Java Developer – 1-Hour Pre-Screening
Interview (Questions + Ideal Answers)
SECTION 1 — Core Java (20 minutes)
1. Difference between JDK, JRE, and JVM.
Good Answer:
JDK: Development kit → has compiler (javac), tools.
JRE: Runtime environment → libraries + JVM.
JVM: Executes bytecode, platform-independent engine.
2. Explain OOP concepts with examples.
Good Answer:
Encapsulation (hiding data in classes, getters/setters).
Inheritance (child class extending parent).
Polymorphism (method overriding / overloading).
Abstraction (abstract classes/interfaces).
3. What is the difference between HashMap and ConcurrentHashMap?
Good Answer:
HashMap is not thread-safe, allows one null key, multiple null values.
ConcurrentHashMap is thread-safe, uses segmented lock/concurrency, does not allow
nulls.
4. What is the difference between final, finally, and finalize()?
Good Answer:
final keyword → constant or cannot override/extend.
finally block → executes after try/catch.
finalize() → cleanup before GC (deprecated).
5. Explain Checked vs Unchecked Exceptions.
Good Answer:
Checked: Checked at compile time (IOException, SQLException).
Unchecked: Runtime exceptions (NullPointerException, ArithmeticException).
6. How does garbage collection work in Java?
Good Answer:
JVM automatically frees unused objects using generational GC (Young, Old Gen), uses
algorithms such as Mark-and-Sweep, G1 GC, ZGC.
SECTION 2 — Java Collections & Functional Programming
(10 minutes)
7. What is the difference between List, Set, and Map?
Good Answer:
List: Indexed, duplicates allowed.
Set: No duplicates, no index.
Map: Key-value pair.
8. Explain Stream API and its benefits.
Good Answer:
Used for processing collections declaratively.
Supports operations like filter, map, reduce.
Enables parallel execution and clean code.
9. What is immutability? How to create immutable objects?
Good Answer:
Once created, state cannot change.
Make class final, private fields, no setters, constructors initialize everything.
SECTION 3 — Multi-Threading & Concurrency (10
minutes)
10. Difference between synchronized method and synchronized block.
Good Answer:
Method: Locks entire method.
Block: Locks only the code you specify → better performance.
11. What is a Deadlock? How do you avoid it?
Good Answer:
Deadlock = threads waiting forever for each other’s locks.
Avoid using proper locking order, timeout locks, using Concurrent utilities.
12. Explain ExecutorService.
Good Answer:
Manages thread pools, allows asynchronous tasks (submit(), [Link]()), better than
manual thread creation.
SECTION 4 — Spring Boot & Microservices (15 minutes)
13. What are the main Spring Boot features?
Good Answer:
Auto-configuration
Embedded servers
Starter dependencies
Actuator
Simpler microservice development
14. Difference between @Component, @Service, and @Repository.
Good Answer:
All are stereotype annotations.
@Component: Generic bean.
@Service: Business logic layer.
@Repository: DAO layer + exception translation.
15. How does Dependency Injection work in Spring?
Good Answer:
Spring container creates objects (beans) and injects them using constructor, setter, or field
injection.
16. Explain REST principles.
Good Answer:
Stateless
Client-server separation
Cacheable
Uniform resource interface
Layered system
17. How do you handle exceptions in Spring Boot?
Good Answer:
Use @ControllerAdvice + @ExceptionHandler.
Custom error response models.
Global exception handlers.
18. What is Feign Client or RestTemplate used for?
Good Answer:
Used for calling external microservices.
Feign = declarative; RestTemplate = classic HTTP.
SECTION 5 — Database & JPA/Hibernate (5 minutes)
19. What is the difference between lazy and eager loading?
Good Answer:
Lazy: Loads only when needed (default for collections).
Eager: Loads immediately → can hurt performance.
20. How does JPA/Hibernate caching work?
Good Answer:
Level 1 cache: Per session.
Level 2 cache: Shared across sessions (Ehcache, Redis).
Reduces DB hits.
SECTION 6 — DevOps & Tools (5 minutes)
21. What is CI/CD?
Good Answer:
Continuous Integration (automated builds/tests) + Continuous Delivery/Deployment (auto
release).
22. How do you build and package a Spring Boot project?
Good Answer:
Using Maven/Gradle → creates .jar or .war (using mvn clean install).
23. What is Docker, and why use it for Java apps?
Good Answer:
Runs apps in isolated containers; ensures portability, consistent runtime environment.
