool of ready tasks.

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Usually asked only to fresh graduates.

Q74. What is the initial state of a thread when it is created and started?

Ans. Ready state.

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Advanced level question. Frequently asked in High end product companies. Frequently asked in Google , Cognizant and Deloitte ( Based on 2 feedback )

Q75. Why is String immutable in Java ?

Core Java

Ans. 1. String Pool - When a string is created and if it exists in the pool, the reference of the existing string will be returned instead of creating a new object. If string is not immutable, changing the string with one reference will lead to the wrong value for the other references.

Example -

String str1 = "String1";
String str2 = "String1"; // It doesn't create a new String and rather reuses the string literal from pool

// Now both str1 and str2 pointing to same string object in pool, changing str1 will change it for str2 too

2. To Cache its Hashcode - If string is not immutable, One can change its hashcode and hence it's not fit to be cached.

3. Security - String is widely used as parameter for many java classes, e.g. network connection, opening files, etc. Making it mutable might possess threats due to interception by the other code segment.

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Frequently asked. Favorite question in Walk in Drive of many Indian service companies.

Q76. What are the methods of Object Class ?

Core Java

Ans. clone() - Creates and returns a copy of this object.

equals() - Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.

finalize() - Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object.

getClass() - Returns the runtime class of an object.

hashCode() - Returns a hash code value for the object.

toString() - Returns a string representation of the object.

notify(), notifyAll(), and wait() - Play a part in synchronizing the activities of independently running threads in a program.

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Q77. What is meant by an "asynchronous event." Give some examples ?

Operating System

Ans. An asynchronous event is one that occurs at an unpredictable time outside the control of the program that the CPU is running. It is not "synchronized" with the program.

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Very Frequently asked to fresh graduates and less experienced. Favorite question in Walk in drives. Frequently asked in Indian Services companies.

Q78. Difference between Overloading and Overriding ?

Core Java

Ans. Overloading - Similar Signature but different definition , like function overloading.

Overriding - Overriding the Definition of base class in the derived class.

Sample Code for overloading

Sample Code for overriding

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Q79. Difference between Vector and ArrayList ?

Core Java

Ans. Vectors are synchronized whereas Array lists are not.

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Frequently asked in Cognizant (CTS)

Q80. What is Serialization ? Why do we need it ?

Core Java

Ans. Storing the state of an object in a file or other medium is called serialization.

Classes can communicate only if they are built together ( as they need Byte code for communication ). What if we need to enable communication between different applications ( i.e they have been built independently or even they reside at different locations ), We need a mechanism that will transfer the Bean state to a Medium than can be transferred to the receiving application.

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Q81. What is the use of Transient Keyword ?

Core Java

Ans. It in Java is used to indicate that a field should not be serialized.

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Frequently asked to fresh graduates.

Q82. Difference between Process and Thread ?

Operating System

Ans. Process is a program in execution whereas thread is a separate path of execution in a program.

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Q83. What is a Deadlock ?

Operating System

Ans. When two threads are waiting each other and cant precede the program is said to be deadlock.

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Q84. What is suspend() method used for ?

Ans. suspend() method is used to suspend the execution of a thread for a period of time. We can then restart the thread by using resume() method.

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Q85. Difference between suspend() and stop() ?

Ans. Suspend method is used to suspend thread which can be restarted by using resume() method. stop() is used to stop the thread, it cannot be restarted again.

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Q86. What is the difference between System.console.write and System.out.println ?

Ans. System.console() returns null if your application is not run in a terminal (though you can handle this in your application)System.console() provides methods for reading password without echoing charactersSystem.out and System.err use the default platform encoding, while the Console class output methods use the console encoding

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Advanced level question. Recently asked in few Indian service companies ( Based on 3 inputs )

Q87. What are various types of Class loaders used by JVM ?

Core Java

Ans. Bootstrap - Loads JDK internal classes, java.* packages.

Extensions - Loads jar files from JDK extensions directory - usually lib/ext directory of the JRE

System - Loads classes from system classpath.

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Frequently asked to fresh graduates.

Q88. Explain Thread States ?

Operating System

Ans. Runnable - waiting for its turn to be picked for execution by the thread schedular based on thread priorities.

Running - The processor is actively executing the thread code. It runs until it becomes blocked, or voluntarily gives up its turn.

Waiting: A thread is in a blocked state while it waits for some external processing such as file I/O to finish.

Sleeping - Java threads are forcibly put to sleep (suspended) with Thread.sleep. they can resume using Thread.resume method.

Blocked on I/O - Will move to runnable after I/O condition like reading bytes of data etc changes.

Blocked on synchronization - Will move to Runnable when a lock is acquired.

Dead - The thread is finished working.

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Usually asked only to fresh graduates and less experienced developers.

Q89. What is a daemon thread? Give an Example ?

Ans. These are threads that normally run at a low priority and provide a basic service to a program or programs when activity on a machine is reduced. garbage collector thread is daemon thread.

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Q90. Difference between SAX and DOM Parser ?

Xml

Ans. A DOM (Document Object Model) parser creates a tree structure in memory from an input document whereas A SAX (Simple API for XML) parser does not create any internal structure.

A SAX parser serves the client application always only with pieces of the document at any given time whereas A DOM parser always serves the client application with the entire document no matter how much is actually needed by the client.

A SAX parser, however, is much more space efficient in case of a big input document whereas DOM parser is rich in functionality.

Use a DOM Parser if you need to refer to different document areas before giving back the information. Use SAX is you just need unrelated nuclear information from different areas.

Xerces, Crimson are SAX Parsers whereas XercesDOM, SunDOM, OracleDOM are DOM parsers.

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