Java Interview Preparation - Complete

Theory & Detailed Notes

1. Introduction to Java
Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to
have as few implementation dependencies as possible.

Developed by James Gosling in 1995 at Sun Microsystems (later acquired by Oracle).

It is platform-independent because Java programs are compiled into bytecode, which runs
on any system that has the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Key Principles:

- Simple: Syntax similar to C++, but without complexities like operator overloading and
multiple inheritance (handled via interfaces).

- Secure: No explicit pointer use, runs in a sandboxed environment, and has a bytecode
verifier.

- Portable: Bytecode can run anywhere.

- Robust: Strong memory management and exception handling.

- Multithreaded: Built-in support for multithreaded programming.

- High Performance: Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler for faster execution.

- Distributed: Supports Remote Method Invocation (RMI) and other distributed computing.

Java Editions:

- Java SE (Standard Edition): Core Java features.

- Java EE (Enterprise Edition): APIs for web and enterprise apps.

- Java ME (Micro Edition): For mobile and embedded devices.

2. JVM, JRE, JDK

JVM (Java Virtual Machine):

- Abstract machine that provides runtime environment to execute Java bytecode.

- Responsibilities: Loads code, verifies code, executes code, manages memory.

- Components: Class Loader, Runtime Data Areas, Execution Engine, Garbage Collector.

JRE (Java Runtime Environment):

- Contains JVM + Libraries required to run Java applications.

- Does not include development tools.

JDK (Java Development Kit):

- JRE + Development tools (compiler javac, debugger, etc.).

- Needed for Java application development.

3. Java Syntax Basics

A Java program consists of classes and methods.

Example:

public class HelloWorld {

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println("Hello, World");

Identifiers: Names for classes, variables, methods. Rules: Cannot start with digit, no special
chars except _, $, case-sensitive.

Keywords: Reserved words like public, static, class, return, etc.

Variables: Local (inside methods), Instance (inside class, non-static), Static (class-level).

Data Types:

- Primitive: byte, short, int, long, float, double, char, boolean.

- Non-Primitive: String, Arrays, Classes, Interfaces.

Type Casting:

- Widening: Automatic conversion to larger type (int to double).

- Narrowing: Explicit conversion to smaller type (double to int).

4. OOP Concepts
Encapsulation: Binding data and methods together. Achieved via private fields + public
getters/setters.

Inheritance: Mechanism to acquire properties/methods from another class using 'extends'.

Supports single, multilevel, hierarchical inheritance. Multiple inheritance via interfaces.

Polymorphism: Ability to perform actions in different ways.

- Compile-time: Method Overloading.

- Runtime: Method Overriding.

Abstraction: Hiding implementation details using abstract classes and interfaces.

Access Modifiers: public, private, protected, default.

5. Strings in Detail
String is a sequence of characters stored as an object in Java.

Immutable: Once created, cannot be modified. Any modification creates a new String.

String Pool: Stores string literals for memory efficiency.

Important Methods: length(), charAt(), substring(), equals(), compareTo(), trim(), replace(),

toLowerCase(), toUpperCase().

StringBuilder (mutable, faster) and StringBuffer (mutable, thread-safe).

6. Arrays
Fixed-size collection of elements of the same type.

Syntax: int[] arr = new int[5];

Multidimensional arrays: int[][] matrix = {{1,2},{3,4}};

Utility Methods: Arrays.sort(), Arrays.equals(), Arrays.binarySearch().

7. Collections Framework
Set of classes and interfaces for storing groups of data.

Hierarchy: Iterable -> Collection -> List/Set/Queue.

List: ArrayList, LinkedList, Vector.

Set: HashSet, LinkedHashSet, TreeSet.

Queue: PriorityQueue, ArrayDeque.

Map: HashMap, LinkedHashMap, TreeMap.

Utility: Collections.sort(), Collections.reverse(), Collections.max().

8. Exception Handling
Mechanism to handle runtime errors.

Types:

- Checked: Compile-time check (IOException).

- Unchecked: Runtime exceptions (NullPointerException).

- Errors: Serious issues (OutOfMemoryError).

Keywords: try, catch, finally, throw, throws.

Custom Exceptions can be created by extending Exception class.

9. Multithreading
Ability to run multiple threads concurrently.

Thread creation:

- Extending Thread class.

- Implementing Runnable interface.

Thread states: New, Runnable, Running, Waiting, Terminated.

Synchronization ensures thread safety.

Concurrent Collections: ConcurrentHashMap, CopyOnWriteArrayList.

10. Java Memory Management

Stack: Stores method calls and local variables.

Heap: Stores objects.

Garbage Collector: Removes unused objects automatically.

Reference Types: Strong, Weak, Soft, Phantom.

11. Java 8+ Features
Lambdas: (parameters) -> expression.

Streams API: filter(), map(), reduce().

Default methods in interfaces.

Optional class to handle nulls.

Method references: ClassName::methodName.

12. File Handling

File class for file metadata.

Reading: FileReader, BufferedReader, Scanner.

Writing: FileWriter, BufferedWriter.

Serialization: ObjectOutputStream, ObjectInputStream.

13. Java Keywords Detailed

static: Belongs to the class, not instance.

final: Constant variable, non-overridable method, non-inheritable class.

this: Refers to current object.

super: Refers to parent class.

volatile: Ensures visibility in multithreading.

synchronized: Thread-safe method/block.

14. Design Patterns

Singleton: One instance per application.

Factory: Creates objects without exposing creation logic.

Builder: Builds complex objects step-by-step.

Observer: Publisher-Subscriber model.

Strategy: Select algorithm at runtime.

15. Common Programs
Palindrome check, Fibonacci, Prime number, Factorial.

Sorting: Bubble, Merge, Quick sort.

String reversal, Anagram check.