Core Java

Career Essentials

Focusing on
Java platform, language, classes, objects, OO concepts
& principles, data structures, algorithms, and pattern
matching essentials

By
Arulkumaran Kumaraswamipillai
Sivayini Arulkumaran

Core Java Career Essentials

Focusing on platform, language, classes, objects, collections, and logic essentials
Copy Right 2011

The authors have made every effort in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the
information. However, information in this book is sold without warranty either expressed or implied. The
authors will not be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly
by this book.

Please e-mail feedback & corrections (technical, grammatical and/or spelling) to

[email protected].

More Java/JEE career resources are availabale at

http://www.lulu.com/java-success

First Edition : April 2011

Thanks to the reviewers: Ankit Garg, Devaka Cooray, Roberto Perillo, Rod Good, and
Sean Clynes.

Table of Contents
Getting Started .........................................................................................5
How can this book help you?...........................................................................................6
Why is this a PERFECT companion?..............................................................................8
What are the technical key areas?....................................................................................9

Platform Essentials....................................................................................15
Why use Java? ...........................................................................................................16
Java platform basics JDK, JRE, JVM, etc..................................................................21
Setting up and running Java...........................................................................................30
How are your classes loaded?........................................................................................34
Compile-time versus runtime........................................................................................39

Knowing your way around Java................................................................51

Judging Experience .......................................................................................................52
Gauging Your Experience with UNIX ..........................................................................88
Exposure to tools, technologies, and frameworks.......................................................103
Documenting your Java applications...........................................................................115
Ensuring code quality. ................................................................................................122

Language Essentials..................................................................................133
Valid identifiers and reserved keywords......................................................................135
Choosing the right data types......................................................................................144
Widening versus narrowing conversions.....................................................................150
Understanding the operator precedence.......................................................................159
Thinking in binary and bitwise operations .................................................................162
Initializing your data correctly.....................................................................................176
Constants and static imports........................................................................................182
Modifiers and where are they applicable? ..................................................................186
Methods and constructors............................................................................................196
Stack versus Heap........................................................................................................209
Java is pass-by-value....................................................................................................211
Recursive functions.....................................................................................................214
Class, instance, and local variables..............................................................................217

Classes and Interfaces Essentials.............................................................225

Working with classes and interfaces ...........................................................................226
Subclassing, overriding, and hiding (aka shadowing) ................................................227
Designing your classes and interfaces.........................................................................233
Working with abstract classes and interfaces..............................................................247
3

Inheritance versus composition...................................................................................260

Applying the design principles....................................................................................268
Designing an application or a system..........................................................................281
Class invariant and design by contract .......................................................................285
Working with inner classes..........................................................................................290
Packaging your classes to avoid conflicts...................................................................300

Objects Essentials......................................................................................305
Working with Objects..................................................................................................306
Cloning Objects...........................................................................................................312
Casting Objects............................................................................................................314
Immutable Objects.......................................................................................................318
Working with Enumerations........................................................................................326
Understanding == versus equals( )...........................................................................332
Working with the String class......................................................................................338
Type safety with Generics............................................................................................346
Serializing your objects...............................................................................................364
Garbage Collection......................................................................................................372

Logic and Data structures Essentials......................................................383

Java Flow Control........................................................................................................384
Java Data structures.....................................................................................................390
Sorting Elements..........................................................................................................422
Algorithms...................................................................................................................427
Logic Processing..........................................................................................................449
Exception handling......................................................................................................471

Matching patterns with regular expressions..........................................487

Matching patterns with Regular Expressions..............................................................488

Job Interview Tips.....................................................................................520

Interviews are not technical contests...........................................................................521
Don't wait to be asked .............................................................................................523
Think out loud and brainstorm with the interviewers .............................................524
Sometimes knowing something is better than knowing nothing ............................526
Interviewers place a lot of value in "I don't know" over inventing answers ... ..........526
An interview is a two way street .............................................................................527
Open-ended questions are your opportunity ..........................................................528
Books can impart knowledge, but cannot give you the much needed experience ..528

Glossary & Index......................................................................................530

Section-1:
Getting Started ...

How can this book help you?

Why is this a PERFECT companion?
What are the technical key areas?

So you have a java interview coming up in a few days or you want to impress
your peers and superiors with your technical strengths during code review sessions, team
meetings, and stand-ups, and concerned about how to make a good impression? you don't
need to worry if you are familiar with the fundamentals. Most Java interviews and
technical challenges you face at work are structured around the fundamentals and how
well you communicate those fundamentals. So regularly brushing up on these
fundamentals really pays off.
Your analytical, problem solving, and coding skills will also be under scrutiny
along with your ability to get the job done with the right tools. If your fundamentals are
clear and know what tools to use, you can tackle any questions, and find solutions to any
problems and challenges you face. Even if you don't have the exact answer for a
problem, you will know how to go about solving them with a little research if you have a
solid grounding in the fundamentals covered in this book.
A little preparation can make a huge difference to your career success. Preparation
can help you communicate your thoughts more clearly with examples and illustrations.
Preparation can make a good and lasting impression on those who talk with you during
your interviews and team meetings. This impression will be partly influenced by how
prepared you are and how knowledgeable you are about your industry and the challenges
it faces. It will also be influenced by your appearance, attitude, enthusiasm, and
confidence. Good preparation breeds confidence and it shows in the interviews and team
meetings. So prepare well in advance if you just begun to see yourself in your dream
company or would like to go places in your chosen field.

Getting Started ...

How can this book help you?

This unique questions and answers approach with tagged technical key areas,
diagrams, code snippets, and examples can help you excel in your chosen Java based
profession. This is more than just an interview preparation guide. Let's look at ways in which
we believe this book can benefit a reader.

Helps you brush up or be aware of the basics in software development that you
must know. Preparing for the most common interview questions will increase your
chances. If you fail to answer these basic questions, your chances of succeeding in
interviews will be very slim. In fact, 40% - 60% of the professionals irrespective of
their level of experience fail to make an impression in one or more of the following
most common areas.
Coding: You may have to write some simple code, with correct syntax and
logic in Java. You might be asked to explain and critique on snippets of code.
You might be asked to demonstrate both recursive and iterative approaches
to a given problem. You will be assessed on your ability to think about the
exceptional cases, exit conditions, and algorithms.
OO design: You will be asked to define basic OO concepts and principles,
and come up with the classes and interfaces to model a simple problem. A
good weeder question would be to judge your ability to decide when to use
attributes, inheritance, and composition. You might be asked to critique a
system or platform you had worked on. A good OO design question can also
test your coding skills and domain knowledge.
Language fundamentals and best practices: You must have a solid grasp
of the language fundamentals. You might be asked what parts of Java you
don't like and why? You must know about the common pitfalls, anti-patterns,
and how to avoid them. You must know the differences between abstract
classes and interfaces, how the garbage collection works?, etc and relevant
best practices.
Data structures: You must demonstrate basic knowledge of the most
common data structures. Most candidates know about arrays, sets, lists, and
maps but fail to mention trees and graphs. You will be quizzed on real life
examples of where to use a particular data structure and big-O performance

(e.g. linear, logarithmic, exponential, etc) of various operations like find,

insert, and delete. It is also worth knowing the basic sorting and searching
algorithms.
Bits, bytes, and data types: You must demonstrate how good you are
technically. You must know the logical operations like AND, OR, NOT, and
XOR and where to use them in real life examples for things like setting or
testing for a specific bit. Using the wrong data types in your program can
bring the whole application down. You must also know the difference
between signed and unsigned data types and narrowing versus widening
conversions.
Right tools to use: Knowing the right tools will make you more productive
without having to reinvent the wheel, and get the job done more effectively
and on time. These tools can vary from harnessing the power of Unix scripts
with regular expressions or embedded groovy scripts to tools like Wireshark
to sniff the packets.
The prospective employers generally determine if you know it,
knowledgeable enough to learn it on the job or have no clue at all. You surely
don't want to be in the category of have no clue at all.

Helps you refresh your memory or learn answers to the technical questions that are
frequently asked in interviews. This can build up your confidence and it really shows
in interviews. Software development field is very vast and competitive, and it pays to
jog your memory even if you are an experienced professional.

All the other applicants may have much the same degrees, certifications, skills, and
experience. But those who are in the know how can make it all come alive and seem
real by selling their practical and technical competencies with illustrations, examples,
and enthusiasm. If you don't relate your qualifications, skills, experience, and abilities
to demonstrated results, most employers will tend to think that you have a great deal
of raw potential but limited immediate usefulness.

Helps you think aloud for some of the more difficult to tackle scenario based and
open-ended questions where the interviewers will be more interested in evaluating
your thought process and approach than expecting a detailed solution or answer.

Getting Started ...

Helps you progress in your career a lot quicker by enabling you to pro-actively learn
and apply the core technical key areas that will otherwise take years to fully under
stand if you rely on your experience alone. Some mistakes are too expensive to learn
on the job.

This book complements our previously published book in 2005, entitled Java/J2EE
Job Interview Companion, which was well received, and the purpose of this book is to
keep up with the recent developments, cover more on coding, open-ended, and scenario
based interview Q&A, and to incorporate some of the constructive criticisms from the
readers and reviewers. The Java/J2EE Job Interview Companion gives an overview of
many topics from Java to J2EE, XML to UML, and frameworks to emerging technologies.
The Core Java Career Essentials as the name implies, focuses solely on the essentials in
more depth. The ensuing career essentials series will cover the topics not covered here.
Knowledge is knowing what to do, skill is knowing how to do,
virtue is getting it done. Norman Vincent Peale

Why is this a PERFECT companion?

The primary objective is to make your learning or brushing up a PERFECT experience,
which stands for Practical, Enjoyable, Rewarding, Focused, Examples driven, Concise, and
Thought-provoking.

Practical: What is the point in learning bitwise operators without knowing where to
apply and when to use them? This book is full of practical examples, workable code,
best practices, and potential pitfalls.

Enjoyable: Nothing is more enjoyable as a developer than cutting quality and

workable code. That is why there are 100+ executable code samples as opposed to
just code snippets. Feel free to experiment with the code samples.

Rewarding: The basics described here with examples and sample code can bring
success in job interviews, technical tests, code reviews, and performance appraisals
by learning to sell yourself more effectively.

Focused: Our last book entitled Java/J2EE Job Interview Companion was
providing a bird's eye view of a vast range of technologies and frameworks. While
this approach was well received and provided a road map for job interviews, it lacked
some level of details. This book is focused on more details to extend its usefulness
beyond just interviews by covering a limited number of topics in more depth.

Examples driven: Prospective employers are not just looking for professionals with
just academic qualifications. They are looking for professionals with experience. You
cannot drive a car with just theoretical knowledge. Software development is no
different. So use these examples to code, code, and more code.

Concise: Who wants to read pages after pages about a single topic. There is always
Google to perform additional research on a as needed basis.

Thought-provoking: The questions and answers approach gives a different

perspective to learning and brushing up. It will get you thinking and asking the right
questions when you are working on a project. Asking the right questions and
spotting the potential pitfalls can present you in a better light for potential promo
tions and pay rises.

What are the technical key areas?

Writing a quality software is a very complex process. It must not only meet all the
functional requirements to satisfy the business needs, but also should be robust,
maintainable, testable, and flexible enough to adapt to growing and changing business needs.
It must also address non-functional aspects like,

Adequate logging, auditing, and alarms to provide better problem diagnostics and
customer support.
Security, data integrity, data retention, fail over and disaster recovery strategies.
Being up 24x7, performance metrics, and adherence to SLAs (Service Level Agree
ments) like response times, timeouts, etc. Service assurance can help improve
customer trust and experience in the system.

If you just take technical design alone, there are many pros and cons for each approach
9

Getting Started ...

along with likely trade-offs to be made in your design decisions. Understanding the key areas
will help you not only write quality software, but also excel in your chosen career. How do
you excel in your career by understanding the key areas you may ask?
Firstly, in your regular job,

You can earn the appreciation of your superiors and peers by pro-actively and retro
actively solving everyday problems by understanding the key areas. For example, you
can resolve problems relating to performance, memory, concurrency, language
fundamentals, etc. Some of the subtle issues can be hard to understand, reproduce
and solve without the adequate technical skills, and it really pays to have the exper
ience and good understanding of the basics in these key areas.

Understanding some of the nuances and best practices can help you write less errorprone and more robust code. Writing maintainable, supportable, readable, and
testable code will not go unnoticed in code reviews and can also earn you the much
needed recognition. You can also come up with intelligent questions or suggestions
in team/stand-up meetings and group discussions. You can pro-actively identify
potential issues not only in your own code or design, but also in others' code and
design to become a great contributor.

You can build up a reputation as a go to person by complementing your technical

skills in these key areas with soft-skills and personal attributes to mentor others and
get things done.

Secondly, in your job interviews,

10

You can impress your interviewers by highlighting your past achievements in these
key areas. For example, you can make use of open-ended questions like Tell me
about your self ? or Why do you like software development? to highlight your
strengths and accomplishments.

Many software projects face performance bottlenecks, design inefficiencies, concur

rency issues, inadequate software development processes, etc. Hence the prospective
employers will make sure that they hire the right candidate by asking questions
relating to these key areas. Even if they don't cover any particular key area you are
good at like performance tuning or concurrency management, you can bring it up
yourself by asking intelligent questions like What are the challenges faced by your

current software? and do you face any performance issues or customer complaints
that are hard to reproduce? .

Better candidates will control the interview in a nicer way as they understand it is a
two way process. They will quickly understand what the prospective interviewer is
looking for and reflect back on their past experience to relate how they went about
resolving problems and adding value.

Let's look at the key areas relating to software development. Please be aware that not
all key areas are covered in this book.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Language Fundamentals LF
Specification Fundamentals SF
Design Concepts DC
Design Patterns DP
Performance Considerations PC
Memory Considerations MC
Transaction Management TM
Concurrency Considerations CC
SCalability SC
Exception Handling EH
Best Practices BP
Software Development Processes SP
SEcurity SE
COding for readability, maintainability, supportability, extendability, and testability
CO
15. Quality of Service QS
16. Platform Fundamentals PF
Most of the questions are tagged with relevant technical key area(s) shown above.
Some questions are also tagged with question type and/or its popularity as shown below:

Open-Ended Question OEQ

Scenario Based Question SBQ
COding Question COQ
IMpossible Question IMQ
Frequently Asked Question FAQ
11

Getting Started ...

Speaking the same language as your prospective employers from both technical and
business perspective will help you establish a level of comfort with them. Discuss things in
simple terms so that anyone can understand. It is okay if you struggle a little and then figure
it out with minor hints or prompting from the interviewers. It is natural to be a bit rusty as
the technologies are pretty vast these days. But it is not a good sign to be completely clueless
or badly confused, especially with the core fundamentals. These career companions and
career essentials will boost your knowledge and confidence to succeed in your career.
Take the initiative to grasp a potential employer's problems, challenges, and require
ments to marry them with your past experience and accomplishments. This is more
important than just having the necessary experience or understanding in the technical key
areas. The ensuing sections will elaborate on this.

12

Important:

Sample code in this book is making use of static methods and other approaches in
many places for illustration purpose and to keep things simple. This should not be
construed as a best practice.

A commercial standard code will make use of unit tests using either JUnit or
TestNG instead of public static main(String[ ] args) methods for testing and most of
the methods except a fewer utility methods will be non-static. You will hardly see
main methods required except for initial bootstrapping of applications that are run
stand-alone. It will also be making use of Object Oriented principles, Dependency
Injection, Law of Demeter principle, Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle, etc to
make the code more reusable, testable, maintainable and readable.

The System.out.println(....) statements should be replaced with a logging framework like

log4j. For example,
private static final Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(MyClass.class);
logger.info(logging text goes here ................. );

Comments are over used to explain concepts, and real code should not be cluttered
with comments. The classes, methods, and variables should have meaningful names
and the code should be self-explanatory.

13

Getting Started ...

14

Section-2:

Platform Essentials

Why use Java?

Java platform basics JDK, JRE, JVM, etc.
Setting up and running Java
How are your classes loaded?
Compile-time vs runtime

This section is mainly for a beginner level, but I am very surprised to see even
some intermediate to senior level developers lack good understanding of these platform
essentials. This section is a must read for a beginner level. The intermediate and senior
level candidates are highly recommended to brush up on the following frequently asked
questions,
Q1, Q2, Q3, Q7, Q8, Q9, Q10, Q17, Q18, Q19, Q20, Q21, Q22, Q24 and Q25.
Even if you have limited experience, it is better to have an idea as to how to go
about getting it done than to have no idea at all. This will differentiate yourself from
others who have similar experience as you. Good Java interview questions are designed
in a way to analyze if you are capable of applying the basics of a programming language.

15

Platform Essentials

Why use Java?

Q1 Give a few reasons for using Java? LF PF FAQ OEQ
A1 One needs to use the best tool for the job, whether that tool is Java or not. When
choosing a technology to solve your business problems, you need to consider many
factors like development cost, infrastructure cost, ongoing support cost, robustness,
flexibility, security, performance, etc.
Java provides client technologies, server technologies, and integration technologies to
solve small scale to very large scale business problems.

If you want to target multiple platforms, Java is the best solution. Although the
notion of Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA) does not always hold true,
but it is true that the majority of the code you write in Java will run almost
anywhere.

The emergence of open-source technologies has truly made Java a powerful

competitor in the server and integration technology space. You can always find
a proven framework that best solves your business problems. For example,
http://java-source.net/, http://projects.apache.org/indexes/category.html
http://www.springsource.org/

16

The Java platform has been around for a while and has been tested and
deployed in many industries. It is mature both in terms of implementation as
well as APIs. There's less risk that there's some bug in the platform that poses
security risks, or has some intrinsic flaw in its architecture.

The Java platform is standardized and the specifications are publicly available
from various sources. There are many books, on-line resources, tutorials, and
training courses on how to develop on it. Hence, it'll be easier to find
developers who can be productive sooner.

There are plethora of design, development, and deployment tools both opensource and commercial to choose from.

The platform also comes with a rich set of APIs. This means developers spend

less time writing support libraries, and more time developing content for their
applications.

Finally, the usual benefits of the Java platform and its APIs

Built-in support for multi-threading, socket communication, and

automatic memory management (i.e. automatic garbage collection).

Object Oriented (OO).

Supports Web based applications (Servlet, JSP, etc), distributed applica

tions (sockets, RMI, EJB, etc), and network protocols (HTTP, JRMP,
etc) with the help of extensive standardized APIs (Application
Programming Interfaces).

Security checking is built into the libraries and virtual machine.

Supports Unicode for ease of internationalization (i18n - where 18

stands for the number of letters between the first i and last n in interna
tionalization).

Similar to C++ and C#, so it is familiar to commercial programmers. It

does not include the dangerous parts of C++. So it is safer and simpler.

Q2 What is the difference between C++ and Java? LF FAQ

A2 Both C++ and Java use similar syntax and are object oriented, but that is where the
similarity ends:

Java does not support pointers. Pointers are inherently tricky to use and
troublesome.

Java does not support multiple inheritances because it causes more problems
than it solves. Java supports multiple interface inheritance, which allows an
object to inherit many method signatures from different interfaces with the
condition that the inheriting object must implement those inherited methods.
The multiple interface inheritance also allows an object to behave polymorph
ically on those methods.
17

Platform Essentials

Java does not support destructors, but adds a finalize( ) method. Finalize
methods are invoked by the garbage collector prior to reclaiming the memory
occupied by the object, which has the finalize( ) method. This means, you do
not know when the objects are going to be finalized. Avoid using finalize( )
method to release non-memory resources like file handles, sockets, database
connections, etc because the platform has only a finite number of these
resources, and you do not know when the garbage collection is going to
kick in to release these resources through the finalize( ) method.

Java does not include structures or unions because the traditional data struc
tures are implemented as an object oriented Java Collections framework.

All the code in Java program is encapsulated within classes therefore Java does
not have global variables or functions.

C++ requires explicit memory management while Java includes automatic

garbage collection.

Generics in Java provides a simple compile-time type safety check whereas in

C++ whenever a template class is instantiated with a new class, the entire code
for that class is reproduced and recompiled for the new class.

Q3 Is Java 100% object oriented? If yes, why? And if not, why not? LF FAQ OEQ
A3 I would say Java is not 100% object oriented, but it embodies practical OO concepts.
There are 6 qualities to make a programming language to be pure object oriented. They
are:
1. Encapsulation data hiding and modularity.
2. Inheritance. you define new classes and behavior based on existing classes to
obtain code reuse.
3. Polymorphism the same message sent to different objects results in behavior
that's dependent on the nature of the object receiving the message.
4. All predefined types are objects.
5. All operations are performed by sending messages to objects.
6. All user defined types are objects.
The main reason why Java cannot be considered 100% OO is due to its existence of 8
18

primitive variables (i.e. violates point number 4) like int, long, char, float, etc. These
data types have been excused from being objects for simplicity and to improve
performance. Since primitive data types are not objects, they don't have any qualities
such as inheritance or polymorphism. Even though Java provides immutable wrapper
classes like Integer, Long, Character, etc representing corresponding primitive data as
objects, the fact that it allowed non object oriented primitive variables to exist, makes it
not fully OO.
Another reason why Java is considered not full OO is due to its existence of static
methods and variables (i.e. violates point number 5). Since static methods can be
invoked without instantiating an object, we could say that it breaks the rules of encap
sulation.
Java does not support multiple class inheritance because different classes may have
different variables with same name that may be contradicted and can cause confusions
and result in errors. We could also argue that Java is not 100% OO according to this
point of view. But Java realizes some of the key benefits of multiple inheritance
through its support for multiple interface inheritance. The multiple interface inher
itance gives simplicity by avoiding ambiguity, complexity, misuse, and potential
increased memory usage that is present in multiple class inheritance.
Operator overloading is not possible in Java except for string concatenation and
addition operations. String concatenation and addition example,
System.out.println(1 + 2 + 3);
System.out.println(1 + 2 + 3);

//outputs 33
//outputs 123

Since this is a kind of polymorphism for other operators like * (multiplication), /

(division), or - (subtraction), and Java does not support this, hence one could debate
that Java is not 100% OO. Working with a primitive in Java is more elegant than
working with an object like BigDecimal. For example,
int a,b, c;
//without operator overloading
a=bc*d
What happens in Java when you have to deal with large decimal numbers that must be
accurate and of unlimited size and precision? You must use a BigDecimal. BigDecimal
19

Platform Essentials
looks verbose for larger calculations without the operator overloading as shown below:
BigDecimal b = new BigDecimal(25.24);
BigDecimal c = new BigDecimal(3.99);
BigDecimal d = new BigDecimal(2.78);
BigDecimal a = b.subtract(c.multiply(d));

//verbose

Java 7 may have operator overloading for BigDecimal, and it would make your code
more readable as shown below.
BigDecimal a = b (c * d);

//much better

Q4 What does Java comprise of ? BP PF LF

A4 Java comprises three components:

Java language comprising the syntax and semantics for programming has 3
editions Java SE (Standard Edition), Java ME (Micro Edition), and Java EE
(Enterprise Edition).

Java API (Application Programming Interface) is nothing but a set of classes

and interfaces that come with the JDK. All these classes are written using the
Java language and contains a library of methods for common programming
tasks like manipulating strings and data structures, networking, file transfer, etc.
The source *.java files are in the src.zip archive and the executable *.class files
are in the rt.jar archive. There are 3 types of APIs available in Java technology.
Firstly, the official Java core API (i.e. src.zip and rt.jar) that is part of the JDK
download. Secondly the optional Java APIs that can be downloaded separ
ately. The specifications of the API is defined according to the Java Specific
ation Request (JSR). For example, JSR 270 is the Java SE 6, JSR 168 is the
portlet specification and so on. Finally, the third party libraries, which are
unofficial APIs that are developed by third parties and and can be downloaded
from the owner website. For example, http://www.apache.org/ where a
number of handy APIs like Apache Commons, Apache Logging, and many
more can be downloaded. Spring Framework, Hibernate, Struts, etc to name a
few more.
BP

20

It is a best practice to reuse proven and well tested APIs from Java

Core, Java Optional, and third party APIs from Apache, Spring foundation, etc.
It is also highly recommended to have these API documentation handy while
coding to reuse appropriate well tested methods where possible without having
to write your own.

Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is where all the classes written using the Java
language and the API run on. The Java classes and API are platform
independent but the JVM is not platform independent. You will find different
downloads of the JVM for each Operating System (OS).

Java platform basics JDK, JRE, JVM, etc.

Q5 What is the main difference between the Java platform and the other software
platforms? PF
A5 The Java platform is a software only platform, which runs on top of other hardware
based platforms like Unix, Windows, etc.

Java source code is compiled into byte code that is understood by the JVM.
Byte codes are the machine language of the JVM. The source code is easy for
humans to understand. This enables a programmer to write programs. The
byte code is very difficult for humans to understand. The first four bytes of
every Java class (i.e the byte code) file are specified to be 0xCAFEBABE, a
magic number that can help tools quickly differentiate likely class files from
21

Platform Essentials
non class files.

Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is a software that can be ported onto various
hardware platforms. JVM interprets Java programs that have been compiled
into byte code and usually stored in a *.class file. Byte code can be run on
any computer that has Java interpreter (i.e the JVM). The JVM converts the
byte code into platform (i.e. OS) specific executable machine language a
language understood by computers (i.e. binary 0s and 1s). The machine
language is almost impossible for humans to understand. Every OS has its own
machine language.

Q6 How would you differentiate JDK, JRE, JVM, and JIT? PF

A6

JDK: You can download a copy of the Java Development Kit (JDK). Be sure to
download a copy that is appropriate for your operating system and processor. The
JDK contains the compiler (i.e. javac) and other programs and libraries (i.e. jar files)
22

useful for Java development.

JRE: Java Runtime Environment is an implementation of the JVM. The JDK typically
includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) which contains the virtual machine and
other dependencies to run Java applications. The JRE is also available as a separate
download if you have no interest in development and just want to be able to run Java
applications. Remember to download a copy that is appropriate for your operating
system and processor.
JIT: A JIT is a code generator that converts Java byte code into native machine code.
Java programs invoked with a JIT generally run much faster than when the byte code is
executed by the interpreter. The JIT compiler is a standard tool that is part of the JVM
and invoked whenever you use the Java interpreter command. You can disable the JIT
compiler using the -Djava.compiler=NONE option to the Java VM. You might want
to disable the JIT compiler if you are running the Java VM in remote debug mode, or
if you want to see source line numbers instead of the label (Compiled Code) in your
Java stack traces.
Q7 Is it possible to convert byte code into source code? PF FAQ
A7 Yes. A Java decompiler is a computer program capable of reversing the work done by
a compiler. In essence, it can convert back the byte code (i.e. the .class file) into the
source code (i.e the .java file).
There are many decompilers that exist today, but the most widely used JD - Java
Decompiler (http://java.decompiler.free.fr/) is available both as stand-alone GUI
program and as an eclipse plug-in.
SE If you want to protect your Java class files from being decompiled, you can take
a look at a Java obfuscator tool like yGuard or ProGuard, otherwise you will have to
kiss your intellectual property good bye.
Q. When would you use a decompiler?
A.
When you have *.class files and you do not have access to the source code
(*.java files). For example, some vendors do not ship the source code for java
class files or you accidentally lost (e.g deleted) your source code, in which case
you can use the Java decompiler to reconstruct the source file. Another
scenario is that if you generated your .class files from another language like a
23

Platform Essentials
groovy script, using the groovyc command, you may want to use a Java decom
piler to inspect the Java source code for the groovy generated class files to
debug or get a better understanding of groovy integration with Java.

To ensure that your code is adequately obfuscated before releasing it into the
public domain.

Fixing and debugging .class files when developers are slow to respond to
questions that need immediate answers.

To learn both Java and how the Java VM works.

Q8 What are the two flavors of JVM? PF PC MC

A8
Client mode is suited for short lived programs like stand-alone GUI applica
tions and applets. Specially tuned to reduce application start-up time and
memory footprint, making it well suited for client applications. For example:
c:\> java -client MyProgram

Server mode is suited for long running server applications, which can be active
for weeks or months at a time. Specially tuned to maximize peak operating
speed. The fastest possible operating speed is more important than fast startup time or smaller runtime memory footprint.
c:\> java -server MyProgram

Q. How do you know in which mode your JVM is running?

c:\> java -version
java version "1.6.0_07"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_07-b06)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 10.0-b23, mixed mode, sharing)
Note: -client or -server must be the first argument or option of the JVM.
Q9 What are the two different bits of JVM? What is the major limitation of 32 bit JVM?
24

PF PC MC FAQ
A9 JVMs are available in 32 bits (-d32 JVM argument) and 64 bits (-d64 JVM argument).
64-bit JVMs are typically only available from JDK 5.0 onwards. It is recommended that
the 32-bit be used as the default JVM and 64-bit used if more memory is needed than
what can be allocated to a 32-bit JVM. The Sun Java VM cannot grow beyond ~2GB
on a 32bit server machine even if you install more than 2GB of RAM into your server.
It is recommended that a 64bit OS with larger memory hardware is used when larger
heap sizes are required. For example, >4GB is assigned to the JVM and used for
deployments of >250 concurrent or >2500 casual users.
Q10 How do you monitor the JVMs? PF PC MC FAQ
A10 Since Java SE 5.0, the JRE provides a mean to manage and monitor the Java Virtual
Machine. It comes in two flavors:

The JVM has built-in instrumentation that enables you to monitor and manage
it using Java Management eXtension (JMX). You can also monitor instru
mented applications with JMX. To start a Java application with the
management agent for local monitoring, set the following JVM argument when
25

Platform Essentials
you run your application.
$JAVA_HOME/bin/java -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote MyApp
To start the JConsole:
$JAVA_HOME/bin/jconsole

The other is a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent that

builds upon the management and monitoring API of the Java SE platform, and
exposes the same information through SNMP.

Proactive application monitoring is vital to detect and respond to problems - before an

end user is even aware that a problem exists, especially for revenue-generating
production environments. it's also important to be able to gather metrics about
performance and resource consumption, especially for long-running applications like
websites. While you can get some information from the operating system (such as CPU
and memory usage), you will often need much more detailed information.
Problem

26

Symptom

Tool

Insufficient
memory

Java.lang.OutOfMemoryError indic jhat

ating out of heap space, perm
gen space or native swap
memory space.

Memory leaks

Frequent garbage collection and

growing use of
memory
indicated by saw tooth shaped
graph. This can cause the applic
ation to slow down.

jconsole, jstat, jmap, JAMon,

VisualVM, and commercial
tools such as Wily's Intro
scope or YourKit Java
Profiler.

Deadlocked
threads waiting for
each
other,
endlessly looping
threads, and racing
threads ending up
waiting for other
long
running

Threads blocked on object

monitors or java.util.concurrent
locks. Deadlocked threads can
cause a part or the whole applic
ation to become unresponsive.

jconsole, jstack, and jmap,

VisualVM, and commercial
tools such as Wily's Intro
scope or YourKit Java
Profiler.

Looping threads can cause the

application to hang.

thread to release
the
monitor Thread contention issues can
(known as thread adversely affect performance
contention).
and scalability.
JVM
abruptly Causing an application or service
going down and to be down.
other
network
fault monitoring.

tools such as Wily's Introscope,

capable of monitoring the
JVM
environment
and
emitting SNMP traps to an
IBM's Tivoli console to raise
alarms.
network switches and routers,
with built-in SNMP capabil
ities to send traps when
network faults occur.

QS Many organizations use commercial tools like Wily's Introscope, Tivoli Monit
oring, etc and SNMP trap handling tools like Nagios to provide quality of service
(QoS) on their mission critical applications.
Q11 What are some of the JVM arguments you have used in your projects? PF
A11
To set a system property that can be retrieved
System.getPropety("name");

using

-Dname=value

To set the JVM mode:

-client or -server

To set the classpath:

-cp or -classpath

To set minimum and maximum heap sizes:

-Xms1024 -Xmx1024
27

Platform Essentials

To set garbage collection options:

-Xincgc

To enable assertion:
-ea

Note: A collection of JVM arguments or options can be found at

http://blogs.sun.com/watt/resource/jvm-options-list.html
Q12 Can you briefly describe the JDK and JRE file structures? PF
A12

/JDK1.6.0 The root directory of the JDK software containing license, copyright,
and readme files. Also contains src.zip, the archive of source code for the Java 2
platform.
28

/JDK1.6.0/bin The executable files like javac for all the development tools. The
PATH environment variable should contain an entry to this directory.
/JDK1.6.0/lib Files used by the development tools. Includes tools.jar, which
contains non-core classes for support of the tools and utilities in the JDK.
/JDK1.6.0/jre The root directory of the Java runtime environment. This the
directory referred by the java.home system property.
/JDK1.6.0/jre/bin The executable files for tools and libraries used by the Java
platform.
/JDK1.6.0/jre/lib Code libraries, property settings, and resource files used by the
Java runtime environment. Includes:

rt.jar the Java platforms core API (the bootstrap classes). The rt most likely
stands for RunTime. Some tend to think it stands for RooT, since this jar
contains the root classes.

charsets.jar character conversion classes.

/JDK1.6.0/jre/lib/ext This directory is for extensions to the Java platform. The

localedata.jar contains locale data for java.text and java.util packages.
/JDK1.6.0/jre/lib/security Contains security policy (java.policy) and security
properties (java.security) files.
Q13 What does jar stand for? How does it differ from a zip file? LF
A13 The jar stands for Java ARchive. A jar file usually has a file name extension .jar. It
mainly contains Java class files but any types of files can be included. For example,
XML files, properties files, HTML files, image files, binary files, etc. You can use the
jar application utility bundled inside /JDK1.6.0/jre/bin to create, extract, and view
its contents. You can also use any zip file utility program to view its contents. A jar file
cannot contain other jar files.
Basically, a jar file is same as a zip file, except that it contains a META-INF directory to
store meta data or attributes. The most known file is META-INF/MANIFEST.MF.
When you create a JAR file, it automatically receives a default manifest file. There can
29

Platform Essentials
be only one manifest file in an archive. Most uses of JAR files beyond simple archiving
and compression require special information to be in the manifest file. For example,

If you have an application bundled in a JAR file, you need some way to indicate
which class within the JAR file is your application's entry point. The entry
point is the class having a method with signature public static void main(String[
] args). For example,
Main-Class: Test.class

A package within a JAR file can be optionally sealed, which means that all
classes defined in that package must be archived in the same JAR file. You
might want to seal a package, for example, to ensure version consistency
among the classes in your software or as a security measure.
Name: myCompany/myPackage/
Sealed: true

Note: Refer JDK documentation for the manifest format and other options.

Setting up and running Java

Q14 What do you need to develop and run Java programs? How would you go about
getting started? PF
A14
Download and install the Java Development Kit (JDK) SE (Standard Edition)
for your operating system (e.g. Windows, Linux, etc) and processor (32 bit, 64
bit, etc) .

Configure your environment. The first environment variable you need to set is
the JAVA_HOME.
On Windows: use the system environment variables console
JAVA_HOME=C:\DEV\java\jdk-1.6.0_11
On Linux:

30

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jdk-1.6.0_11
This system property will be used by your other command line build tools like
ANT and maven.
The second environment variable you need to set is the PATH variable. The
PATH variable contains a list of directories that the operating system uses to
locate executables to be executed by commands like javac, java, etc typed into
the system.
On Windows: use the system environment variables console
PATH=%JAVA_HOME%\bin;x:\maven\tools\maven2.0.9\bin;C:\bea\weblogic81\server\bin;
On Linux:
export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin
Verify your configurations with the following commands:
DOS Command:
echo %JAVA_HOME%
echo %PATH%
UNIX Command:
$ echo $JAVA_HOME
$ echo $PATH

Verify your installation with the following commands:

$ javac -version
$ java -version
If your operating system doesn't recognize these commands, you have not
31

Platform Essentials
either set up your environment variable correctly or may have to open a new
command window for your changes to your environment variables to be
detected (especially in windows).

To list the available options for javac or java just type the command without
any arguments.
$ javac
$ java

Q15 How do you create a class under a package in Java? LF

A15 You can create a class under a package as follows with the package keyword, which is
the first keyword in any Java program followed by the import statements. The java.lang
package is imported implicitly by default and all the other packages must be explicitly
imported. The core Java packages like java.lang.*, java.net.*, java.io*, etc and its class
files are distributed in the archive file named rt.jar.
package com.xyz.client ;
import java.io.File;
import java.net.URL;
Q16 What do you need to do to run a class with a main( ) method in a package? PF
For example: Say, you have a class named Pet in a project folder C:\projects\Test\src and
package named com.xyz.client, will you be able to compile and run it as it is?
A16 The answer depends on where you run it from. Firstly, the source code Pet.java is as
shown below
package com.xyz.client;
public class Pet {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("I am found in the classpath");
}
}
Secondly, this source code can be compiled into byte code i.e. Pet.class file as shown
below:
32

C:\projects\Test\src>javac -d ../bin com/xyz/client/Pet.java

Note: The compiled byte code
file Pet.class will be saved in the folder
C:\projects\Test\bin\com\xyz\client.
If you run it inside where the Pet.class is stored, the answer is yes.
C:\projects\Test\bin>java com/xyz/client/Pet
The output is I am found in the classpath
The Pet.class file will be found since com.xyz.client.Pet class file is in the projects\Test\bin
folder. If you run it in any other folder say c:\
C:\> java com.xyz.client.Pet
OR
C:\projects\Test\src>java com/xyz/client/Pet
The answer is no, and you will get the following exception: Exception in thread "main"
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/xyz/client/Pet. To fix this, you need to tell how to
find the Pet.class by setting or providing the classpath. How can you do that? One of
the following ways:

Set the operating system CLASSPATH environment variable to have the

project folder c:\projects\Test\bin.

Set the operating system CLASSPATH environment variable to have a jar file
c:/projects/Test/pet.jar, which has the Pet.class file in it. You can also specify both
the location of the jar file containing the class files for the Test project and the
location of the folder containing the packages and the class files for the Test2
project.
CLASSPATH= c:/projects/Test/pet.jar;C:/projects/Test2/bin

Run it with -cp or -classpath option as shown below.

C:\>java -cp projects\Test\bin com/xyz/client/Pet
33

Platform Essentials
OR
C:\>java -classpath c:/projects/Test/pet.jar com.xyz.client.Pet
OR
C:\projects\Test\src>java -cp ../bin com/xyz/client/Pet
Important: Two objects loaded by different class loaders are never equal even if they
carry the same values. This means a class is uniquely identified in the context of the
associated classloader. This applies to singletons too, where each classloader will have
its own singleton.

How are your classes loaded?

Q17 Explain Java class loaders? If you have a class in a package, what do you need to do to
run it? Explain dynamic class loading? PF FAQ
A17

Class loaders are hierarchical. Classes are introduced into the JVM as they are refer
enced by name in a class that is already running in the JVM. So how is the very first
class loaded? The very first class is specially loaded with the help of public static void
main(String[ ] args) method declared in your class. All the subsequently loaded classes
34

are loaded by the classes, which are already loaded and running. A classloader creates a
name space. A loaded class in a JVM is identified by its fully qualified name and its
defining classloader - this is sometimes referred to as the runtime identity of the class.
Consequently, each classloader in the JVM can be said to define its own name space.
Within a name space, all fully- qualified names are unique. This means class au.com.Test
Class defined by classloader A is NOT considered by the JVM to be the same class as
class au.com.TestClass defined by classloader B.
All JVMs include at least one classloader that is embedded within the JVM called
the primordial (or bootstrap) classloader. The JVM has hooks in it to allow user
defined class loaders to be used in place of primordial classloader. The following class
loaders are created by the JVM.
classloader

Reloadable

Explanation

Bootstrap
(primordial)

No

Loads JDK internal classes, java.* packages as

defined by the sun.boot.class.path system
property. Typically loads the rt.jar and i18n.jar
archives.

Extensions

No

Loads jar files from JDK extensions directory as

defined by the java.ext.dirs system property.
Usually from the lib/ext directory of the JRE.

System

No

Loads classes from the system classpath as

defined by the java.class.path property, which is
set by the CLASSPATH environment variable or
command line options -classpath or -cp as
discussed earlier. The developers are responsible
for providing the necessary classpath inform
ation.

Class loaders are hierarchical and use a delegation model when loading a class. Class
loaders request their parent to load the class first before attempting to load it
themselves. When a classloader loads a class, the child class loaders in the hierarchy will
never reload the class again. Hence uniqueness is maintained. Classes loaded by a child
classloader have visibility into classes loaded by its parents up the hierarchy but the
reverse is not true as explained in the above diagram.

35

Platform Essentials
Q18 Explain static vs. dynamic class loading? PF FAQ
A18 Classes are statically loaded with Javas "new" operator.
class MyClass {
public static void main(String args[ ]) {
Car c = new Car( );
}
}
A NoClassDefFoundException is thrown if a class is referenced with Javas "new"
operator (i.e. static loading) but the runtime system cannot find the referenced class.
Dynamic class loading is a technique for programmatically invoking the functions of a
classloader at run time. Classes can be loaded dynamically as shown below:
Class.forName (className);

//static method which returns a Class

The above static method returns the class object associated with the class name. The
string className can be supplied dynamically at run time. Unlike the static loading, the
dynamic loading will decide whether to load the class Car or the class Jeep at runtime
based on a properties file or other runtime conditions. Once the class is dynamically
loaded the following method returns an instance of the loaded class. Its just like
creating a class object with no arguments.
class.newInstance ( );

// A non-static method, which creates an

// instance of a class (i.e. creates an object).

Example:
Jeep myJeep = null ;
//myClassName should be read from a .properties file.
//stay away from hard coding values in your program.
String myClassName = "au.com.Jeep" ;
Class vehicleClass = Class.forName(myClassName) ;
myJeep = (Jeep) vehicleClass.newInstance( );
myJeep.setFuelCapacity(50);
A ClassNotFoundException is thrown when an application tries to load in a class through
its string name using one of the following methods but no definition for the class with
36

the specified name could be found:

The forName(..) method in class - Class.

The findSystemClass(..) method in class - ClassLoader.
The loadClass(..) method in class - ClassLoader.

When you are running within a managed environment like an application server,
Servlet engine or EJB Container, you must use the context classloader to retrieve a
class as shown below.
ClassLoader cl = Thread.currentThread( ).getContextClassLoader( );
if(cl == null) {
cl = getClass( ).getClassLoader( );
}
Class myClazz = cl.loadClass(className);
Q19 What tips would you give to someone who is experiencing a class loading or Class
Not Found exception? OEQ
A19 Class Not Found exceptions could be quite tricky to troubleshoot. Firstly, determine
the jar file that should contain the class file:
$ find . -name "*.jar" -print -exec jar -tf '{}' \; | grep -E "jar$|String\.class"
Secondly, check the version of the jar in the manifest file MANIFEST.MF, access
rights (e.g. read-only) of the jar file, and any jar corruption by trying to unjar it with
"jar -xvf ...". If the class is dynamically loaded, check if you have spelled the class name
correctly.
Thirdly, check if the application is running under the right JDK?
JAVA_HOME environment property

Check the

$ echo $JAVA_HOME
Finally, youll need to have a good understanding of your application servers classloader hierarchy.

37

Platform Essentials

38

Is the missing class packaged with the application (e.g., under WEB-INF/lib)
and being loaded by one of the parent class-loaders? Most application servers
utilize a class-loader hierarchy where WAR files class-loader is a child of EAR
class-loader which in turn is a child of the system (JVM) class-loader. Parent
class-loaders cant go down to request a class loaded from a child class-loader.
The problem occurs if some jars were moved to a shared library but they still
depend on classes packaged with the application.

Running different versions of the same jar loaded by the different class loaders
can cause this issue.

Compile-time versus runtime

Learn to think in terms of compile-time versus runtime to solve issues quickly and identify better
solutions to a given problem. Each approach has its pros and cons.

Q20 Explain compile-time versus runtime? PF FAQ

A20 Compile-time (i.e. static) is when a program text (e.g. MyProgram.java) is being read in,
analyzed, and translated into byte code version (e.g. MyProgram.class) that can be run on
the JVM. At compile-time you can get syntactic errors like leaving out a closing bracket
or a semicolon, type safety errors like assigning a type long to type int without an
explicit casting, etc.
Runtime (i.e. dynamic) is when the generated byte code is executed within the JVM.
At runtime you get semantic errors like trying to examine the 4 th element of a list that
has only 3 elements (e.g. ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException), null reference errors (e.g.
NullPointerException), attempting to cast an object to a subclass of which it is not an
instance (e.g. ClassCastException), etc.
Q21 Does this happen during compile-time, runtime, or both? PF LF FAQ
A21 Method overloading: This happens at compile-time. This is also called compile-time
polymorphism because the compiler must decide how to select which method to run
based on the data types of the arguments.
public class {
public static void evaluate(String param1); // method #1
public static void evaluate(int param1);
// method #2
}
If the compiler were to compile the statement:
evaluate(My Test Argument passed to param1);
it could see that the argument was a string literal, and generate byte code that called
method #1.
Method overriding: This happens at runtime. This is also called runtime
polymorphism because the compiler does not and cannot know which method to call.
Instead, the JVM must make the determination while the code is running.
39

Platform Essentials
public class A {
public int compute(int input) {
return 3 * input;
}
}
public class B extends A {
@Override
public int compute(int input) {
return 4 * input;
}
}

//method #3

//method #4

The method compute(..) in subclass B overrides the method compute(..) in super

class A. If the compiler has to compile the following method,
public int evaluate(A reference, int arg2) {
int result = reference.compute(arg2);
}
The compiler would not know whether the input argument 'reference' is of type A or
type B. This must be determined during runtime whether to call method #3 or
method #4 depending on what type of object (i.e. instance of Class A or instance of
Class B) is assigned to input variable reference.
Generics (aka type checking): This happens at compile-time. The compiler checks for
the type correctness of the program and translates or rewrites the code that uses
generics into non-generic code that can be executed in the current JVM. This
technique is known as type erasure. In other words, the compiler erases all generic
type information contained within the angle brackets to achieve backward compatibility
with JRE 1.4.0 or earlier editions.
List<String> myList = new ArrayList<String>(10);
after compilation becomes:
List myList = new ArrayList(10);
Annotations: You can have either run-time or compile-time annotations.
40

public class B extends A {

@Override
public int compute(int input){
return 4 * input;
}
}

//method #4

@Override is a simple compile-time annotation to catch little mistakes like typing

tostring( ) instead of toString( ) in a subclass. User defined annotations can be
processed at compile-time using the Annotation Processing Tool (APT) that comes
with Java 5. In Java 6, this is included as part of the compiler itself.
public class MyTest{
@Test
public void testEmptyness( ){
org.junit.Assert.assertTrue(getList( ).isEmpty( ));
}
private List getList( ){

}
}
@Test is an annotation that JUnit framework uses at runtime with the help of
reflection to determine which method(s) to execute within a test class.
@Test(timeout=100)
public void testTimeout( ) {
while(true); //infinite loop
}
The above test fails if it takes more than 100ms to execute at runtime.
@Test (expected=IndexOutOfBoundsException.class)
public void testOutOfBounds( ) {
new ArrayList<Object>( ).get(1);
}

41

Platform Essentials
The above code fails if it does not throw IndexOutOfBoundsException or if it throws a
different exception at runtime. User defined annotations can be processed at runtime
using the new AnnotatedElement and Annotation element interfaces added to the Java
reflection API.
Exceptions: You can have either runtime or compile-time exceptions.
RuntimeException is also known as the unchecked exception indicating not required to
be checked by the compiler. RuntimeException is the superclass of those exceptions that
can be thrown during the execution of a program within the JVM. A method is not
required to declare in its throws clause any subclasses of RuntimeException that might be
thrown during the execution of a method but not caught.
Example: NullPointerException, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, etc
Checked exceptions are verified by the compiler at compile-time that a program
contains handlers like throws clause or try{} catch{} blocks for handling the checked
exceptions, by analyzing which checked exceptions can result from execution of a
method or constructor.
Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP): Aspects can be weaved at compile-time,
post-compile time, load-time or runtime.

42

Compile-time: weaving is the simplest approach. When you have the source
code for an application, the AOP compiler (e.g. ajc AspectJ Compiler) will
compile from source and produce woven class files as output. The invocation
of the weaver is integral to the AOP compilation process. The aspects
themselves may be in source or binary form. If the aspects are required for the
affected classes to compile, then you must weave at compile-time.

Post-compile: weaving is also sometimes called binary weaving, and is used to

weave existing class files and JAR files. As with compile-time weaving, the
aspects used for weaving may be in source or binary form, and may themselves
be woven by aspects.

Load-time: weaving is simply binary weaving deferred until the point that a
classloader loads a class file and defines the class to the JVM. To support this,
one or more "weaving class loaders", either provided explicitly by the run-time

environment or enabled through a "weaving agent" are required.

Runtime: weaving of classes that have already been loaded to the JVM.

Inheritance happens at compile-time.

Delegation or composition happens at runtime.
Q22 Can you differentiate compile-time inheritance and runtime inheritance with examples
and specify which Java supports? PF LF FAQ
A22 The term inheritance refers to a situation where behaviors and attributes are passed
on from one object to another. The Java programming language natively only supports
compile-time inheritance through subclassing as shown below with the keyword
extends.
public class Parent {
public String saySomething( ) {
return Parent is called;
}
}
public class Child extends Parent {
@Override
public String saySomething( ) {
return super.saySomething( ) + , Child is called;
}
}
A call to saySomething( ) method on the class Child will return Parent is called, Child
is called because the Child class inherits Parent is called from the class Parent. The
keyword super is used to call the method on the Parent class. Runtime inheritance
refers to the ability to construct the parent/child hierarchy at runtime. Java does not
natively support runtime inheritance, but there is an alternative concept known as
delegation or composition, which refers to constructing a hierarchy of object
instances at runtime. This allows you to simulate runtime inheritance. In Java, deleg
ation is typically achieved as shown below:
public class Parent {
public String saySomething( ) {
return Parent is called;
43

Platform Essentials
}
}
public class Child {
public String saySomething( ) {
return new Parent( ).saySomething( ) + , Child is called;
}
}
The Child class delegates the call to the Parent class. Composition can be achieved as
follows:
public class Child {
private Parent parent = null;
public Child( ){
this.parent = new Parent( );
}
public String saySomething( ) {
return this.parent.saySomething( ) + , Child is called;
}
}
Q23 Are marker or tag interfaces obsolete with the advent of annotations (i.e. runtime
annotations)? LF
A23 Everything that can be done with a marker or tag interfaces in earlier versions of Java
can now be done with annotations at runtime using reflection. One of the common
problems with the marker or tag interfaces like Serializable, Cloneable, etc is that when a
class implements them, all of its subclasses inherit them as well whether you want
them to or not. You cannot force your subclasses to unimplement an interface.
Annotations can have parameters of various kinds, and they're much more flexible
than the marker interfaces. This makes tag or marker interfaces obsolete, except for
situations in which empty or tag interfaces can be checked at compile-time using the
type-system in the compiler whereas annotation check has to be done at runtime as
shown below:
Using an annotation at runtime:

44

package annotations1;
public @interface Deletable { }

// annotation definition

package annotations1;
@Deletable

public class ClassWithDeletableObjects {

//...
}

// this class uses the annotation

package annotations1;
public class Test {
public void delete(Object obj){
Deletable ann = obj.getClass( ).getAnnotation(Deletable.class); // Line A
if(ann != null) {
//go ahead and delete
}
else {
throw new RuntimeException("Not a deleteable object");
}
}
}
Using a tag or marker interface at compile-time:
package markerinterface;
public interface Deletable { }

// marker interface definition

package markerinterface;
public class ClassWithDeletableObjects implements Deletable {
//....
}
package markerinterface;
45

Platform Essentials
public class Test {
// works only with Deletable objects. Compile-time error if a Deletable
// object is not passed.
public void delete(Deletable obj){
// go ahead and delete
}
}
So marker or tag interfaces are only rarely required going forward for situations
described below,

In the very rare event of the profiling indicating that the runtime checks are
expensive due to being accessed very frequently, and compile-time checks
with interfaces as shown above is preferred.
In the event of existing marker interfaces like Serializable, Cloneable, etc are
used or Java 5 or later versions cannot be temporarily used.

BP The best practice going forward is to use an annotation as illustrated above instead
of a marker interface since it solves the problem of forcing the subclasses to inherit
the interface. For example, since the class Number implements Serializable, any subclass
such as Integer or AtomicInteger does too. As per the above example using an annotation,
if you don't want a particular subclass of ClassWithDeletableObjects to be deleted, you
can achieve it as shown below:
package annotations1;
public @interface Deletable {
boolean value( ) default true;
}

// by default set to true

The class that must not be deleted can be defined as shown below,
@Deletable(false)
public class NotDeletableObjects extends ClassWithDeletableObjects {
//...
}
46

The few lines from Line A onwards in the Test class needs to be changed from
Deletable ann = obj.getClass( ).getAnnotation(Deletable.class); // Line A
if(ann != null) {
//go ahead and delete
}
to
Deletable ann = obj.getClass( ).getAnnotation(Deletable.class);
if(ann != null & ann.value( )) {
//go ahead and delete
}
BP PC The above code checks for the boolean value supplied as well. So the annota
tions are more explicit and flexible than the marker interfaces. The marker interfaces
using instanceof operator seems to be a bit faster than the equivalent Class.isAnnotation
Present at the time of writing. As mentioned earlier, design principles must not be
compromised for gaining smaller performance gains. Premature optimization is bad. If
profiling indicates that a particular annotation is adversely impacting performance then
look at alternative solutions to address that particular problem.
Q24 What is the difference between line A & line B in the following code snippet?
PC

COQ

public class ConstantFolding {

static final int number1 = 5;
static final int number2 = 6;
static int number3 = 5;
static int number4= 6;
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int product1 = number1 * number2;
int product2 = number3 * number4;
}

//line A
//line B

}
A24 Line A, evaluates the product at compile-time, and Line B evaluates the product at
runtime. If you use a Java Decompiler, and decompile the compiled ConstantFolding.
47

Platform Essentials
class file, you will see why
public class ConstantFolding
{
static final int number1 = 5;
static final int number2 = 6;
static int number3 = 5;
static int number4 = 6;
public static void main(String[ ] args)
{
int product1 = 30;
int product2 = number3 * number4;
}
}
Constant folding is an optimization technique used by the Java compiler. Since final
variables cannot change, they can be optimized. Java Decompiler and javap command
are handy tool for inspecting the compiled (i.e. byte code ) code.
Q. Can you think of other scenarios other than code optimization, where inspecting a
compiled code is useful? OEQ
A. Generics in Java are compile-time constructs, and it is very handy to inspect a
compiled class file to understand and troubleshoot generics.
Q25 What is a Java debugger? What are the different ways to debug your code? PF
A25 The Java Platform Debugger Architecture (JPDA) consists of three interfaces designed
for use by debuggers in development environments for desktop systems.

48

The Java Virtual Machine Tools Interface (JVM TI) defines the services a VM
must provide for debugging.
The Java Debug Interface (JDI) defines information and requests at the user
code level.
The Java Debug Wire Protocol (JDWP) defines the format of information and
requests transferred between the process being debugged and the debugger
front end, which implements the Java Debug Interface (JDI).

The JPDA allows you to peek into your code at runtime, and debug your code. The jdb
is an implementation of the Java Debugger Interface. The jdb is a simple commandline debugger for Java classes providing inspection and debugging of a local or remote
Java Virtual Machine. JDK ships with jdb. Easier way to debug your code is to use the
visual debugging provided by your IDE (e.g. Eclipse, Net Beans, Websphere Applic
ation Developer, IntelliJ, etc)
Q. What are the different ways to add break points to your code?
A. You can add break point to any specific line in your code, also you can add break
point by exception. This will allow your program to halt at runtime when a particular
exception is thrown like a NullpointerException.
Q. Why is remote debugging important and how will you debug a remote Java applic
ation?
A. It is increasingly essential with the globalization to be able to debug a Java applic
ation that is deployed remotely, in another country or city. You will come across
scenarios where an application might be running fine in your sandbox (i.e. local
desktop), but might be buggy when running in another environment or country.
Say you want to remotely debug an application called MyApp.jar that is running
remotely, you can set up your desktop to be able to debug it by enabling the remote
debugging as shown below:
java -Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,address=888,server=y -jar MyApp.jar
The above command tells the MyApp.jar to start a server socket on port 888, and
publish the debugging messages using the jdwp, which stands for Java Debug Wire
Protocol.
Q. What are some of the challenges you faced in debugging your application? What
tips would you give?
A.
Debugging multi-threaded applications can be tricky because whenever one
thread reaches a break-point, all other threads also stopped.

Intermittent issues arising from improper implementation of equals( ) or

hashCode( ) methods or data related require a more thorough debugging.
49

Platform Essentials
Tips: Carefully analyze the thread stack traces. Use the debugging features like step
into, step over, step out, and inspection of the runtime values provided by the visual
debugging tools. Where necessary, include adequate debug statements in your code for
a more complex situation. Finally, know your Java fundamentals well enough and
acquire enough experience to be able to come up with a list of possible causes and
narrow it down to the root cause.

50

Section-3:
Knowing your way around Java

Judging your exposure to Java through open-ended questions.

Gauging your exposure to Unix operating systems as most production
systems are Unix based.
Understanding your experience in regards to proper documentation.
Obtaining a feel for your awareness and attitude towards software
quality

This section is mainly for intermediate to senior level. If you are a beginner, skim
through this section, and come back to it after reading the other sections. This section is
mainly used to judge your experience. So where possible give practical examples by
reflecting back on your past experience using the SAR (Situation-Action-Result)
technique. The answers provided here are hints only. As an experienced professional,
your experience and views may differ. Experienced professionals know what works and
what doesn't. They know what tools to use to simplify a task at hand.
Good developers are opinionated based on their past experience. They can handle
scenario based questions. They may pause a while to reflect back on their experience, but
won't be stumped by the open ended questions. Reflecting back on your past experience
and a little preparation prior to your interviews and meetings will really boost your
performance.
This is a brush up section that will not only help you sell yourself more
effectively, but also will help you reflect back on your past experience and refresh your
memory. This section will add value only if you perform well relating to sections 4 7
on fundamentals.
This section will also provide valuable insights into getting your job done more
effectively, and making yourself heard in team meetings by contributing suggestions or
raising opinions. This does not mean that you will have to be inflexible. Most
importantly, the good developers get things done by complimenting their technical skills
with good soft-skills and right attitude.
51

Knowing your way around Java

Judging Experience
As explained earlier, open ended questions give you a great opportunity to prove your caliber
and usefulness to the organization in a well-rounded manner. You have no control over what
questions get asked in interviews, but you have control over what messages, skills, exper
ience, and personal attributes you want to nicely get across to your prospective employers or
interviewers without bragging, being too critical, or coming across inflexible. The openended questions give you the chance to make an impression. A very common open-ended
question is tell me about yourself ? OEQ
Q1 Can you list some of the Java features you used recently? LF
A1 [Hint] JDK 5.0 (external version 5.0 and internal version 1.5.0) is a major feature
release that largely centered on enhancing ease-of-development.
Features:

52

Generics: provides compile-time type safety to operate on objects of various

types and collections frameworks. It eliminates the tedious labor of casting.
(JSR-14)
Enhanced for loop: eliminates the monotonous labor and error-proneness of
iterators and index variables when iterating over collections and arrays. (JSR201)
Autoboxing and auto-unboxing: eliminates the routine work of manual
conversion between primitive data types such as int, long, etc and wrapper
object types such as Integer, Long, etc. (JSR-201)
Type safe enums: are flexible object oriented enumerated type facility that
allows type safety without the verbosity and error-proneness of the type safe
enum pattern that existed prior to JDK 5.0. (JSR-201)
Varargs: eliminates the need of manually wrapping up argument list into an
array when invoking methods that accept variable-length argument lists. (JSR201)
Static import: eliminates the need to qualify static members with class names
without the shortcomings of the constant interface anti-pattern existed prior
to JDK 5.0. (JSR-201)
Annotations: let you avoid boilerplate code under many circumstances by
enabling tools to generate it from annotations in the source code. This leads to
attribute oriented (aka declarative) programming. This eliminates the need to
maintain side files that must be kept up to date with changes in source files.

Instead the information can be maintained in a source file itself. This is also
Java's answer to the XDoclet framework used prior to JDK 5.0 (JSR-175).
Annotations allow you to add runtime metadata to classes, fields, and methods.
Everything that can be done with marker or tag interfaces in earlier versions of
Java can now be done with annotations at runtime using reflection.
Libraries:

The Collections framework has been enhanced with support for generics,
enhanced for loop, and autoboxing. Three new interfaces named Queue, Block
ingQueue, and ConcurrentMap have been added. More efficient copy-on-write
List and Set implementations have also been added.
The Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) has been included in the JDK so it
doesn't need to be downloaded separately. (JSR-206)
The concurrency utility package java.util.concurrent was included as part of
the standard edition 5.0, which previously had to be downloaded separately.
This package provides a scalable, thread-safe, and high-performance building
blocks for developing concurrent applications.

JDK 6.0 (external version 6.0 and internal version 1.6.0) release is centered on being
Web Services friendly, mixing of Java with other scripting languages, and general
enhancements to existing libraries.

One of the most significant features of this release is support for the Java API
for XML Web Services (JAX-WS), version 2.0. JAX-WS 2.0 includes Java
Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) 2.0 and SOAP with Attachments API
for Java (SAAJ) 1.3. So Java SE 6.0 is SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)
friendly, and Apache Axis framework is no longer required.
Java SE 6.0 also includes a new framework and developer APIs to allow mixing
of Java technology with scripting languages such as PHP, Python, JavaScript,
and Ruby. This is very useful for prototyping, experimentation of an algorithm
or function, and one off or ad hoc tasks like transforming a text file into a
needed format, looking for a specific item in large log files, getting a subset of
data from a database and packing it as a text file, etc. All of the above tasks can
be done in a language like Java, but it can be faster and easier to do them in a
scripting language like PERL, Ruby, or Python. BP It is a best practice to
always use the right or best tool for the right job without just being overly
passionate about Java alone.
53

Knowing your way around Java

Full JDBC 4.0 (Java Data Base Connectivity) implementation providing

improved XML support for Databases. A free to use Java Database based on
Apache Derby is included since JDK SE 5.0 download.
Improved desktop APIs including newly incorporated SwingWorker utility to
help with multi-threading in GUI applications and much needed JTable
sorting and filtering capabilities. You also have access to new things such as
desktop applications through what used to be called the JDesktop Integration
Components (JDIC). You can now have the ability to add applications to the
system tray. The GUI performance is snappier and integrates well with the
native platforms.
Improved monitoring and management through out of the box on demand
support tools and inclusion of Java heap analysis tool (Jhat) for forensic
explorations of those core dumps.

Q2 Who are your role models? What books really inspired you? What was the recent Java
book you read? What websites do you use to keep your knowledge current? OEQ
A2 [Hint]
Role models:

Rod Johnson founder of SpringSource.

Robert C Martin author of a number of timeless software books.
http://www.objectmentor.com.
Kathy Sierra author of popular head first series of books.
Anyone who worked or working with you.

Books read by the experienced:

54

Effective Java by Joshua Bloch.

Code Complete by Steve McConnell
The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
Design Patterns by ErichGamma, RichardHelm, RalphJohnson, and JohnVlis
sides (the GangOfFour).
Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C.
Martin
Clean Code by Robert C. Martin.
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler

Head First Design Patterns by Eric T Freeman, Elisabeth Robson, Bert Bates,
Kathy Sierra
Java Concurrency in Practice by Brian Goetz
Java Puzzlers by Joshua Bloch and Neal Gafter

Books read by the beginners:

Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel
Head First Java by Bert Bates, Kathy Sierra
Websites:
http://www.theserverside.com/
http://java.dzone.com/
http://www.javaworld.com/
http://www.infoq.com/
Note: If you get your Java doses more often from blogs and white papers like me
than books, elaborate on your favorite online resources.
Q3 Can you list the Java SE features you really love and why? LF
A3 [Hint]
Annotations based development relieves Java developers from the pain of
cumbersome configuration. Annotations provide declarative style programming where
the programmer says what should be done and tools emit the code to do it. This assists
rapid application development, easier maintenance, and less likely to be bug-prone. For
example, EJB3, Hibernate, and Web Services widely use annotations. You could even
write your own service delivery framework making use of annotations whereas the
developers concentrate on writing the business logic through business delegates and
data access logic through data access objects (DAOs) while the framework takes care
of generating the necessary EJB3 and Web Service boiler plate code such as the inter
faces, implementations and descriptors based on standard and custom annotations
during build time.
Varargs, autoboxing, printf style text formatting, and for-each loops: These
features make your code more readable by simplifying your code. For example, without
varargs and autoboxing one would write:

55

Knowing your way around Java

String output = String.format( %s:%d: %s%n, new Object[ ]
{ inputText, new Integer(inputNumber), inputMessage });
With varargs and autoboxing,
String output = String.format(%s:%d:%s%n, inputText,
inputNumber, inputMessage);
new Object[ ] {...} array is not required due to varargs and new Integer(...) is not
required due to autoboxing. The enhanced for loop, also known as foreach, is a nice
feature that can be used with any of the collection classes in Java 1.5. In addition, Java
supplies hooks that allow you to make your own class iterable, so that it can be refer
enced in a foreach loop.
public void write(String[ ] inputs) {
for (String input: inputs)
write(input);
}
Enums are very powerful. Enums are type safe, readable if proper names are used,
can be used in switch statements, self-documents your code, can be compared for
equality using == identity without requiring to use the equals( ) as they are effect
ively singletons, and can be used in collections (e.g. as HashMap keys). All enum classes
inherit the toString( ), hashCode( ), and equals( ) methods from the Enum class. The
equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods are marked as final, hence cannot be overridden by
your enums. The toString( ) method can be overridden, as it is not marked final. In
short, all of the Object class methods in the Enum class are marked as final except the
toString( ) method. Refer to the Enum class API, as many of the other methods like
name( ), compareTo( ), ordinate( ), etc are marked final as well. Enums are Serializable and
Comparable as they implement the relevant interfaces. The enums cannot be cloned as
the Enum class' clone method throws CloneNotSupported exception.
You can add your own field and methods. Each declared field is also an instance of
enum. DP
Hence, you can apply the template method design pattern to create
command objects as shown below:
public enum EventType {
...
STANDARD( ) {
56

@Override public void execute( ) {

logger.info("Standard Event");
}
},
SPECIAL( ) {
@Override public void execute( ) {
logger.info("Special Event");
}
};
....
//template method
public abstract void execute( );
}
public class Event {
private String name;
private EventType type = null;
public void getName( ){return this.name;}
public void getEventType( ){return this.type;}
public void setName(String name){
this.name = name;
}
public void setEventType(EventType type){
this.type = type;
}
...
}
So instead of writing
if(type == EventType.STANDARD) {
logger.info("Standard Event");
}else if(type == EventType.SPECIAL) {
logger.info("Special Event");
57

Knowing your way around Java

}
...
You could write:
EventType.STANDARD.execute( );
EventType.SPECIAL.execute( );
Even better is to write:
getEventType( ).execute( );
Q4 Can you list the Java SE features you dislike and why? LF CO
A4 [Hint]
Checked exceptions: By removing checked exceptions, one can eliminate the need to
implement try/catch clauses that do nothing but log a message, wrap and re-throw as a
RuntimeException, making the code harder to read with throws clauses all over the place
or causing very subtle bugs by sweeping the exceptions under the carpet with empty
catch blocks. Nevertheless, when explicitly throwing a RuntimeException (i.e an
unchecked exception), developers still have the option to catch exceptions that they
can actually handle or declare the exceptions in the method signature and Java docs for
visibility and explanation. Unchecked exceptions make your code much simpler. For
example, the Spring JDBC Template support can shrink your JDBC code enormously
by getting rid of those unsightly try, catch, and finally blocks, and cleanly releasing the
database resources like connections, statements, etc. Checked exceptions are also the
main reason for Java not having closures till JRE 6.0 as it adds to the complexity.

58

Exception class hierarchy: There are counter arguments in favor of checked excep
tions. The development community is divided on this topic.

Regardless of this checked versus unchecked exception debate, the exception class
hierarchy in general is less intuitive and confusing at times. For example, SQLException
is used to report both badly constructed SQL code due to programming errors and
failure of database connections due to environmental factors. Exception hierarchy
could be simplified as shown below.
Checked exceptions denote that an action can be taken to recover from the situation or
the situation can be handled more meaningfully. For example, connectivity issues can
be recovered from after a few retries. Business exceptions like ReachedMaximum
DailyLimitException can be used meaningfully to pass information to the user or to take
an alternative course of action like sending an email, writing to the audit tables in the
database, and notifying other systems via message queues.
The java.util.Date and Time classes in JDK are badly designed and verbose. As
discussed later in this section, the third-party library Joda-Time will make your life
much easier, especially when complex date related calculations are required. JDK 7 will
change the date-time classes significantly with the JSR 310, This will fix the main
problem of java.util.Date and java.util.Calendar being mutable objects. The JSR 310 is
built around the same basic date/time concepts used in Joda-Time like a discrete
59

Knowing your way around Java

timeline, instants, partials, durations, periods, and intervals.
Some of the gotchas and inconsistencies discussed below are caused by some of
the bad design decisions like allowing primitive variables in Java, implementation of
Java's generics with type erasure, etc.

Type erasures in generics: In the interest of backward compatibility,

robustness of generics has been sacrificed through type-erasure. Because of
type erasure during compile-time, List<Integer> and List<String> are the same
class, at runtime. They are both just lists. This lack of type information at
runtime poses a problem for generic container classes that want to make
defensive copies.
//constructor attempting a defensive copy using generics
public MyImmute(T param) {
//compile-error during defensive copy
this.param = new T(param);
}
As the type information will be erased in the compiled class, the raw type has
no way of knowing the type of object you want to construct at runtime. This
means that generics in general is a solution for collection classes and seem to
only solve the problem of automatically casting in and out of collection classes
in addition to improving the readability of your code in collection classes by
enclosing the type information in angle brackets.
List<String> myList = new ArrayList<String>( );

Autoboxing can cause a mysterious NullPointerException: An Integer

expression can have a null value. If your program tries to auto-unbox a null
value, it will throw a NullPointerException.
public class Unbelievable {
static Integer i = null;
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//NullPointerException while auto-unboxing i.intValue( )
if (25 == i)
System.out.println("Unbelievable");

60

}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException
at Unbelievable.main(Unbelievable.java:5)

Type-erasure in generics and auto-boxing can cause NullPointerException or

other mysterious issues:
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
public class Generics1 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Map<Long, Long> myMap = new HashMap<Long, Long>( );
myMap.put(3L,4L);
// key & value are auto-boxed to Long
int key = 3;
// The key is auto-boxed to type Integer, hence value will be null.
Long value = myMap.get(key);
// Line A
System.out.printf("Result is %1s", Long.toString(value)); // Line B
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException
at Generics1.main(Generics1.java:10)
Since generics in Java are compile-time constructs, and are not directly
supported by the JVM, the underlying container class myMap accepts regular
Object instances during compile-time check and asserts that it can be safely
promoted from int to long in line A, whereas the actual object passed to the
container class myMap after auto-boxing at runtime is of type Integer and not
of type Long. Since the container doesn't actually have a runtime generics, the
collection merely looks up the reference object in the map and fails to find it.
This results in NullPointerException in line B due to reference value being null.

61

Knowing your way around Java

At compile-time, when a generic type is instantiated, all information about the
actual parameter type is removed and therefore an instantiation of a type such
as List<Integer> and List<String> results at runtime in the same type, that is,
its raw type List. Therefore, you can't use the instanceof operator with
generics.
Collection<String> cs = new ArrayList<String>( );
Collection<Integer> cs2 = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
if (cs instanceof Collection<String>) {
// ...
}

// illegal

Wild cards in generics can make your code more complex to use and under
stand. It is not worth puzzling over complicated generics statements.
public static <T extends Comparable<? super T>> void sort(List<T>list) { .
...
}
In simple cases, generics is clearly a huge improvement in both clarity and
safety over just casting all over the place. So understanding how generics works,
its pitfalls, and limitations can assist you decide when to use and when to back
off, and avoid using it.

Q5 Can you list the Java SE features you like to be added in the future? LF
A5 [Hint]
Closures: are useful for implementing abstractions that involve behavior. A closure is a
named or anonymous subroutine. It looks like Java 7 will have closures. Closures can
make your life as a developer much easier. Not sure of the actual syntax for Closures at
this stage, but it could be something like:
For example, to run a function in a thread pool,
myThreadPool.submit(#( ) { for (int i = 1; i < 1000; i++) performTask(i) });
#( ) {...} --> is a function (i.e. an anonymous function)
#( ) --> empty paranthesis indicate that the function has no arguments.
62

Currently (up to Java 6), custom sorting of objects in a list requires an implementation
of a Comparator interface. Closure could simplify this as follows to sort strings in a list
by its length in an ascending order as shown here:
Collections.sort( listStrings, #(String str1, String str2) str1.length( ) - str2.length( ));
JavaScript is widely used in web development, and in JavaScript a closure is created
every time you create a function within a function. When using a closure, you will have
access to all the variables in the enclosing (i.e. the parent) function.
var calculate = function(x) {
var const = 2;
return function(y) {
return x + y + const; // has visibility to parent variable 'const'
};
}
var plus5 = calculate(5);
alert(plus5(3));
alert(plus5(7));
alert(plus5(10));

//plus5 is now a closure

//returns 10 i.e. x=5, y=3, const=2
//returns 14 i.e x=5, y=7, const=2
//returns 17 i.e x=5, y=10, const=2

Closures are first class objects in groovy, and in many ways it resembles anonymous
inner classes in Java. The above functionality can be implemented in groovy as shown
below:
def calculate = {x,y -> x + y + 2} //closure
def plus5 = { calculate.call(5,it)}
//"it" is like "this" in java. Here stands for
//values passed in to plus5 call like 3, 7 or 10
println plus5.call(3)
println plus5.call(7)
println plus5.call(10)

//prints 10
//prints 14
//prints 17

Mixins: Java does not support multiple-inheritance, but it is possible to have the
concept of "mixins inheritance", which are "partial classes" that you can bolt onto
your class, giving you something very much like multiple inheritance. The concept of
"mixins inheritances" are great when you want to refactor common functionality from
two classes having different super classes. Currently Java does not have "mixins" like
63

Knowing your way around Java

Ruby does. In many languages including Java, you cannot say,
class FileTreeNode extends File mixin TreeNode {.}
to give you access to all the operations provided by the File class to work with files and
the TreeNode class to arrange files and perform binary searches at the same time.
You can achieve mixins in Java with the help of,

Aspect Oriented Programing (AOP) language like AspectJ. AOP compliments

OO.
Using interfaces and annotations (or reflection, CGLIB, etc) to mix at build
time using annotations to generate the mixin code as demonstrated below.
public interface TreeNode {
TreeNode search(String toSearch);
// .other methods
}
public class TreeNodeImpl implements TreeNode {
public TreeNode search(String toSearch) {. }
// .other methods
}
@compose ( type = TreeNode.class, field = tree, implClass=
TreeNodeImpl.class
@parentClass (name = java.io.File)
public FileTreeNode extends FileTreeNodeGenerated implements TreeNode {
//...
}
The @compose and @parentClass annotations will generate the class FileTreeNode
Generated at build time as shown below, which is extended and used by the
FileTreeNode class.
/**
* Generated class that achieves reuse of the File class through
* inheritance and the TreeNode class through composition. More
* interfaces can be composed if required.
*/

64

public class FileTreeNodeGenerated extends File {

private TreeNode tree;
//composition
public FileTreeNodeGenerated(....){
this.tree = new TreeNodeImpl(...);
}
public TreeNode search(String toSearch) {
tree.search(toSearch);
}

//use TreeNode

//... other methods

}
Note: The above example is shown only to demonstrate mixins, and this may
not be the ideal solution to a given problem.
You could also fake mixins in Java with the inner classes, but it would be ideal to have
true mixins that are easier to use out of the box.
Java Module System: JAR files are hard to distribute, hard to version, and hard to
reference in general. Existing JAR format can lead to classpath and class loading
problems when:

a developer or deployer of a Java application has accidentally made two

different versions of a library available to the system.

two different libraries (or a library and the application) require different
versions of the same third library. If both versions of the third library use the
same class names, there is no way to load both versions of the third library
with the same classloader.

classes loaded by different class loaders may interact in complex ways not fully
understood by a developer, leading to inexplicable errors or bugs.

The Java Module System (JSR 277) was initiated to address some of the issues caused
by the JAR files. The Java Module System defines a distribution format and a repos
65

Knowing your way around Java

itory for collections of Java code and related resources. It also defines the discovery,
loading, and integrity mechanisms at runtime. It looks like Java 7 will have the Java
Module System. Until then the OSGi can handle all of these nicely. The OSGi (Open
Services Gateway initiative), which is also known as the dynamic module system for
Java, defines an architecture for modular application development. The OSGi imple
mentations such as Apache Felix, Equinox, and Knoplerfish allow you to break your
application into multiple modules, and thus allow you to better manage the cross
dependencies between those modules
Add some of the frequently used third party libraries like Apache commons
collections, Apache commons lang, and more intuitive and easy to use libraries like
Joda-Time to the Java core API (Joda-Time may become part of Java SE 7.0).
You may also think of some of the features in other languages that you liked and keen
to have those features added to Java if not already present in Java.
For example, multi-line string literal in both Scala and Groovy as shown below is more
readable and does not require special escape characters as in Java.
String multiLine = """
Line 1
Line 2 "no escape"
Line 3""";
The syntax in Java is less readable,
String multiLine = "Line 1" +
"Line 2 \"escape\"" +
"Line 3";
The Java POJOs (Plain Old Java Objects) verbose and less readable with all the getter
and setter methods. Groovy comes to the rescue. Groovy makes POGOs (Plain Old
Groovy Objects) less verbose and more readable by creating the getters/setters during
byte code generation. In a POGO, if you have an access modifier, it will be treated as a
property and if you don't specify an access modifier it will be a normal field. The
following code shows Groovy and Java code working together by using the -j compiler
switch to enable the joint compilation.
The less verbose POGO in Groovy is as shown below:
66

public class Person {

String name
String lastName
private int id

//property
//property
//a normal field

String toString( ) {
return "I am ${name} ${lastName}."
}
}
The invoking code in Java is as shown below
public class Organization {
public static void main( String args[ ] ) {
Person person = new Person( ); .
person.setName( "Peter" );
person.setLastName( "Smith" );
System.out.println( person.toString( ) );
}
}
Finally, you may prefer fixing or improving the existing limitations and gotchas in Java
before adding any new features as it could make things worse. Most of these pitfalls
are brought about by the effort to maintain the backward compatibility.
Note: Being able to compare strengths and weaknesses of Java with other
programming and scripting languages will demonstrate some of the recognizable
qualities of good programmers. Good programmers get excited chatting about techno
logies, and are passionate about diversifying on the technology stack. So learn different
technologies, frameworks, and tools, and be opinionated about which are better for
various scenarios.
Q6 Give me a high level description of your experience with the Java platform? OEQ
A6 [Hint]

Working experience with J2SE from 1.3 up to 1.6. Strong experience on J2SE
67

Knowing your way around Java

1.5.

68

Working experience with J2EE from 1.2 up to 1.5. Recent experience on JEE
1.5 including EJB3 and JAX-WS.

Working experience with Eclipse, IBM Rational Application Developer, and

application servers such as Websphere, JBoss, and Tomcat.

Special interest and 5+ years of working experience with multi-threaded

programming and server side programming.

Working experience with Web Service technologies and protocols in addition

to 3-tier Web applications.

Strong server side system integration experience using JMS, Web Services
(both SOAP & Restful), RMI, and XML technologies like JAXB, XPath,
XQuery, XSL, XSD, etc, and middle-ware products like IBM MQSeries,
webMethods, Tibco, and Oracle Service Bus.

Limited client side integration experience by developing Flash widgets, HTML

widgets using iframe, and JavaScript widgets. Also, familiar with popular JavaS
cript frameworks like JQuery and Ext JS.

Working experience with the ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) batch jobs,
using Unix shell scripts, BCP (bulk copy) utility, command line SQL tools like
iSQL for Sybase database, SQL*Plus for Oracle database, and SQLCMD for
the SQL server, and scheduling tools like Control-M or Unix Cron jobs. jobs.

Working experience with scripting languages like Javascript, Groovy, Jython,

Ruby, Perl, and Unix shell.

Experience with sought-after technologies & frameworks like Spring,

Hibernate, EJB3, JSF, AJAX, and Struts 2.

Working experience with build and automation systems like ANT, Maven,
CruiseControl, Bamboo, IVY, and Hudson.

Good working knowledge with regular expressions (regex), structured query

language (SQL), unified modeling language (UML), and entity relationship
diagrams (ERDs).

Note: The above list highlights many of the sought-after technical skills, but
streamline your answer based on your experience, the role, job specification, and the
briefing you got from your prospective employer.
Q7 What are your favorite areas of the Java APIs and why? LF CO CC
A7 [Hint]

EH

java.util.concurrent package is critical to any multi-threaded applications. This

concurrency package makes developers' lives easier. Some of the powerful features
are,
The task execution and thread pooling architecture. The Executors class defines
factory methods for obtaining ExecutorService implementations that use thread pools.
The task-execution framework has Callable and Future interfaces. Unlike the
Runnable interface, these interfaces can return a result or throw an exception through
the call( ) method. You can also execute a Callable task asynchronously through the
submit( ) method. The return value of a submit( ) method is a Future object,
which is used to retrieve the result of your asynchronous task when you are ready
through the get( ) method. If the asynchronous task has completed executing, then
get( ) returns from your method right away. Otherwise, it blocks until the result is
ready or interruted.
import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
import java.util.concurrent.Future;
public class Concurrent1 implements Callable<Integer> {
Integer number;
public Concurrent1(Integer number) {
this.number = number;
}
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Knowing your way around Java

public static void main(String[ ] args) {
ExecutorService pool = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(2);
// invokes the call( ) method
Future<Integer> task1 = pool.submit(new Concurrent1(12));
Future<Integer> task2 = pool.submit(new Concurrent1(8));
Integer result = null;
try {
result = task1.get( ) + task2.get( );
} catch (ExecutionException ee) {
ee.printStackTrace( );
throw new RuntimeException(ee);
} catch (InterruptedException ie) {
ie.printStackTrace( );
throw new RuntimeException(ie);
} finally{
pool.shutdown( );
}
System.out.printf("The result is = %1s", result);

// result = 100

}
@Override
public Integer call( ) throws Exception {
return number * 5;
}
}
CopyOnWriteArrayList and CopyOnWriteSet are very useful in multi-threaded
applications in situations where number of traversals greatly outnumber insertions or
removals. If you are using a normal ArrayList in situations where modifications are
possible through read and write operations, you are likely to get the ConcurrentModifica
tionException. But using a CopyOnWriteArrayList, the writing task will create a new
copy of the data if it needs to add data, thus ensuring that the reader will always have
valid data (though potentially stale data) to display without the ConcurrentModifica
tionException.
The TimeUnit enumerated type includes handy time related utilities. For example,
70

Instead of:
Thread.sleep(10000);

// less readable. Seconds or milliseconds?

Use one of the following forms:

Thread.sleep(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.convert(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
Thread.sleep(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(10));
TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(10);

// easy to read and understand

The Java Collections framework provides high performance and high-quality imple
mentations of useful data structures and algorithms. In most cases you don't need to
create your own data structures and algorithms. It also has several convenience
methods for wrapping additional functionality if required. The Java Collections
framework is one of the most frequently used Java APIs whether you are using a client
side or server side Java development.
The java.util.regex is one of the greatest additions to Java 1.4. The addition of
MatchResult to Java 5.0 makes it a lot easier to obtain all of the state as a
MatchResult. The java.util.regex is also one of the popular Java APIs whether you are
using a client side or server side Java development.
Example 1:
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.regex.MatchResult;
public class Regex1 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String input = "1 car 2 cars Red car Blue car";
Scanner s = new Scanner(input);
s.findInLine("(\\d+)\\s+car[s]?\\s+(\\d+)\\s+car[s]?\\s+
(\\w+)\\s+car[s]?\\s+(\\w+)");
MatchResult result = s.match( );
for (int i = 1; i <= result.groupCount( ); i++) {
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Knowing your way around Java

System.out.println(result.group(i));
}
s.close( );
}
}
Output:
1
2
Red
Blue
Note: The ones in () are the groups that get printed. \\s+ means 1 or more white
spaces. \\d+ means 1 or more digits. \\w+ means 1 or more words. [s]? means 0 or
1s.
Example 2:
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.regex.MatchResult;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class Regex2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String input = "1 car 2 cars Red car Blue car";
Pattern p = Pattern
.compile("car[s]?");
Matcher m = p.matcher(input);
List<MatchResult> list = new ArrayList<MatchResult>(10);
while (m.find( )) {
list.add(m.toMatchResult( ));
}
for (MatchResult result : list) {
System.out.printf("Found '%s' at (%d,%d) %n" , result.group( ),
result.start( ), result.end( ));
72

}
}
}
Output:
Found 'car' at (2,5)
Found 'cars' at (8,12)
Found 'car' at (17,20)
Found 'car' at (26,29)
Q8 What are some of the very common runtime (or unchecked) exceptions you have
come across in Java? When is a ConcurrentModificationException thrown? LF
A8 NullPointerException, ClassCastException (very common prior to JDK 5), ArrayIndex
OutOfBoundsException, StringIndexOutOfBoundsException, and ConcurrentModificationEx
ception. The ArrayLists can throw ConcurrentModificationException:
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
//throws java.util.ConcurrentModificationException
public class Concurrent2 {
public final static void main(String args[ ]) {
List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>( );
list.add("A");
list.add("B");
Iterator<String> i = list.iterator( );
while (i.hasNext( )) {
System.out.println(i.next( ));
// exception after adding C
list.add("C");
}
System.out.println("After: " + list);
}
}
Output:

73

Knowing your way around Java

AException in thread "main" java.util.ConcurrentModificationException
at java.util.AbstractList$Itr.checkForComodification(Unknown Source)
at java.util.AbstractList$Itr.next(Unknown Source)
at Concurrent2.main(Concurrent2.java:14)
CopyOnWriteArrayList to the rescue:
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
//No exception
public class Concurrent3 {
public final static void main(String args[ ]) {
List<String> list = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<String>( );
list.add("A");
list.add("B");
Iterator<String> i = list.iterator( );
while (i.hasNext( )) {
System.out.println(i.next( ));
list.add("C");
}
System.out.println("After: " + list);
}
}
Output:
A
B
After: [A, B, C, C]
Q9 Can you explain thread-safety and atomicity with an example? What do you understand
by optimistic versus pessimistic locking? LF CC
A9 The ConcurrentHashMap is a thread-safe implementation of a Map that offers far
better scalability than a Collections.synchronizedMap(..). Multiple reads can almost always
execute concurrently, simultaneous reads and writes can usually execute concurrently,
and multiple simultaneous writes can often execute concurrently. Iterators returned by
74

ConcurrentHashMap.iterator( ) will return each element once at most and will not ever
throw a ConcurrentModificationException, but may or may not reflect stale data due to
insertions or removals that occurred since the iterator was constructed.
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
public class Concurrent6 implements Runnable {
private ConcurrentMap<String, Integer> counts =
new ConcurrentHashMap<String, Integer>(10);
private static final String KEY = "key";
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
ExecutorService pool = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(10);
try {
Concurrent6 concur = new Concurrent6( );
int totalRuns = 20;
int i = 0;
while (i < totalRuns) {
pool.execute(concur);
// invokes run( )
i++;
}
} finally {
pool.shutdown( );
}
}
//This method is thread-safe, but not atomic.
private void count( ) {
Integer cnt = counts.get(KEY);
cnt = (cnt == null) ? 1 : (cnt + 1);
counts.put(KEY, cnt);
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Knowing your way around Java

System.out.printf("Count for %1s is %2s \n",
Thread.currentThread( ).getName( ), cnt);
}
@Override
public void run( ) {
count( );
}
}
Output:
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 1
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 9
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 10
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 11
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 12
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 13
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 14
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 15
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 16
Count for pool-1-thread-9 is 8
Count for pool-1-thread-9 is 18
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 17
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 7
Count for pool-1-thread-3 is 6
Count for pool-1-thread-5 is 5
Count for pool-1-thread-10 is 4
Count for pool-1-thread-8 is 3
Count for pool-1-thread-6 is 2
Count for pool-1-thread-4 is 1
Count for pool-1-thread-2 is 1
The above code is safe enough to leave the map in a consistent state without any data
corruption due to concurrent access. But it does not make the count( ) method atomic.
For example, two or more threads can concurrently access the count method and read
a current value of say 0, and both will independently increment the count to 1. This
results in value of 1 being printed 3 times as shown above. This behavior of skipping
or missing a count is not desired in some scenarios. You can fix this situation by using
76

synchronization as shown below:

private void count( ) {
//pessimistic locking locks every time
synchronized (counts) {
Integer cnt = counts.get(KEY);
cnt = (cnt == null) ? 1 : (cnt + 1);
counts.put(KEY, cnt);
System.out.printf("Count for %1s is %2s \n",
Thread.currentThread( ).getName( ), cnt);
}
}
The above code provides an atomic update, but the ConcurrentMap interface provides
a more efficient way to handle truly atomic updates with the following interface
methods:
public interface ConcurrentMap<K, V> extends Map<K, V> {
V putIfAbsent(K key, V value);
boolean remove(Object key, Object value);
boolean replace(K key, V oldValue, V newValue);
V replace(K key, V value);
}
PC Check the ConcurrentMap API document for more details. Also, check the
AtomicInteger and AtomicLong APIs. Now, you can rewrite the count( ) method as
follows:
//optimistic locking assumes concurrent update is rare and deals
// with it only when it happens by looping again & retrying
private void count( ) {
Integer oldCnt, newCnt;
do {
oldCnt = counts.get(KEY);
newCnt = (oldCnt == null) ? 1 : (oldCnt + 1);
} while (!counts.replace(KEY, oldCnt, newCnt));

System.out.printf("Count for %1s is %2s \n",

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Knowing your way around Java

Thread.currentThread( ).getName( ), newCnt);
}

Output:
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 1
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 11
Count for pool-1-thread-9 is 10
Count for pool-1-thread-9 is 13
Count for pool-1-thread-9 is 14
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 9
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 16
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 17
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 18
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 19
Count for pool-1-thread-7 is 20
Count for pool-1-thread-5 is 8
Count for pool-1-thread-10 is 7
Count for pool-1-thread-3 is 6
Count for pool-1-thread-6 is 5
Count for pool-1-thread-8 is 4
Count for pool-1-thread-4 is 3
Count for pool-1-thread-2 is 2
Count for pool-1-thread-9 is 15
Count for pool-1-thread-1 is 12
This is more efficient compared to synchronizing the whole counts every time
because we rarely expect another thread to sneak in to read the same count. If this
situation does happen, the above code simply loops and tries again.
Q10 What open source libraries/frameworks do you have experience with? LF OEQ
A10 [Hint]

Apache commons libraries: Apache commons collections, Apache commons

lang, etc. For example,
StringUtils.isEmpty(inputString);
StringUtils.isBlank(inputString);

78

CollectionUtils.isEmpty(myList);
CollectionUtils.containsInstance(myList, myObject);
ArrayUtils.isEmpty(myArray);
return new HashCodeBuilder(17,
37).append(name).append(age).toHashCode( );
return new EqualsBuilder( ).appendSuper(super.equals(obj))
.append(name, rhs.name)
.append(age, rhs.age)
.isEquals( );
Note: Google Collections library from Google Core Libraries (for Java 1.6 aka
Guava) can be an alternative to Apache commons collection library.

Joda-Time: has been created to radically change date and time handling in
Java. The JDK classes Date and Calendar are very badly designed and not
intuitive. Joda classes are immutable (hence thread-safe) and more intuitive. For
example, to represent 1st of January 2009 midnight:
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.GregorianCalendar;
import static java.lang.System.out;
import org.joda.time.DateTime;
public class Calendar1 {
private static final String FORMAT = "yyyy/MMM/dd HH:mm:ss";
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Calendar cal = GregorianCalendar.getInstance( );
// define it locally as this class is not thread-safe
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(FORMAT);
// You may think it is midnight 1st of Jan 2009
cal.set(2009, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0);
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Knowing your way around Java

out.println("Bad=" + sdf.format(cal.getTime( )));
// fix it by
cal.set(2009, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0);
out.println("Good=" + sdf.format(cal.getTime( )));
// or better fix
cal.set(2009, Calendar.JANUARY, 1, 0, 0, 0);
out.println("better=" + sdf.format(cal.getTime( )));
out.println("===== zero and one index based gotchas =======");
out.println("Day Of The Month="
+ cal.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH));
out.println("Month=" + cal.get(Calendar.MONTH));
out.println("===== Joda to the rescue =======");
// best - intuitive and immutable(hence thread-safe)
DateTime dateTime = new DateTime(2009, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0);
System.out.println("bestWithJoda="
+ dateTime.toString(FORMAT));
}
}
Output:
Bad=2009/Feb/01 00:00:00
Good=2009/Jan/01 00:00:00
better=2009/Jan/01 00:00:00
===== zero and one index based gotchas =======
Day Of The Month=1
Month=0
===== Joda to the rescue =======
bestWithJoda=2009/Jan/01 00:00:00
To add 60 days to this date and print using the JDK Calendar:
cal.add(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH, 60);
System.out.println(sdf.format(cal.getTime( )));

80

To add 60 days to this date and print using Joda:

System.out.println(dateTime.plusDays(60).toString(FORMAT));
As you can see one line of more readable code for Joda versus two lines for the
JDK. As the calculation gets more complex, the gap widens. To represent last
day of the week after 1 month and 20 days Joda way:
System.out.println(dateTime.plusDays(20).plusMonths(1).
dayOfWeek( ) .withMaximumValue( ).toString(FORMAT));
Try the above code using the Calendar class from JDK to appreciate Joda-Time
library. Most business applications require date manipulation. If you are
looking for an easy-to-use and more intuitive replacement for JDK (up to SE
6.0) class based date processing, then you really should consider Joda. Joda is
interoperable with your JDK Date class and this lets you keep your existing
JDK dependent code, but use Joda to do the heavy lifting when it comes to
date/time calculations.

Dozer is a JavaBean to JavaBean mapper that recursively copies data from one
object to another. Typically, these Java beans will be of different complex types.
It also makes your code more readable without the nested loops and null
reference checks.

JasperReports: is a Java reporting tool that can write to screen, to a printer or

into PDF, HTML, Microsoft Excel, RTF, ODT, CSV and XML files.

Quartz: is a full-featured, open source job scheduling service that can be

integrated with, or used along side virtually any Java EE or Java SE application
- from the smallest stand-alone application to the largest e-commerce system.

Apache MINA: is a network application framework which helps users develop

high performance and high scalability network applications easily. It provides
an abstract event-driven and asynchronous API over various transports such as
TCP/IP and UDP/IP via the Java NIO API.

Spring: utility APIs like org.springframework.util. Assert help you write fail-fast
code by validating arguments. Useful for identifying programmer errors early
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Knowing your way around Java

and clearly at runtime. For example, if the contract of a public method states it
does not allow null arguments, Assert can be used to validate that contract.
Doing this clearly indicates a contract violation when it occurs and protects the
class' invariants.
Assert.notNull(employee, "The employee must not be null");
Assert.isTrue(employees.size( ) > 0,
"The no. of employees must be greater than zero");
Other useful utility classes under org.springframework.util package are Strin
gUtils, FileCopyUtils, CollectionUtils, ClassUtils, etc.

Many other frameworks like Hibernate, Struts, Tiles, Maven, ANT, IVY, Terra
cotta, OSCache, Log4J, etc.

Q11 In your experience, what are some of the most common errors Java programmers
make? LF CO CC EH
A11
Not being aware of data over flows, using == with float or double compar
isons, and storing money in floating point variables.

Comparing two objects using == instead of .equals( ). When you use ==, you
are actually comparing two object references, to see if they point to the same
object. For example:
public class StringEquals {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String s1 = "Hello";
String s2 = new String(s1);
String s3 = "Hello";
System.out.println(s1 + " equals " + s2 + " -> " +
s1.equals(s2));
System.out.println(s1 + " == " + s2 + " -> " + (s1 == s2));
System.out.println(s1 + " == " + s3+ " -> " + (s1 == s3));
}
}

82

//true
//false
//true

The variable s1 refers to the String instance created by "Hello". The object
referred to by s2 is created with s1 as an initializer,. thus the contents of the
two String objects are identical, but they are distinct objects. This means that s1
and s2 do not refer to the same object and are, therefore, not ==, but equals( ) as
they have the same value "Hello". The s1 == s3 is true, as they both point to
the same object due to internal caching.

Mistyping the name or getting the signature wrong of an overridden method.

If you mistype the name, you are no longer overriding a method, and you are
creating a new method. This issue can be easily picked up in JDK 1.5 or greater
versions by annotating an overridden method with @Override annotation. The
other benefit of the @Override annotation is that if the parent class changes,
the compiler will make sure that the child classes have been updated as well.
Typical methods like hashCode( ), equals( ), toString( ), compare( ), run( ), etc are
meant to be properly overridden.

Failing to override hashCode( ) and equals( ) methods or breaking the hashCode( )

and equals( ) contract through incorrect implementation by violating the
contract.

if a class overrides the equals( ) method, it must also override the

hashCode( ) method.
if two objects are equal, then their hashCode( ) values must be same as
well. But the reverse is not always true. If two objects have the same
hashCode( ) does not mean that they are equal as well.

If you plan to add objects of your own class to sets or maps, your class should
override hashCode( ) and equals( ) methods. If a class implements a Comparable
interface, the compareTo(..) must return zero, if and only if the equals(..) method
returns true for the same non-null argument, and vice versa. Violating these
contracts may cause unexpected results.

Sweeping exceptions under a carpet by writing blank exception handlers and

just ignoring all the exceptions. If you run into problems, and have not written
any error messages, it becomes almost impossible to find out the cause of the
error. For example:
// Don't do this
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Knowing your way around Java

try {
// some code that can throw exceptions
}
catch(Exception ex) {
//do nothing
}
// Do something like this
try {
// some code that can throw exceptions
}
catch(Exception ex) {
logger.error(ex);
throw new RuntimeException(ex);
}

Not thinking about immutability, thread safety, and atomicity every time
designing a Java class. To be more specific, not using proper synchronization or
immutable objects. Given the architecture of the JVM, you need to only be
concerned with instance and class variables when you worry about thread
safety. Because all threads share the same heap, and the heap is where all
instance variables are stored, and multiple threads can attempt to use the same
object's instance variables concurrently. You needn't worry about multithreaded access to local variables, method parameters, and return values,
because these variables reside on the Java stack. In the JVM, each thread is
awarded its own Java stack. No thread can see or use any local variables, return
values, or parameters belonging to another thread.

Using floating point to try to represent exact quantities like monetary amounts.
Double or float are not recommended for monetary calculations, since they
always carry small rounding differences. Either use BigDecimal or represent
them with smallest possible units without the decimals like in cents using int or
long. For example,
import java.math.BigDecimal;
// $2.00 - $1.10
public class FloatingPoint {

84

//optional

public static void main(String[ ] args) {

// Don't: inaccurate and unpredictable monetary result
double result1 = 2.00 - 1.10;
System.out.println("Result1 = " + result1); //0.8999999999999999 Bad
// predictable and efficient int or long fix
int result2 = 200 - 110;
System.out.println("Result2 = " + result2 + " cents");

//90 cents

// predictable BigDecimal fix

BigDecimal result3 = new BigDecimal("2.00").subtract(
new BigDecimal("1.10"));
System.out.println("Result3 = " + result3);
//0.90
}
}
It is preferable to use the ROUND_HALF_EVEN style rounding
mechanism as it has the least bias. It is also known as the bankers' rounding or
round-to-even.

Use of Integer (immutable wrapper object) vs int (primitive), and this goes for
any primitive version of an object. This is specifically an annoyance caused by
not thinking of Integer as different from int since you can treat them the same
much of the time due to auto-boxing.
public class AutoBoxing2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int p1 = 6;
int p2 = 6;
Integer o1 = new Integer(6);
Integer o2 = new Integer(6);
Integer o3 = Integer.valueOf(6);
Integer o4 = Integer.valueOf(6);
System.out.println(6 == p1);
System.out.println(p1 == p2);
System.out.println(p1 == o1);

// Prints true
// Prints true
// Prints true
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Knowing your way around Java

// auto-unboxing o1.intValue( )
// Prints true
// auto-unboxing o1.intValue( )
System.out.println(o1 == o2);
// Prints false
// points to 2 different objects
System.out.println(o3 == o4);
// Prints true
// Points to the same object
System.out.println(o1.equals(o2)); //Prints true
System.out.println(6 == o1);

}
}
Note: o3 and o4 points to the same object as the same instance is returned due
to caching when valueOf( ) method is used.

Relying on the default TimeZone.

Calendar cal = new GregorianCalendar( );
The code above uses the default TimeZone. This might lead to incorrect
date/time in your server application. The 0h00 in Sydney is different to
moment in London. Make sure that the JVMs default TimeZone is suitable for
your locale.
java -Duser.timezone=Australia/Sydney
You can also set the user.timezone property by using the java.lang.System
class's setProperty method:
System.setProperty("user.timezone" , "Australia/Sydney");
Use the correct TimeZone.
Calendar cal = new GregorianCalendar(user.getTimeZone( ));

86

Using a java.util.LinkedList for random access. The LinkedLists are designed for
sequential access. The stacks and queues are designed for sequential access as
well. Using these collection classes for random access (e.g. get(i) ) has the
complexity of O(n). For random access, use a List if duplicates are allowed,

use a Set if duplicates are not allowed, and use an array if the size is known
and duplicates are allowed, as the arrays are more efficient than Lists.

Other nuances and gotchas like:

Calendar.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH) is 1 based and Calen

dar.get(Calendar.MONTH) is 0 based.

The classes SimpleDateFormat, NumberFormat, and its subclass

DecimalFormat are not thread-safe.

Manipulating Swing components from outside the event dispatcher

thread can cause undesirable issues. Swing components can be accessed
by only one thread at a time, and generally, this thread is the event-dis
patching thread. You can handle I/O bound or computationally
expensive tasks using SwingWorker or Timer utility classes. When you
need access to the UI from outside event-handling or drawing code,
then you can use the SwingUtilities invokeLater( ) or invokeAndWait( )
method.

Integer division 1/2 returns 0, not 0.5. Use ((float)1/2) or (1/(float)2)

that returns 0.5.

ConcurrentModificationException when removing an object from a list that

you were iterating.

Using static variables in a clustered environment. Static variables are

scoped to the class in which they are defined. So in a clustered envir
onment, if you change one in the first JVM, the other JVMs are not
going to know about the change. Strictly speaking, it is also possible to
have multiple copies of the same class, if it is loaded by more than one
class-loader within the same JVM.

Note: Even if you are not an experienced professional, you can proactively learn the
potential pitfalls and avoid them. You can also use this to your advantage to prove your
technical capabilities at job interviews, team meetings, and code review sessions. You
must learn from others' mistakes and experience rather than waiting to experience it
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Knowing your way around Java

yourself. This is where good books and tapping into the amazing online resources
come in handy. This will also help you progress in your career a lot quicker.

Gauging Your Experience with UNIX

Most production systems are run in a Unix environment. The Unix environment is very
robust, and offers powerful tools to automate tasks. You might be asked a scenario based
question as shown below:
Q. How would you go about replacing a piece of a text or a phrase from 20,000+ web
templates residing on a Unix file system? SBQ
Even some candidates with 5+ years of experience will be tempted to spend a day or two to
write 200+ lines of code to achieve the above requirement, when it can be achieved in 5
minutes with a simple Unix command. Some of the Unix commands like grep, find, awk,
sed, etc along with the power of regular expressions can make you more productive.
Q12 Can you list some of the UNIX commands Java developers use very frequently?
PF
A12 Find command: allows a Unix user to process a set of files and/or directories in a file
sub tree. Examples,

Recursively delete .svn directories: Subversion is a widely used open-source

revision control application. Every copy of source code received from
subversion repository has .svn folders, which store metadata. However, if you
want to use or distribute source code, these .svn folders are often not
necessary. When creating a new subversion project (or folder) based on an
existing subversion project, it is imperative that the .svn folders are deleted
before checking in the copied and subsequently modified project. Otherwise
you run the risk of corrupting the original subversion project with the newly
copied and modified project.
rm -rf `find . -type d -name .svn`

88

Search for a file with a specific name in a set of files in the current (i.e. .)

directory.
find . -name "rc.conf" -print

Search for *.java files that are using java.util.concurrent classes.

find . -type f -name "*.java" -exec grep "java.util.concurrent" {} \; -print
find . -type f -name "*.java" | xargs -n1 grep "java.util.concurrent"

Searching for old files. Finding files that are 7 days old or finding a file that has
not been accessed for 30 days more, and files that are larger than 100k:
find . -mtime 7 -print
find . -type f -atime +30 -print
find . -type f -size +100k -ls

The grep and egrep commands are very handy for tearing through text files and
finding exactly what you want very quickly.

Search the log files to see if a particular user logged in.

cat /var/log/server.log | grep "login.jsp" | grep "userid"

List all the log files that have a particular search text.
grep -l "Missing Characteristic Value" *.log*

You can use regular expression patterns to search.

grep -e '^import.*util.regex' *.java

Find all occurrences of util.* packages except the util.regex package.

grep -e '^import.*util' *.java | grep -v 'regex'

Tip: The Java LinkageError is tricky to resolve and it indicates that a class has some
dependency on another class; however, the latter class has incompatibly changed after
the compilation of the former class. Since plethora of third party jar files are used in
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Knowing your way around Java

commercial applications, it is not uncommon to get an error like,
java.lang.LinkageError: Class javax/xml/namespace/QNAme violates loader
constraints
This means the class javax.xml.namespace.QName is loaded by two or more different
class loaders, and the versions are not compatible. For example, one might be under
WEB-INF/lib, another might be loaded through an EJB or from a server lib folder.
The find and grep Unix command can come to the rescue to identify the
offending jars as shown below:
$ find . -name "*.jar" -print | -exec jar tvf {} \; |
grep -E "jar$|javax/xml/namespace/QName\.class"
Q. What is the difference between the following 2 commands?
a) find . | grep mortgageonline
b) find . | xargs grep mortgageonline
A. The command (a) finds all the files containing the text mortgageonline in their
file names. The command (b) recursively executes the grep command for each file, and
displays the file contents that have the text mortgageonline. This is equivalent to the
command:
grep mortgageonline `find .`
Tip: The above commands are handy if you are modeling a new project based on an
existing project where you need to change some file names and file contents.
To set PATH and CLASSPATH:

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jdk1.5.0_09
export PATH=$PATH:${JAVA_HOME}/bin
export CLASSPATH=./:${JAVA_HOME}/lib/rt.jar

Working with the Java processes and checking your network configurations. These are
useful tools for monitoring processes, connections, and diagnosing problems.

90

List all Java processes running on a box.

ps -def | grep java

/usr/ucb/ps -auxwww | grep java
Note: The /user/ucb/ps gives you the complete list of the JVM arguments.

List all the processes except the root process.

ps auxwww | grep -v root

Kill a particular Java process.

kill -9 <process-id>

Get a thread dump.

kill -3 <process-id>

Check for bound host-name or port number.

netstat -a | grep hostname
netstat -na | grep 80
Tip: There are times where an application server might be stopped, but either
the address or port might still be bound. When this happens, the process id
that is bound to either the port or address needs to be forcefully ended (i.e. end
process on Windows task manager) or killed (in Unix).The following netstat
command with the option o will display the process id.
netstat -ano | grep 1099
Output: 4784 is the process id that needs to be forcefully ended or killed.
127.0.0.1:1099

0.0.0.0:0

LISTENING

4784

Check for cpu or memory usage.

top
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Knowing your way around Java

vmstat
Testing whether a host or URL is reachable across the network.

ping <hostname>
telnet <hostname> <port-no>
ping www.example.com
telnet www.example.com 80
wget <URL>
wget http://www.example.com/
wget ftp://ftp.example.com/.sample.tar.gz
nslookup www.example.com

The sudo command stands for "superuser do". It prompts you for your personal
password and confirms your request to execute a command by checking a file, called
"sudoers", which the system administrator configures. Using the sudoers file, system
administrators can give certain users or groups access to some or all commands
without those users having to know the root password. It also logs all commands and
arguments so there is a record of who used it for what, and when.

sudo -u jboss_user /etc/init.d/jboss-server status

sudo rpm /tmp/rpms/charging-services.rpm

Working with the archive files:

tar -cvf MyArchive.tar /home

tar -xvf MyArchive.tar
gzip MyArchive.tar
gunzip -f MyArchive.tar.gz

(creating a tar file)

(extracting )

Accessing previous Unix commands you have entered.

92

history
(display all recent commands)
history | grep ps
(display ps related commands)
!!
(repeat the previous command)
!45
(!n > 45 is the number from history list. Repeat this command)

!sudo

(!string > repeat the most recent sudo command)

Note: If you are running on Windows, install Cygwin or MSYS, which gives you a
Unix like environment for Windows to practice on.
Q13 Can you give some examples of where you used sed and awk utilities? PF
A13 Note: find, grep, sed, and awk are cornerstones of shell programming. The last
question covered some practical examples of find and grep. The awk and sed
commands are discussed below.
Awk is used for processing text based data, either in data streams or files. It extens
ively uses regular expressions. Here is a stream based example, using space as the
default delimiter.
$ date "+%Y %m %d"
outputs: 2011 01 31, if you want to extract only year
$ date "+%Y %m %d" | awk '{print $1}'
outputs: 2011, and if you want to extract date/month
$ date "+%Y %m %d" | awk '{print $3 "/" $2}'
outputs: 31/01.
Another typical example would be to extract the shell script name as shown below:
#!/bin/sh
#This is a comment
echo $0
echo `basename $0`
SCRIPTNAME=`basename $0 | awk -F. '{print $1}'`
echo "script names is $SCRIPTNAME"
EXTENSION=`basename $0 | awk -F. '{print $2}'`
echo "extension is $EXTENSION"
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Knowing your way around Java

The above script is stored under /Temp, and executed as shown below
$ sh ./Temp/EchoScriptName.sh
The output is:
./Temp/EchoScriptName.sh
EchoScriptName.sh
script names is EchoScriptName
extension is sh
The awk uses the . as the field for delimiter to break the output into SCRIPTNAME
and EXTENSION. The SCRIPTNAME can be used for logging as shown below:
LOG=/logs/${SCRIPTNAME}-`date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S`.log
date +"`basename $0`: Started at %c" >> $LOG
If you want to extract the number of lines, you could do as follows
$ wc -l "./Temp/EchoScriptName.sh" | awk '{print $1}'
The $ wc -l "./Temp/EchoScriptName.sh" command outputs
10 ./Temp/EchoScriptName.sh
where 10 is the number of lines, and the awk '{print $1}' outputs just
10
The above command is quite handy in ETL (Extract Transform and Load) jobs to
compare the number of lines in the data extract or feed against the number of records
actually loaded into a staging table.
Sed is a powerful tool to make changes in a file or data streams. Sed has 4 spaces -input stream, output stream, pattern space, and hold buffer. Sed operates on input
stream and produces an output stream. The lines from input stream are placed into the
pattern space where they are modified. The hold buffer can be used for temporary
storage. In the following simple example, day can be replaced with night as shown
94

below:

Note: The commands s (substitute), d (delete) , p (print), etc work on the pattern
space.
$ echo day market | sed -e s/day/night/
The above s command substitutes first occurrence of day with night. The out
put is:
night market
the s in s/day/night/ stands for substitute or replace.
$ echo day market, day job | sed -e s/day/night/g
The output is:
night market, night job
The g in s/day/night/g stands for global replacement. i.e. replace every occurrence
of day with night.
In real life examples, the ETL jobs uses shell scripts to validate and load data from feed
files that look as shown below (e.g. MyFeedFile):
#SourceSystem:MortgageCustomers
#TERM.DEPOSIT.ACCOUNTS.20100603.01:45
2083490~MRS Liz RICHES~1055.43~2008/06/06 00:00:00~2009/09/04
2083491~MRS Liz Jones~1055.43~2008/06/06 00:00:00~2009/09/04
#END
The records starting with # are the header records and ending with # is the trailer
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Knowing your way around Java

record. The detailed records are delimited by ~. Often, the header and trailer records
need to be removed before passing to a bulk copy utility like bcp to load the data in to
a database.
$ `sed -e '1d;2d;$d' MyFeedFile > TEMP_MyFeedFile`
The above command uses the sed command to delete the first, second, and last lines
of the feed file, and outputs the resulting detail records alone to a new temporary file.
The d '1d;2d;$d' stands for delete. 1d, deletes the first line, 2d deletes the second line,
and the $d delete the last line. The TEMP_MyFeedFile will look as shown below:
2083490~MRS Liz RICHES~1055.43~2008/06/06 00:00:00~2009/09/04
2083491~MRS Liz Jones~1055.43~2008/06/06 00:00:00~2009/09/04
Alternatively, you can use the following command with the help of regular expressions
to delete comment lines (i.e. lines starting with #) and blank lines as shown below:
$ sed -e 's/#.*//' -e '/^$/ d' MyFeedFile > TEMP_MyFeedFile2.txt
The s is for substitute and 'd' is for delete. The #.* is the regular expression to
match any line starting with a # followed by any character (i.e. .) any number of
times (i.e. *). The ^$ is the regular expression for blank lines. ^ means
beginning with and $ means ending with.
if you want to output just the first two fields, which are account number and account
name using | as the delimiter, you could do it as shown below
$ awk -F~ '{ print $1 "|" $2 }' ./Temp/Temp_MyFeedFile.txt
The output is:
2083490|MRS Liz RICHES
2083491|MRS Liz Jones
If you want to replace all occurrences of MRS with MS, you could do it as shown
below:
$ sed -e 's/MRS/MS/g' ./Temp/Temp_MyFeedFile.txt
96

The output is:

2083490~MS Liz RICHES~1055.43~2008/06/06 00:00:00~2009/09/04
2083491~MS Liz Jones~1055.43~2008/06/06 00:00:00~2009/09/04
The command that was discussed earlier to resolve LinkageError
$ find . -name "*.jar" -print -exec jar tvf {} \; | grep -E "jar$|
javax/xml/namespace/QName\.class"
produces the following output:
./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/stax-api.jar
2254 Thu May 06 15:35:48 EST 2010 javax/xml/namespace/QName.class
./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/xalan.jar
./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/xercesImpl.jar
./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/xpp3_min-1.1.3.4.O.jar
./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/xstream-1.3.1.jar
./lib/stax-api.jar
2254 Thu May 06 15:35:48 EST 2010 javax/xml/namespace/QName.class
This can be further extended using sed to print only the offending jar file as shown
below. The command shown below
$ find . -name "*.jar" -print -exec jar tvf {} \; | grep -E "jar$|
javax/xml/namespace/QName\.class" |
sed -nre "/jar$/ { x; d; }; /class$/ { x; p; }
outputs:
./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/stax-api.jar
./lib/stax-api.jar
Note: Only three commands 'h', 'H' and 'x' modify hold buffer.

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Knowing your way around Java

x exchanges the hold buffer with the pattern buffer, p prints out the pattern
space. d deletes the current pattern space.
/jar$/{x;d;}; Applies the regular expression jar$ that matches lines ending with
jar like ./deploy/MyApp/WEB-INF/stax-api.jar. It swaps this value with the hold
buffer, and deletes pattern space. Initially the hold buffer will be empty. The line
ending with jar will be moved to the hold buffer as shown in the diagram.
/class$/ {x; p;} Applies the regular expression class$ that matches text ending
with
class
like
2254
Thu
May
06
15:35:48
EST
2010
javax/xml/namespace/QName.class. It swaps the hold buffer with the pattern space,
and then prints the pattern space. For example, the line ending with jar residing in
the hold buffer will be moved to the pattern space and printed. The lines ending with
class will be moved to the hold buffer.
Note: The above examples have only scratched the surface of the awk and sed utilities.
There are plethora of online resources to expand your experience and knowledge on
these utilities. Reference: http://www.catonmat.net/blog/sed-one-liners-explainedpart-one.
Q14 Can you answer the following Unix questions? PF
Q. Can you explain the following Unix command?
$ date ; ps -ef | awk '{print $1}' | sed -e '1d'| sort | uniq | wc -l >> activity.log
A. The date prints the date and time. The ps -ef outputs all the running processes
with the UID (user ids) as shown below:
98

UID PID PPID TTY STIME COMMAND

AKumara1 1120
1 con 11:25:36 /usr/bin/rxvt
AKumara1 3280 1120 0 11:25:37 /usr/bin/sh
AKumara1 5884 3280 0 13:05:02 /usr/bin/ps
The awk '{ print $1}' extracts out only the UID column. The sed -e '1d' deletes
the first line of the above output, which is the column name UID. The sort and
uniq, sort the results and remove the duplicates respectively. The wc -l counts the
number of lines. Hence, the above program appends (i.e. >>) the date and the number
of unique UIDs to the file named activity.log. The actual output written to the file looks
as shown below, where 1 is the unique row count.
Tue Feb 1 13:14:53 AUSEDT 2011 1
Q. How will you list the top 5 largest files or directories?
A. The du is the disk usage utility. The head -5 returns the top 5 results.
$ du -sk * | sort -nr | head -5
Note: To get a better understanding of the command options like -sk or -nr, refer
to the Unix manual by typing the following command:
$ man <command-name>
$ man du
$ man sort | more
Q. How will you find out the disk free space?
A.
$ df -k
$ df -h
Q. How will you display all the processes running under your name?
A.
$ ps -aef | grep "AKumara1"
Q. What is NFS? What is its job?
A. NFS stands for Network File System. It enables a file system physically residing on
another computer in the network, to appear on your computer just as another local
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Knowing your way around Java

disk.
mount -F nfs nfs_server_name:/remote_filesystem /local_filesystem
Q. How do you change file access permissions in Unix?
A.
$ chmod 754 file
u g o
7 5 4
u user, g--> group, o others
'r w x -r w x- r w x' --> r-read, w-write, x-execute
r
4

w
2

x
1

7 means the user can read, write, and execute (i.e. 4+2+1). Same as chmod u+rwx
file
5 means the group can read and execute (i.e. 4+1). Same as chmod g+rx file
4 means others can only read (i.e. 4). Same as chmod g+r file
Q. How will you remove execute access to the group in the above example?
A. One of the the following 2 ways
$ chmod g-x file
$ chmod 744 file

#line1
#line2

Note: In line1, you can use + to add a permission and - to remove a permission.
A - is used here because you are removing the execute permission from the group.
Note: Every user has a default set of permissions which apply to all files created by
that user, unless the software explicitly sets something else. This is often called the
'umask'. It is either inherited from the login process, or set in the .cshrc or .login file
which configures an individual account, or it can be run manually.
Q. How do you create a new file in Unix?
A. $ touch MyFile.txt
100

Q. What are ex and vi?

A. ex is Unix line editor and vi is the standard Unix screen editor.
Q. Can you explain $# and $? with example?
A. $# means the total number of command-line arguments supplied to the shell
script. For example:
$ myscript.sh mynew.profile
The $# value is 1 here, as it has only one argument of mynew.profile. The $# can be
used in your shell script as follows. The $1 value is mynew.profile. If you had supplied
2 command-line arguments, then the second argument will be stored in variable $2,
and so on.
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
CONFIGFILE=${SDROOT}/scripts_sh/myapp/myapp.profile
else
CONFIGFILE=${SDROOT}/scripts_sh/myapp/$1
fi
$? is the return code from a previous command or function in Unix, 0 is the
standard return code for a successful completion. Any other codes indicate there has
been an error. For example, the code below validates a header record and mails an
error if there is an error.
echo $HEADER | awk '{
#header line 1 #PIVOT
if($1 !~ /^#[Pp][Ii][Vv][Oo][Tt]/){
print "INVALID - HEADER first line must be PIVOT"
exit 1
}
}'
if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then
echo "awk exited with status code of $?"
# $? is 1
${MAIL} -s "Error in ${SCRIPTNAME}" ${FUND_EMAIL} < ${LOG}
exit 1
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Knowing your way around Java

fi
Note: Just # followed by some text indicates comments.
Q15 Can you brief on a shell script that you had worked on? OEQ
A15 [Hint]
A term deposit application loads the fund rates extracted out from another application
named funds. The funds application extracts out the fund rates to a CSV file, and
sends it over to the term deposit application via sftp (Secured File Transfer Protocol).
A batch process was written using a shell script for the term deposit application to load
the data from CSV extract into its database. This shell script was scheduled to run at
midnight on week days. The shell scripts perform the following tasks:

Validates the extract file to ensure that it has the right header and trailer
records.
Counts the number of detail records.
Uses a command-line utility known as bcp (bulk copy) to load the data from
the csv extract file into a staging table in the database.
${BCP} staging_fund in fund_extract_file.csv -U user1 -S fund_server -P
pwd -e $ERRLOG -t\, -c
Note that the -t\, indicate that the extract file fund_extract_file.csv is comma
delimited, and the data will be loaded in to a staging table named staging_fund
running on a database server named fund_server. The credentials to log in
are user1/pwd.

Uses an interactive command-line SQL tool like iSQL (i.e. for the Sybase
database ) or SQL*Plus (i.e. for the Oracle database) to execute a database
stored procedure that will move the fund rates data from the de-normalized
staging table to a number of other normalized tables used by the term deposit
application.
${ISQL} -U $user1 -S $fund_server -D fund_database -P pwd -o
$TEMP_ROWCOUNT<<

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EOF
declare @rowcount int
SELECT @rowcount = COUNT(*) FROM staging_fund
SELECT "ROWCOUNT=" + convert(varchar, @rowcount)
go
EOF

Compares the number of records loaded into the staging table against the
record count that was performed in the earlier step.

If the count matches return the batch process as a success. Otherwise, mark it
as a failure with an exit code of 2, and email the error message.
TEMPTABLE_ROWCOUNT=`grep ROWCOUNT $TEMP_ROWCOUNT
| cut -d= -f2`
#forced conversion into numeric
TEMPTABLE_ROWCOUNT=`expr $TEMPTABLE_ROWCOUNT + 0`
if [ $TEMPTABLE_ROWCOUNT -ne $ROWCOUNT ] ; then
echo "failed to fully load into database" >> $LOG
${MAIL} -s "Error Loading Funds" ${FUND_EMAIL} < ${LOG}
exit 2
fi

Exposure to tools, technologies, and frameworks

Using the right tools, technologies, and frameworks for the right job can not only make
developers more productive, but also can significantly increase the robustness and quality of
the applications built. There are so many free online resources to master the tools if you
know what tools to use and when to use them. Tools will not only help you become more
productive, but also enable you to impress your superiors and peers by delivering your work
on time without compromising on the quality.
Q16 Can you name some tools, technologies, or frameworks you had to use in Java for
source code generation, byte code manipulation, or assembling code at runtime? PF
A16 The tools and libraries discussed here are very powerful and can improve productivity,
but can be complex, expensive to create and maintain, and requires expertise. So
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should not use these unless you have a very good reason to do so. Even if you don't
use these tools directly, you will be using them indirectly by making use of third-party
libraries and frameworks, and worth knowing the options available.
Reflection: is a powerful tool that lets you build flexible code that can be assembled at
runtime without requiring source code links between components. But care must be
taken as this flexibility may come at other potential expenses like slow performance
and security risks. Even though there is a clear speed disadvantage (i.e. roughly 2 times
slower) to using reflection, for most use cases it does not matter. For it to matter, these
operations have to be done in significant numbers, and for an on-going period (e.g.
handling a heavy load of a web service). Reflection is often used in frameworks. It
does also come in very handy in applying the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle.
As duplication of code is very bad in terms of maintainability and often you can
refactor the code to remove duplication. If you can see that you would be able to
refactor the code but there are just two to three lines of code that is causing trouble in
each method, you may be able to benefit from reflection.
Parser generator or lexical analysis tools. Parsing is the division of text into a set of
discrete parts, or tokens, which in a certain sequence can convey a semantic meaning.
If your requirements are very basic then regular expressions should be sufficient to
parse your input text. However, if your requirements are more complex then a tool like
JavaCC or ANTLR comes in very handy in automatically generating the parser source
files from a grammar definition file written by you.
For example, if you would like to create a simple online user query language (i.e. like
SQL but simpler to use by non-technical users) for your end users to use to query your
back end database.

Firstly, you will be defining a simple online query language for the end users to
use. For example,
display inactive users;
display new users;

104

Secondly, you will be writing a grammar or definition file for the query
language you just created to validate and parse the entries. Parser generation
tools like JavaCC, ANTLR, etc take this grammar definition file as input to
automatically generate a number of .java source files containing complex logic

to parse user input.

Finally, you will use these auto-generated parser source files in your application
code to validate and tokenize a stream of input characters from the online
user query language into tokens. These tokens can be used to programmat
ically generate an SQL statement to retrieve relevant data from the database
and passed back to the user.

Annotation Processing Tool (APT) was introduced in JRE 1.5 along with annota
tions. This very powerful tool enables you to generate new derived source files, class
files, deployment descriptors, etc from a number of base files (i.e. java source code
files) and annotations. To use APT, you need to have tools.jar in your classpath.
APT determines what annotations are present on the source code being operated on.
Next, APT looks for annotation processor factories you've written. The tool asks the
factories what annotations they process. Then APT asks a factory to provide an
annotation processor if the factory processes an annotation present in source files
being operated on. Next, the annotation processors are run. If the processors have
generated new source files, APT will repeat this process until no new source files are
generated.
Example: Generate a simple Java source file named ClassPrinter.java in a package
named annotation.example that simply prints the class names of all supplied source
files.
package annotation.example;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Set;
import com.sun.mirror.apt.AnnotationProcessor;
import com.sun.mirror.apt.AnnotationProcessorEnvironment;
import com.sun.mirror.apt.AnnotationProcessorFactory;
import com.sun.mirror.declaration.AnnotationTypeDeclaration;
import com.sun.mirror.declaration.TypeDeclaration;
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Knowing your way around Java

public class ClassPrinterAnnotationProcessorFactory implements
AnnotationProcessorFactory {
private static final Collection<String> supportedAnnotations = Collections
.unmodifiableCollection(Arrays.asList("*"));
//prevent recursing
private static boolean processedOnce = false;
public Collection<String> supportedOptions( ) {
return Collections.emptyList( );
}
public Collection<String> supportedAnnotationTypes( ) {
return supportedAnnotations;
}
public AnnotationProcessor getProcessorFor(
Set<AnnotationTypeDeclaration> atds,
AnnotationProcessorEnvironment env) {
return new ClassPrinterAnnotationProcessor(env);
}
//inner class
private class ClassPrinterAnnotationProcessor implements
AnnotationProcessor {
AnnotationProcessorEnvironment env;
public ClassPrinterAnnotationProcessor(
AnnotationProcessorEnvironment env) {
this.env = env;
}
public void process( ) {
PrintWriter writer = null;
try {
System.out.println("process( ) method is called processedOnce="
106

+ processedOnce );
if(processedOnce) {
return;
}
writer = env.getFiler( ).createSourceFile(
"annotation.example.ClassPrinter");
writer.println("package annotation.example;");
writer.println( );
writer.println("public class ClassPrinter {");
writer.println( );
writer.println(" public static void main(String[ ] args) {");
for (TypeDeclaration typeDeclaration : env
.getTypeDeclarations( )) {
writer.println(String.format(
" System.out.println(\"Class: %s\");",
typeDeclaration.getQualifiedName( )));
}
writer.println(" }");
writer.println( );
writer.println("}");
processedOnce = true;
} catch (IOException e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}
}
}
}
To run the apt:
apt -cp ./bin -s ./gen-src -factory
annotation.example.ClassPrinterAnnotationProcessorFactory src/*.java
-cp : where to find class files and annotation processor factories.
-s : where to place source files generated by the annotation processor
"ClassPrinterAnnotationProcessor".
-factory: Name of AnnotationProcessorFactory to use
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Knowing your way around Java

There are a number of libraries available like Javassist, BCEL, ASM, etc to manipulate
byte code. Even if you are not using it directly, today's applications will most probably
rely on byte code manipulation at least indirectly through the other tools and frame
works used by your application. Byte code manipulation has become increasingly
popular over the years, and it is used by application servers (e.g. JBoss), AOP libraries,
web frameworks, JPA implementations (e.g. Hibernate), monitoring systems, profilers,
clustering solutions, scripting languages, work-flow engines, and much more. Care
should be taken in using these code generation tools directly as these can adversely
impact maintainability and readability while providing benefits like better performance
and flexibility. You need to have the right expertise and reason to use these powerful
code generation and manipulation tools.
Q17 What tools do you generally need to get your job done? OEQ FAQ
A17
Integrated Development Environments (IDE) like Eclipse, NetBeans,
IntelliJ, etc to increase developer productivity in writing and debugging code.
The right IDE for you is the one you are efficient with. The IDEs help you
with quick navigation, interactive debugging, refactoring, auto-completion,
organizing imports, warnings as you type, hovering over to get API assistance,
etc.

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Hot deployment tools like JRebel, improves developer productivity by

skipping the build and redeploy phases in your sandbox. JRebel is a JVM
agent, which instantly reloads your code upon change without having to restart
your application server or redeploy the application. It integrates into your JVM
as a classloader extension and enables reloading of classes without requiring to
create a new classloader, which is usually the case when redeploying or
restarting application servers.

Cygwin or MSYS to emulate Unix like environment for Windows. Many

production systems are Unix/Linux based, and having a Unix/Linux envir
onment on your local environment can make you more productive across other
environments like System Testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Business
Acceptance Testing (BAT), Staging, and production.

Beyond Compare for comparing both ASCII and binary files and directories.
This is a very handy utility, if you want to compare different versions of the

same ASCII file to understand what has changed or to compare two archive
files to ascertain what new files have been added or deleted. Very handy
especially during the build and release phases of the software development life
cycle (SDLC).

Notepad++ for editing and viewing text files and log files. It has powerful
editing features, uses less CPU, and opens larger files.

WinZip or 7-zip for working with the archived files (e.g. .zip files).

PuTTY for SSH and Telnet implementation on Windows. You can connect to
other Unix/Linux environments using SSH or Telnet. This tool also allows you
to perform SSH tunneling or also known as port forwarding to bypass firewalls
where certain ports are blocked. Common ports for example
POP3,SMTP,HTTP and FTP can be easily tunneled using SSH.

FileZilla or WinSCP to transfer files using FTP or SCP respectively. Log files
or database extract files can be transferred from a Unix machine to your
sandbox (i.e. local machine) using these utilities, and explored further using
Notepad++ as it highlights search text or database extracts can be executed
against a database.

Ethereal or Wireshark for analyzing the network protocols & issues. Devel
oping applications that interact with web services presents a unique set of
problems like not knowing exactly what message was sent to the server, or
what response was received. Some of the most difficult bugs to track down are
caused by a disconnect between what you think you are sending to the server,
and what is actually going across the wire. These tools are commonly called
"packet sniffers" and capture all network packets that move across your
network interface. Examining the contents of these packets and the order in
which they were sent and received can be a useful debugging technique.

Tigris.org provides a stack of tools that can enhance efficiency in various

phases of the SDLC like analysis, construction, deployment, design, testing,
issue tracking, requirements management, and source control management. For
example, source control management (SCM) tools like Subversion, Subclipse,
TortoiseSVN, & RapidSVN; design tools like ArgoUML to name a few popular
ones.
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Atlassian.com software development and collaboration tools like JIRA for

issue tracking, Confluence to share information, Bamboo for continuous
integration server that automates the building and testing of your software,
FishEye for real time notifications of code changes and web based reporting,
and Crucible for constant code reviews to name a few popular tools.

JMeter for performance testing. Badboy can be used to record your scripts
during functional testing, and then save the same script as a JMeter file to do
performance testing using JMeter. There are other commercial performance
testing tools like HP Load Runner.

Database administration and SQL execution tools such as db-visualizer,

SQuirreL SQL, SQL Developer, DBArtisan, and Toad.

Web service execution and testing tools like SoapUI, PushToTest,

TestMaker, and WebInject.

XML editors like XMLSpy and Oxygen to work with XML related techno
logies like XSDs, XSLs, WSDLs, XQuery, XPath, etc.

Client side debugging tools like FireBug for FireFox and Fiddler to debug
HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and Ajax requests/responses. There are many other
handy FireFox plugins like Modify Headers, Live HTTP headers, and
Tamper Data to test and debug client side.

Static analysis tools: Static analysis tools are used to find out programming errors in
the code by analyzing their byte code.

110

CheckStyle is a development tool to help programmers write Java code that

adheres to a coding standard

FindBugs is a program which uses static analysis to look for bugs in Java code.

PMD scans Java source code and looks for potential problems like unused
code, duplicate code, overcomplicated expressions, suboptimal code, etc.

CheckThread for catching Java concurrency bugs.

Any good software development should have good documentation. This includes
technical specifications, user manuals, support documentations, etc. These documents
are generally produced using either Microsoft Word application or Oracle's Open
Office writer. A good documentation must be concise with adequate diagrams, proper
versions and access control. The following tools come in very handy.

ScreenHunter or any other screen capturing tools to capture screen shots.

Visio or argouml for solution design and UML diagrams.
Microsoft SharePoint or any other document management software/repos
itory to manage documents.
Wiki or Confluence for team communication and knowledge sharing by
providing adequate information for developers to share knowledge. For
example, high level solution design, how to guides (e.g. How to set up your
environment, application, etc), quick start guides, information on environments
like database servers, application servers, etc across various environments like
development, system testing, user acceptance testing, staging, and production.

Q. What tools have you used for the build and release processes? Can you also discuss
some of the benefits of using those tools? SD
A.
Maven and/or Ant with IVY to build and package the relevant artifacts.
Bamboo, Continuum, CruiseControl, Hudson (more poplar), etc for
continuous build and integration.
Unix based package management tool like RPM for release and installation.
Use tools like Maven or Ant with Ivy for build & dependency management:

In a nutshell, Maven manages your build, reporting, and documentation from

a central piece of information you provide via the pom.xml file. It automates
your dependency management, build, and deployment tasks.
Once you describe what your dependencies are, Maven or Ant/Ivy will pretty
much automatically build and test your code by downloading all the
dependency jar files from various repositories.
Maven automate all your common build tasks and also allow you to customize
any tasks through prebuilt Maven or Ant plugins/wizards.
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Knowing your way around Java

Continuous integration and build tools like Hudson:

Monitor build results by e-mail or RSS to send real-time notifications on

failure.
Detect new failing unit tests while build and send notifications when first test
in build fails. Also, produces a JUnit/TestNG unit testing framework test
reports.
Can distribute build/test loads to multiple computers.
Keeps track of which builds produced which jars, and which build is using
which version, etc.
Provides a dashboard to view all the projects and its subgroups.

RPM offers a number of benefits like:

Ability to upgrade individual components of your application without

completely reinstalling.
It provides powerful querying options. You can search for what package a file
belongs to and from where the package came.
You can also identify changes made to your artifacts since the last release.
Support for automatic rollback.
It provides extensive history and version information on installed packages.

Q18 What other languages have you used? LF

A18 [Hint] Perl, Python, Jython, Scala, Smalltalk, Ruby, JRuby, Groovy, Clojure, C++, C#,
VisualBasic, Java Script, Unix Shell scripting, etc.
No more Java purism. Some of the scripting languages can make you more productive
with features like fewer key strokes, easy to read, good libraries, and quick
write/compile/run life cycle. Learning additional languages will also increase your
understanding of programming in general, and more importantly it adds another tool
to your tool box. Different languages use different programming paradigms, and get
you to not only think differently and open your mind, but also make you conscious of
their respective strengths and weaknesses. For example, another JVM language like
Groovy can make developers more productive as the Groovy code is often easier and
faster to write than a Java code, which makes it a worthwhile addition to your devel
opment toolkit. It is also important to understand that Groovy isn't a replacement for
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Java, but compliments it with simpler syntax, dynamic typing, and features like closures
and builders. In some cases, it makes more sense to use Groovy over Java. For
example,

You can do all the same things with JUnit in Groovy that you can do in the
Java language with far fewer keystrokes. The JUnit run time is built into the
Groovy runtime, and Groovy unit tests are easily scriptable with build tools like
ANT, and provides many additional JUnit assertion statements and you can
mock with Groovy Mocks. For example, to test for three persons with names
Peter, Jason, and Tom in Java
List<Person> persons = s.getPeople( );
assertEquals(3, persons.getSize( ));
assertEquals("Peter", persons.get(0).getName( ));
assertEquals("Jason", persons.get(1).getName( ));
assertEquals("Tom", persons.get(2).getName( ));
Same results can be achieved in Groovy with a single line as shown below.
assertEquals(['Peter', 'Jason', 'Tom'], s.persons.collect {it.name})
Note: it means this person. It compares each person object for his/her
name, and compares it with the supplied names. You can do more with less
code in groovy.

You can write a generic online forms engine in Java/JEE, and customize its
behavior with simple Groovy driven scripts for specific online form applica
tions like term deposit forms, cash management account forms, etc..

You can use Java with Groovy or Jython for rapid prototyping. For example,
you can build web applications using the GroovyServlet. Groovy has a concept
that lets you write Java servlets in Groovy called Groovelets. Even the JDK is
boosted with some nice features from Groovy to work with Files and mark
up languages like XML, HTML, etc.

Some of the other scripting languages like JavaScript and Unix shell scripting are kind
of must know scripting languages to be a well rounded developer, as many applica
tions are Web based and run on Unix machines. JavaScript is really unavoidable these
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Knowing your way around Java

days. When people talk about HTML 5, they are mostly talking about JavaScript. JavaS
cript is used by many organizations including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple and
Facebook to provide a much richer user experience. The Java Script frameworks like
JQuery can simplify coding.
Q. What tools or languages do you use for rapid prototyping?
A.
Using HTML with CSS, Flash, JavaScript, and frameworks like JQuery.
Using Python or Ruby
Using Java with Groovy or Jython.
Using wireframe and prototyping tools like Axure, MockupScreens,
MindManager, etc.
The best tool is the one you are most comfortable with to get the job done at hand.
Note: Before you choose a main stream language refer to the TIOBE Programming
Community Index at
http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html.
Q19 How would you go about......? questions like

How would you go about performance tuning an application?

How would you go about identifying memory leaks or thread safety issues in
an application?
How would you go about gathering requirements, designing, and documenting
your applications?
How would you go about identifying and fixing any potential transactional
issues in your application?
How would you go about determining the security requirements for your
application?
How would you go about describing the software development process you are
familiar with?

A19 These questions have been addressed in the Java/J2EE Job Interview Companion
(400+ Q&A).

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Documenting your Java applications

Good documentation is vital to any software project. As your documentation will be
reviewed by your superiors and peers, a good documentation will also make a good
impression and can surely help you progress in your career or get your contracts extended.
Q20 What are the different types of documents you refer to while designing or coding your
system? DC OEQ FAQ
A20 High Level Business Requirements document, which contains the basic require
ments that are to be developed as a software project. These are the why and what
in business language.
Detailed Business Requirements document is more detailed than a high level
business requirements document. It contains the information and data needed to
design the application. These are the how in the business language. These
documents address each functional requirements. Use case diagrams are often used to
communicate the intended behavior of the system.
Non-functional requirements document is used for addressing non-functional
requirements like how long transactional data should be kept for before archiving,
volume of expected data and its growth over a period of time, estimated number of
concurrent users or requests, auditing, logging and alarming requirements for ongoing
customer support, process monitoring, metrics evaluation, disaster recovery strategy,
and service level agreements (SLA) to define the system's mission criticality, availability
and performance requirements. At times, non-functional requirements are included
within detailed business requirements document itself.
Software architecture documents describing conceptual architecture (abstract),
logical architecture (detailed), and execution architecture (deployment). These
documents provide both structural and behavioral view of the system.
High level design documents provide an abstract (coarse-grained) view of the
system based on the above mentioned documents. Details required to write the code
are not shown. High level documents can have class and sequence diagrams at a
conceptual level without defining operations in detail.
Low level design documents provide a detailed view of the system. These
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Knowing your way around Java

documents can include class diagrams, sequence diagrams, and entity-relation ship
diagrams among many other details and diagrams to communicate the implementation
level details.
Other relevant documents highlighting coding standards, development processes,
deployment procedures, platform specifications, etc. These are usually accomplished
via team based wiki sites.
The distinction between the above mentioned documents are not always very clear. For
example, high level and detailed design documents can be combined into one at times.
These documents are mainly written with the target audience in mind. So when
writing these documents, one needs to ask the following questions
Who's reading it? What do they want to know? And Why?
If you are writing a technical specification, it should have enough details so that you
can give it to any developer and he or she should be able to start coding based on it. If
you are writing a design document, it should answer all the questions an architect or a
developer will be interested in understanding the system on a much higher level. So a
design documentation should entail high level diagrams depicting the overall archi
tecture, design alternatives, pros and cons of each alternative, why a particular altern
ative was recommended?, potentials risks, likelihood of those risks and the impacts of
those risks to the business, etc. In general, these documents must also spell out any
inclusions, exclusions, and most importantly map to relevant business and functional
requirements.
Java reference Documentation

JDK 6 Documentation -> http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/

Java Platform API Specification for Java core APIs and third party library APIs.

Java 6 API http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/index.html

Java Language Specification (JLS) is worth reading a bit at a time. For example,
section 3.8 covers the Identifiers and 3.9 covers the Keywords.

116

JLS --> http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/third_edition/html/j3TOC.html

JDK Tools and Utilities reference documentation covers the tools you use to
create, build, and run applications.

tools doc http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/tooldocs/index.html

Q21 In your experience, why is it important to have relevant APIs handy while coding? LF
COQ
A21
It is a best practice to reuse proven, well-tested, and robust APIs as opposed to
reinventing the wheel or writing sub-standard functions. Writing APIs is not a
trivial task.

These APIs and methods make your code more readable and maintainable. It
can not only help you write one liner code, but also can warn you of some
hidden dangers like if a particular class is thread-safe, if a particular method is
deprecated and relevant replacement for a deprecated method, and other
recommendations you can find like the one under java.lang.Object class' equals( )
method details as described below:
"Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode( ) method whenever
this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the
hashCode( ) method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash
codes."
Lets look at this with some interesting examples.
Example1: The BigDecimal API clearly states that the BigDecimal(double)
constructor is not recommended as it is unpredictable and BigDecimal(String)
must be used instead. Try running the following code?
import java.math.BigDecimal;
//$2.00 - $1.10
public class JavaAPI {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//Don't: unpredictable and not recommended
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Knowing your way around Java

BigDecimal result = new BigDecimal(2.00).subtract(new
BigDecimal(1.10));
System.out.println("Result = " + result);
//predictable based on API recommendation
BigDecimal result2 = new BigDecimal("2.00").subtract(new
BigDecimal("1.10"));
System.out.println("Result2 = " + result2);
}
}
Output:
Result4 = 0.8999999999999999111821580299874767661094665527
Result3 = 0.90
If you really want to use a double value, then do the following with the
valueOf(...) methods in the String class that can represent any primitive value as a
string.
BigDecimal result3 = new
BigDecimal(String.valueOf(2.00)).subtract(new
BigDecimal(String.valueOf(1.10)))
This shows that you need to take notice of the warnings and recommendations
in the API documentation.
Example2: The Java API for JRE 5 and 6 clearly states that the class String
Tokenizer should not be used from JRE 1.4 onwards. This is what you can find
in the API documentation:
StringTokenizer is a legacy class that is retained for compatibility reasons
although its use is discouraged in new code. It is recommended that anyone
seeking this functionality use the split method of String or the java.util.regex
package instead.
The following sample code demonstrates that String.split(regex) and Arrays.deep
ToString(myArray) are one liners that improve readability of your code.

118

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.StringTokenizer;
public class OneLiner {
private static final String FRUITS = "Apple, Mango, Orange, Grapes";
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// No need to do this
StringTokenizer st = new StringTokenizer(FRUITS, ",");
List<String> listFruits = new ArrayList<String>( );
while (st.hasMoreTokens( )) {
listFruits.add(st.nextToken( ));
}
String[ ] fruits1 = new String[listFruits.size( )];
fruits1 = listFruits.toArray(fruits1);
System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(fruits1));
// Do this instead
// one liner tokenizing using Regex
String[ ] fruits2 = FRUITS.split(",\\s*");
// prints only the reference
System.out.println("reference only --> " + fruits2);
// No need to do this
int count = 0;
for (String fruit : fruits2) {
++count;
System.out.print(fruit);
if (count <= fruits2.length - 1) {
System.out.print(", ");
}
else {
System.out.print("\n");
}
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}
//one liner deepToString method
System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(fruits2));
}
}
Output:
[Apple, Mango, Orange, Grapes]
reference only --> [Ljava.lang.String;@7c6768
Apple, Mango, Orange, Grapes
[Apple, Mango, Orange, Grapes]
Note on regular expression: ,\\s* means, a comma followed by white space
characters repeated zero or more times.

, a comma followed by,

\\s white space character in regular expression pattern is denoted as \s,
and since \ has a special meaning as an escape character in Java, you need to
escape the backslash in \s with another backslash, which results in \\s )
repeated,
* zero or more times. Note that *, + & ? are NOT wild card characters. *
repeated zero or more times, + repeated 1 or more times, and ?
repeated 0 or 1 time).

Refer to java.util.regex.Pattern API for the regular expression syntax.

Q22 What do you expect to see in a high level or detailed technical specification document?
DC OEQ
A22
Objective and brief description of the project.
Inclusions, exclusions, and assumptions to clearly spell out what is in scope,
what is out of scope, and the assumptions made.
Risks highlighted with brief description, likelihood, impact, and mitigation
strategy.
High level and detailed solution diagrams to provide a quick overview.
Matrices to map key business requirements with the technical solutions.
120

The design alternatives addressed with pros, cons, and recommendations.

Any relevant pre-conditions, post-conditions, and alternative flow paths.
Other relevant UML diagrams like class diagrams, sequence diagrams,
package diagrams, state chart diagrams, etc.
ER (Entity Relationship) diagrams to represent database schema and
relationships.
The non-functional requirements like disaster recovery, security, response
times, performance metrics, system monitoring, scalability, high availability,
look and feel, etc addressed.
Revision history to track changes, references to business requirements
documents, and a list of reviewers and approvers of the document.

Q23 What do you expect to see in a high level or detailed business requirements
document? OEQ
A23
Purpose, constraints, scope inclusions, scope exclusions, etc to give an intro
duction to the project.
Business objectives clearly defined, so that the design alternatives can be appro
priately evaluated. For example,

Business requirements with relevant use case diagrams, pre-conditions, altern

ative flows, post-conditions, expected results, etc so that the technical design
specifications can be produced.
Requirements should also address typical business scenarios so that the test
cases can be easily written. For example

Objective 1: Improve customer satisfaction by reporting sales inform

ation online.
Objective 2: Keep investment to <$250K whilst still delivering the
service
Objective 3: Reduce the risk of operator errors.

What if the rebate elections are made after the monthly process is
started?
What if the accounts are moved from one adviser to another adviser?

Non functional requirements like 24 x7 availability, average response times,

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usage patterns and forecasts, etc.

Revision history to track changes and a list of reviewers and approvers of the
document.

Q24 What tips do you give to someone who wants to write a technical documentation?
A24
Be clear about why you are creating this documentation and who will be
reading it. Put yourself in their shoes.
Gather information in the domains where you are not the subject matter
expert.
Organize and outline information. Fill the information you already have and
leave areas blank where you need to gather more information.
Identify gaps in the requirements, get it clarified, and updated.

Ensuring code quality.

As a software engineer, you should ensure how your users will a have quality experience
with the system you build. You must learn not only to think from a technology perspective,
but also from a user experience and business objective perspective. No point in building
something with a bleeding edge technology, if it does not add real value to your business and
their users. QOS

Q25 Do you use test driven development? Why / Why not? COQ SP
A25 [Hint:] Yes.

Gives you a better understanding of what you're going to write. Gets you to
clearly think what the inputs are and what the output is. Helps you separate
the concerns by getting you to think about the single responsibility principle
(SRP).

Enforces a better test coverage. This gives you the confidence to refactor your
code in the future, since you have a good coverage.

You won't waste time writing features you don't need.

Q26 What tips do you give someone who is writing the unit testing? COQ SP
122

A26

Write unit tests and re-factor your code where necessary to make it more
maintainable and readable. BP It is a best practice to write your unit tests first
along with an empty implementation of your functionality For example, a
function that just returns false or null so that your tests fail. Then fill the empty
functions with proper implementations to pass your tests.

Tests should not depend on other tests. Use mock objects where appropriate to
ensure that the tests are re runnable without the fear of having the right data
in the database. Alternatively, the dbUnit framework allows you to create a data
set, which is automatically created into the real database before running the test
code and can clean up its mess at the end if necessary.

Think of all possible inputs your test should pass for it to be correct. For
example, can you think of all possible input values you need to test for the
following method?
public class isOdd {
public static boolean isOdd (int i) {
return i % 2 == 1;
}
}

// buggy

You need to test with an odd number (e.g. 3), even number (e.g. 4), zero (e.g 0),
and a negative number (e.g. -3). If you closely pay attention, you will notice that
the above code will fail for negative odd numbers. Say i = -3;
-3 % 2 returns -1;
-1 == 1 returns false. This should actually be true since -1 is an odd number.
If tested for all possible conditions, this error can be picked up during testing
and rectified as follows,
public class isOdd {
public static boolean isOdd (int i) {
return i % 2 != 0;
}
}

//fixed

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Knowing your way around Java

Include negative test cases in your test plan. Under ideal testing conditions,
network timeouts don't occur. it is critical that attention is given to the problem
of network timeouts during application development, for both network clients
and network servers. Infinite timeouts can cause your application to hang for
ever.
socket.connect(remote, 30000);
java.net.Socket.setSoTimeout(30000) ;

// timeout after 30s

// timeout after 30s

Write your code for better testability. The key to any unit testing, as the term
unit implies, being able to instantiate and test a small portion of the application
and asserting that it does something correctly with both positive and negative
test cases. If you can only instantiate a large portion or the whole application,
then you cannot have a small unit test. So always look for signs that can make
your code harder to unit test while writing your code. Please refer to Misko
Hevery's thought provoking online articles for writing better testable code at
http://misko.hevery.com/.
Avoid constructing complex object graphs in your constructor. Use a
factory or builder class to construct complex objects.
Use dependency injection to more loosely couple your callee from
the caller. The dependency injection frameworks (aka Inversion of
Control (IoC) containers) like Guice, Spring, HiveMind, etc make your
code more testable, maintainable, and flexible through looser coupling.
Judiciously apply the Law of Demeter to minimize coupling and
improve testability. The Law of Demeter was originally formulated as a
style rule for designing OO systems by only talking to your immediate
object. For example. Prefer writing,
customer.getName( );
to a longer version shown below:
order.getContact( ).getCustomer( ).getName( );

124

By allowing access to the extra depth into nested lists or objects,

coupling is increased. Increased coupling makes your code harder to
test or change. It's usually a trade off between increased coupling
between the code and the data and the increased performance.
Some of the signs that your code is bad are:
Classes with too many instance variables, methods and code or too little
instance variables and methods (i.e. anaemic domain model).
Large methods performing too many things. A method should only
perform one specific task.
Excessive comments to explain the code. Code should be able to
explain itself with meaningful names, smaller methods, and logical
steps.
Repeated use of switch/case and if/else statements. Replace this with
polymorphism.
Same logic is copied and pasted in multiple places. Refactor the shared
code to a helper class or method and reuse it.
Deeply nested for loops and goto statements producing a spaghetti
code that is hard to understand and maintain. Replace multilevel nested
loops with recursive method calls or use divide and conquer approach
with more meaningful methods.
Use of too many design patterns in a small space.
Over use of implementation inheritance.
Q. Is there any downsides to writing unit tests?
A. Yes. Writing too many unit tests can make your code more fragile. Any valid change
to your code will make a number of unit tests to fail. So, strike a good balance.
Q27 How will you ensure quality of your design and code? COQ BP DC DP
A27
Make your code more maintainable by applying the DRY (Don't Repeat
Yourself ) principle.

Apply the fail fast principle (aka design by contract). A fail-fast code will
immediately report any failure or conditions attempting to continue a possiblyflawed process. Firstly, define your preconditions which check if the object is
125

Knowing your way around Java

in a valid state or the parameters are valid. For example, check your input for
null or empty values before start using them. Also, check your post conditions
where required. Reduce preconditions in your code. Code that is very tedious
about how it's invoked can make everything else harder to maintain.
public class EmployeeAge {
int age;
..
public void setAge(int age) {
//check preconditions and fail fast
if (age < 0) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid age");
}
// check business pre-conditions and fail fast
if (age >= 0 && age < 16) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Outside eligible age range");
}
this.age = age;
}
..
}

126

Business logic must be written in a protocol agnostic manner. This

improves code maintainability and reuse by centralizing the business logic in
one place, and enabling access to it by various protocols like HTTP, TCP,
HTTP over SOAP, RMI, etc.

Know your OO concepts and apply them. For example, use of encapsu
lation lets you create well-defined boundaries which are only connected by
narrow bridges. Another example would be to prefer interface-inheritance
with composition to implementation inheritance for loose coupling and better
flexibility.

Be aware of the design principles that allow your code to be more flexible
to extend, reuse, and understand. DC DP

 Open Closed Principle (OCP), which states that a software module

should be closed for modification, but open for extension. Promotes
looser coupling through coding against an interface as opposed to an
implementation.
Liskovs Substitution Principle (LSP), in a simpler term states that if
a program module is using the reference of a base class say Base, then it
should be able to replace the base class with a derived class say Derived
without affecting the functioning of the program module. For example,
a Rectangle is not a Square as per this principle. Mathematically, a square
is a rectangle where the length is equal to the width. But functionally or
behaviorally, a square is different from a rectangle. A rectangle must
define both length and width. A square must define only width.
Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP), which states that high-level
modules should not depend upon low-level modules. Both should
depend upon abstractions. Abstractions should not depend upon
details. Details should depend upon abstractions. This principle helps
your design to be Open Close Principle (OCP) compliant. why is it
called Dependency Inversion Principle? The answer is again in how you
think about building your modules. In the traditional approach, you
start thinking from the high-level modules and cascade down to the
lower levels. In Dependency Inversion Principle, you start thinking
from the low-level modules. You start by writing lower level abstrac
tions for example a Writer, which may have a number of concrete
implementations like DatabaseWriter, FileWriter, LdapWriter, etc. Then
you start associating this abstraction to higher level modules like
DataCollectors, DataProcessors, etc. Design is always about trade-offs, and
designing with too many levels of abstractions can be an over kill and
time consuming. In many cases the requirements are rigid and unlikely
to change too often. Designing is all about finding the right balance
between flexibility based on the requirements and letting the project get
on without over complicating things.
Composite Reuse Principle (CRP), which favors composition with
interface inheritance over implementation inheritance to achieve
polymorphism. Think twice before just inheriting functionality. There
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Knowing your way around Java

are times when it is a good idea to use implementation inheritance such
as when there is a logical default behavior and only some child classes
need to over-ride it, for example the template method and composite
design patterns. But, if the intent is to utilize the functionality rather
than expose it to child class callers, composition with interface inher
itance is almost always the right decision. For example, strategy,
decorator, and proxy design patterns use interface inheritance. Some
of the reasons to favor composition over implementation inheritance
are:
Inheritance can easily be used improperly. Some designs look
like "is-a" situation, but aren't really. For example, A Square is
not a Rectangle in terms of behavior.
As the number of classes increases the complexity of the code
base increases.
Inheritance happens at compile-time, hence is static and
composition is dynamic as it happens at runtime. Hence
composition is more flexible.
Implementation inheritance tends to create more strongly
coupled classes that are more fragile and can be harder to test in
isolation.
Interface Segregation Principle (ISP), which states that many specific
interfaces are better than one combined general interface. The intent of
this principle is that the clients should not be forced to implement
interfaces they don't use.
Single Responsibility Principle (SRP), which states that there should
never be more than one reason for a class to change. This principle
represents a good way of identifying classes during the design phase of
an application and it reminds you to think of all the ways a class can
evolve. If you have 2 reasons to change a class, you will have to split the
functionality into two classes. Each class will handle only one respons
ibility, and in the future if you need to make one change, you will be
making it in the class which is responsible for handling it. For example,
128

business logic and data access logic are segregated into their own
classes.

Apply well proven design patterns like Gang of Four (GoF) design patterns
that help you solve recurring problems in software development. Based on the
GoF authors' experience, a good software design should Program to an
interface, not an implementation and object composition should be favored
over class inheritance (aka implementation inheritance).

One major factor of the maintainability of software systems is the control of

dependencies. Using open source tools like Sonar for reporting design/code
tangles and other code quality metrics like check style reports and code duplic
ation can improve the overall software quality. There are other open source
tools like JLayerCheck and Macker with IDE (e.g. eclipse) plugins to identify and
remove tangles in your design.

Q28 Can you list some of the key aspects you keep in mind while coding to ensure quality
& robustness? COQ BP DC DP
A28
Use the right tool to get the job done. For example, don't use String opera
tions to parse or write XML documents. There are a number of considerations
to look out for like:

Escaping reserved characters like '<', '>', '&', etc,

Handling XML name-spaces and encoding correctly.
Using the memory efficiently.

Use an appropriate XML library like Xerces, JDom, StAX, JiBX, etc to get the
job done correctly and efficiently.

When coding, think about thread-safety and atomicity. Issues arising from
these are harder to detect and test.

Always write readable code. Don't rely too much on comments. Make your
code self-explanatory with meaningful variable, method and class names.
"Any fool can write code that a computer can understand.
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Knowing your way around Java

Good programmers write code that humans can understand."

by Martin Fowler
Instead of writing:
int a;
Use:
int maxAge;
If you have meaningful variable and method names, you don't have to clutter
your code with comments. Books like Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile
Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin will be a good start to write
clean code.

Handle exceptions properly. Don't sweep them under a carpet.

Reduce state with local variables or make your code inherently thread-safe
with immutable objects where possible.

Where possible reuse well proven and tested API methods from the Java
code libraries and open-source libraries without having to write your own.

Be aware of the common gotchas, pitfalls, anti patterns, or caveats of

the Java language discussed throughout this book. Some of these are
highlighted in the Java API documentation. Always have the API document
ation handy and refer to it. For example, the SimpleDateFormat API document
ation states that,
"Date formats are not synchronized. It is recommended to create separate
format instances for each thread. If multiple threads access a format concur
rently, it must be synchronized externally."

130

System resources are finite and manage them properly. The non-memory
resources like file handles, sockets, database connections, LDAP connections,
etc need to be closed properly in a finally block once finished with them. Don't
rely on the finalize( ) method to close these finite resources as you can't know

when a finalize( ) method will be invoked by the garbage collector. It may take
hours for the garbage collector to invoke a finalize( ) method. Creating and
destroying some of these resources like threads and connections frequently can
be expensive. Hence, maintain a pool of these resources and return them to
the pool to be reused. Use proper time out values for the network connec
tions, to prevent a thread being blocked infinitely. The heap memory is finite
and use proper object reuse (e.g. immutable objects) strategies. Don't assume
that generating a file is small enough to fit into the available heap memory as
shown below:
byte[ ] readFile = generatePDF(...);
The above code is vulnerable to memory issues if accessed concurrently by
multiple threads. Don't use byte arrays for bulk data. Use streams to write the
data to a file or database. Make it a point to buffer your streams to minimize
the number of read/write call to the native system.
InputStream in = new BufferedInputStream(new
FileInputStream(myFile));
Q29 What are mock objects and when do you use them? COQ
A29 Mock objects are simulated objects that mimic the behavior of real objects in
controlled ways. Mock objects can be used in unit tests and other parts of your code to
simulate interactions with resources that are

harder to set up. For example, complex database set up is required.

Real object is not yet ready or a separate team is responsible for providing the
real objects.
The real object may be too slow.
The real object may have a non-deterministic behavior like not running
immediately as it logs the request and only runs after midnight or kicked off
only when the temperature reaches above 40 degrees centigrade.

Some of the frameworks used in Java for creating mock objects are EasyMock, Mockito,
PowerMock, and jMock. The Mockito framework is quite easy to learn, and the PowerMock
extends Mockito and EasyMock to provide support for private and static methods. The
PowerMock also contains other useful features such as suppressing static initializers and
constructors.
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Knowing your way around Java

Q30 What development methodologies are you comfortable with? SP
A30 [Hint:] Experienced in both waterfall and agile development practices. Strictly speaking,
waterfall is a methodology, and Agile is a set of principles. Scrum and XP (eXtreme
Programming) are methodologies that use these agile principles. Agile came about
because methods like waterfall didnt allow for a high level of customer involvement,
or change. Many companies adopt a hybrid approach where a waterfall approach is
followed with good documentation and agile principles like:

Daily stand-up meetings.

Iterative development.
Test driven development
Better customer/user engagement

At the end of the day, Information Technology exists for the business. Business must
be able to respond to changing customer needs and wants very quickly. So take the best
parts of the tool kits and attack projects in a way that makes sense for that project. It is
also at times required to resort to tactical or hybrid solutions as opposed to strategical
or cleaner solution, to meet the business objectives. A typical example would be that a
business might be structured and operates in a certain way, for example by products or
services. A good developer will look at things from both business and technology
perspective. This is why in real life, you will often end up having hybrid solutions to get
the best of both worlds as opposed to religiously following what the proponents say.

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.

In practice there is."
YogiBerra

132

Section-4:

Language Essentials

Valid identifiers and reserved keywords

Choosing the right data types
Widening versus narrowing conversions
Understanding the operator precedence
Thinking in binary and bitwise operations
Initializing your data correctly
Packaging your classes to avoid conflicts
Constants and static imports
Modifiers and where are they applicable?
Methods and constructors
Recursive functions
It is always pass-by-value in Java
Class, instance, and local variables

This section is mainly for beginner to intermediate level. It also contains useful
information for senior level candidates, and worth having a quick browse through, especially
if you are required to sit for a basic Java technical test. Even among experienced profes
sionals, there are a breed of developers who know how to get things done by using various
frameworks, tools, and googling without fully understanding the fundamentals. Under
standing the core Java fundamentals are essential not only from the point of view of passing
the technical tests used for screening potential candidates and to perform well in technical
job interviews, but also from the point of view of showing off your technical capabilities
within limits to your peers and superiors during code review sessions, team meetings, and
situations where you were able to resolve an intermittent, critical, or obscure problem more
quickly than others as you understand the nitty-gritty details.
It's important to let others know about the good things you are accomplishing. Don't
think that by just working hard that you'll get noticed. You need to let people know,
133

Language Essentials
especially your leaders like to know these things because they can't know everything that is
going on, so speak up when required to. A little preparation prior to a code review session
or an important team meeting that was going to discuss a class loading issue can make a
huge difference in making an impact. All you have to do is refresh your memory on the
basics.

134

Valid identifiers and reserved keywords

Q1

What are identifiers in Java? What does the following code do? Can you talk us
through the code highlighting some of the key language and design features? COQ
LF BP
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Set;
public final class ValidIdentifiers {
private enum Validity {
Valid, InvalidIdentifierStart, InvalidIdentierPart, ReservedKeyWord,
ReservedLiteral
};
private static final String[ ] RESERVED_KEYWORDS = { "abstract",
"continue", "for", "new", "switch", "assert", "default",
"if", "package", "synchronized", "boolean", "do", "goto",
"private", "this", "break", "double", "implements",
"protected", "throw", "byte", "else", "import", "public",
"throws", "case", "enum", "instanceof", "return",
"transient", "catch", "extends", "int", "short", "try",
"char", "final", "interface", "static", "void", "class",
"finally", "long", "strictfp", "volatile", "const",
"float", "native", "super", "while" };
private static final String[ ] RESERVED_LITERALS = {"true", "false", "null"};
private static Set<String> KEYWORDS = new HashSet<String>(
(int)(RESERVED_KEYWORDS.length/0.75));
private static Set<String> LITERALS = new HashSet<String>(
(int)(RESERVED_LITERALS.length/0.75));
135

Language Essentials
static {
List<String> list = Arrays.asList(RESERVED_KEYWORDS);
KEYWORDS = new HashSet<String>(list);
List<String> listLit = Arrays.asList(RESERVED_LITERALS);
LITERALS = new HashSet<String>(listLit);
}
public static final Validity valid(String input) {
if (input.length( ) == 0
|| !Character.isJavaIdentifierStart(input.charAt(0))) {
return Validity.InvalidIdentifierStart;
}
for (int i = 1; i < input.length( ); i++) {
if (!Character.isJavaIdentifierPart(input.charAt(i))) {
return Validity.InvalidIdentierPart;
}
}
if (KEYWORDS.contains(input)) {
return Validity.ReservedKeyWord;
}
if (LITERALS.contains(input)) {
return Validity.ReservedLiteral;
}
return Validity.Valid;
}
}
A1

Identifiers are names you give to your variables, constants, classes, interfaces and
methods.
The above code verifies if a given input is a valid identifier, complying with the
following rules:

136

The first character of an identifier must be a letter, an underscore(_), or a

currency sign(e.g. $).

The rest of the characters in the identifier can be a letter, underscore, currency
sign, or digit. Note that spaces are NOT allowed in identifiers.
Identifiers are case-sensitive. This means that age and Age are considered as
different identifiers.
Identifiers cannot match any of Java's reserved words like for, int, etc or
literals like null, true, and false..

Note: true, false, and null might seem like keywords, but they are actually
literals; you cannot use them as identifiers in your programs.
Note: const and goto are reserved, but not currently used. enum was added in Java 5.
strictfp allows you to have more predictable control over floating-point arithmetic.
Q. Can you talk us through the code highlighting some of the key language and
design features?
A.
Use of enums and generics indicates that this code must be using JDK
version 1.5 or greater.

LF Private access modifiers are used where required to encapsulate the

internal details.

LF The class is marked final so that it cannot be extended.

DC It follows the code to interface design principle. For example, the Set,
List, etc shown below are interfaces.
private static Set<String> KEYWORDS = new HashSet<String>(
(int)(RESERVED_KEYWORDS.length/0.75));
//...
List<String> list = Arrays.asList(RESERVED_KEYWORDS);

BP Making use of the Java API methods where possible. For example, the
methods shown below from the Character and Arrays classes, simplify your
code. So don't memorize the Java API, but keep it handy and constantly refer
to it.

137

Language Essentials
Character.isJavaIdentifierStart(input.charAt(0))
Character.isJavaIdentifierPart(input.charAt(i))
List<String> list = Arrays.asList(RESERVED_KEYWORDS);

BP If a size of a collection is known in advance, it is a best practice to set its

initial size appropriately to prevent any resizing. Implementing the code as
shown below would not quite work.
private static Set<String> KEYWORDS = new HashSet<String>(
RESERVED_KEYWORDS.length);
The internal threshold for HashSets and HashMaps are calculated as (int)
(capacity * loadFactor). The default loadFactor is 0.75. This means the
HashSet will resize after 75% of its capacity has been reached. The resizing and
rehashing of the set can be prevented as follows,
private static Set<String> KEYWORDS = new HashSet<String>(
(int)(RESERVED_KEYWORDS.length/0.75));

BP:
BP Checking for null and empty string as a precondition in the beginning of
the valid(String input) method.
if (input == null || input.length( ) == 0 ...)
The above code snippet is a slight deviation of the fail fast principle, which
states that check and report any possible failures as soon as possible. Testing
your code for failure points will lead to better, safer, and more reliable code.

Q. Do you have any recommendations to further improve the code? OEQ

A. Yes.

The Apache commons library class StringUtils can be introduced here. The
method isEmpty (String input) can be used to check for both null and empty
string. This library does have other useful methods that can be used elsewhere
in the application code to enforce the fail fast principle.
StringUtils.isEmpty(input)

138

The RESERVED_KEYWORDS and RESERVED_LITERALS constants

may be loaded from a configuration file. This will ensure that if new keywords
or literals are added to Java in the future, it will require only a configuration
change.

Note: Even though the above recommendations are debatable depending on various
other factors, it is better to know the possible options to demonstrate your experience
than to have no ideas at all.
Q2

Which of these are legal Identifiers? LF

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)

A2

$Ident1
_Ident1
-Ident1
2Ident1
private
private1
null
Ident-1
Ident$1
\u00A3Ident1
\u00A5Ident1

The legal identifiers are a,b, f, i, j, and k. Let's make use of the class ValidIdentifiers
shown in Q1, to test the identifiers.
package chapter2.com;
//using JDK 1.5 static import
import static chapter2.com.ValidIdentifiers.valid;
import static java.lang.System.out;
public class ValidIdentifiersExample {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
/**
* A valid identifier start consists of letters (e.g.
* a-zA-Z), digits(0-9),underscores (_) and currency symbols
* ($,\u00A3(Pound),etc),But cannot start with a digit.
139

Language Essentials
*/
out.println("a) $Ident1=" + valid("$Ident1"));
out.println("b) _Ident1=" + valid("_Ident1"));
out.println("c) -Ident1=" + valid("-Ident1"));
out.println("d) 2Ident1=" + valid("2Ident1"));

//Valid
//Valid
//InvalidIdentifierStart
//InvalidIdentifierStart

/**
* an identifier cannot have the same spelling as one of
* Java's reserved words like final, synchronized, etc or
* a reserved literal
*/
out.println("e) private=" + valid("private"));
out.println("f) private1=" + valid("private1"));
out.println("g) null=" + valid("null"));

//ReservedKeyWord
//Valid
//ReservedLiteral

/**
* Cannot use anything other than letters,digits, under-scores and
* currency symbols in part of the identifier
*/
out.println("h) Ident-1=" + valid("Ident-1"));
out.println("i) Ident$1=" + valid("Ident$1"));

//InvalidIdentierPart
//Valid

//Pound & Yen

out.println("j) \u00A3Ident1=" + valid("\u00A3Ident1"));
out.println("k) \u00A5Ident1=" + valid("\u00A5Ident1"));

//Valid
//Valid

}
}
Q. What is an escape character? Can you list some character escape codes in Java?
What are the differences between decimal, octal, and hexadecimal literals?
A. The escape character, the back slash \, is the character that signals the following
character is not what it normally means. Java provides escape sequences for several
non-graphical characters. All characters can be specified as a hexadecimal Unicode
140

character (\udddd) with some as an octal character (\ddd where the first d is limited
to 0-3, and the others 0-7). Refer: http://www.ascii-code.com/
import static java.lang.System.out;
public class EscapeCharacters2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
char c1 = 'A';
//Decimal value of 65
char c2 = '\n';
//new line character
char c3 = '\u0041';
//Hexadecimal character = Decimal value of 65
char c4 = 65;
out.println(c1 + "\t" + c3 ); //prints 'A <tab> A'
out.print(c2);
//prints a 'new line'
out.println(c4);
//Decimal value of 65, which prints letter 'A'
out.println("\\ ");
//prints back slash
out.println("\' \" ");
//prints a single quote followed by a double quote
out.println("\f");
//prints a form feed
out.println("\101");
//Octal value, representing a decimal value of 65
// 1x82 + 0x81 + 1x80 = 65. Prints letter 'A'
out.println("\377");
//Max Octal value -- Decimal value 255
// 3x82 + 7x81 + 7x80 = 255.
//prints a symbol '', according to ASCII table
// value of 255
out.print("\r");
out.println("\u0041");

out.print("\uFFFF");

//prints a Carriage Return

//Hexadecimal value, representing a decimal
//value of 65
// 0x163 + 0x162 + 4x161 + 1x160 = 65.
// Prints letter 'A'
//max Hexadecimal value -- Decimal value 65,535
//15x163 + 15x162 + 15x161 + 15x160 = 65535
//0-9 and A - F to represent values 10 to15. F=15.
//prints unicode value 65535, which is a symbol '?'
//according to unicode table at
//http://unicode.coeurlumiere.com/?n=61440

}
}
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Language Essentials
Q. How does Java treat Unicode escapes within string literals?
A. The compiler translates Unicode escapes into the characters they represent before
parsing into tokens, such as string literals.
public class UnicodeRepresentation {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("\u00A3-Pound, \u00A5-Yen");
}
}
Ouput:
-Pound, -Yen
Q3

Which of the following are keywords in Java? LF

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
r)
s)

A3
142

friend
NULL
implement
synchronized
throws
implements
synchronize
volatile
transient
native
interface
TRUE
new
true
strictfp
instanceof
then
throw
this

The keywords are: d, e, f, h, i, j, m, o, p, r, s.

Note: true is a reserved literal not a reserved keyword. Also, take care with the spelling.
implements ending with an 's' is a keyword, but implement is not. synchronized ending with
'ed' is a keyword, but synchronize is not. Unlike other languages, then is not a keyword.
You only have if and else in Java. Both throw and throws are keywords.
Q4
A4

Why is it a best practice to adhere to naming conventions and what are they? BP
Naming conventions make programs more understandable by making them easier to
read. They can also give information about the function of the identifier. For example,
whether it's a constant, package, or class. The conventions really depend on the
individual place you're coding for. In general,

For classes and interfaces, use UpperCamelCase.

For class members and local variables use lowerCamelCase
For packages, use reverse URI, e.g. org.project.subsystem
For constants, use ALL_CAPS.

If you really want to begin a variable name with a digit, prefix the name you'd like to
have (e.g. 9pins) with an underscore, e.g. _9pins. Otherwise use something like ninePins.
Some try to differentiate between member variables, local variables, and arguments
with different patterns. For example,

field (aka instance or member variable): _name or this.name. this is a

reserved keyword in Java referring to the current object.
argument : aName
parameter : pName
local variable : _name

Coding standards are a key best practice in many development processes, especially in
agile development. Some recommendations simply define a standard way to layout
code or to name classes or variables, while others are designed to make code more
reliable or better performing. There is no real objective reason to prefer one style over
the other as long as it is consistent across the team or organization. Checkstyle is an
open-source tool that can help enforce coding standards and best practices.

143

Language Essentials

Choosing the right data types

Some simple mistakes like having an integer overflow can bring an application down and
cost companies in thousands.
Q5

How would you go about choosing the right data types for your application? What are
wrapper classes, and why do you need them? LF BP FAQ

A5

Java is what is known as a strongly typed language. This means Java only accepts
specific values within specific variables or parameters. Some languages, such as JavaS
cript, PHP, and Perl are weakly typed languages.
1. Know the data limits to prevent any data overflow
Choose the most appropriate data type based on the minimum and maximum limit. If
you are not too sure, select a larger value to avoid any data overflow. For example,
...
public class OverFlow {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// 1 byte - 8 bits -2^7 to 2^7-1
out.println("Min byte:" + Byte.MIN_VALUE);
out.println("Max byte:" + Byte.MAX_VALUE);
// 2 bytes - 16 bits -2^15 to 2^15-1
out.println("Min short:" + Short.MIN_VALUE);
out.println("Max short:" + Short.MAX_VALUE);

// -128
// 127
// -32768
// 32767

// 2 bytes - 16 bits -- unsigned

out.println("Min char:" + (int) Character.MIN_VALUE); // 0
out.println("Max char:" + (int) Character.MAX_VALUE); // 65535
// 4 bytes - 32 bit signed integer (int): -2^31 to +2^31-1
out.println("Min int:" + Integer.MIN_VALUE);
out.println("Max int:" + Integer.MAX_VALUE);

144

// -2147483648
// 2147483647

// 8 bytes - 64 bit signed integer (long): -2^63 to +2^63-1

out.println("Min long:" + Long.MIN_VALUE);
// -9223372036854775808
out.println("Max long:" + Long.MAX_VALUE);
// 9223372036854775807
// 4 bytes - 32 bit -- single precision
out.println("Min float:" + Float.MIN_VALUE);
out.println("Max float:" + Float.MAX_VALUE);

// 1.4E-45
// 3.4028235E38

// 8 bytes - 64 bit -- double precision

out.println("Min double:" + Double.MIN_VALUE); //4.9E-324
//1.7976931348623157E308
out.println("Max double:" + Double.MAX_VALUE);
// boolean has either true or false
int bad = 2100000000;
out.println("bad + 7 = " + (bad + 7));
out.println("bad * 3 = " + (bad * 2));

// Close to int max value.

// 2100000007
// -94967296 data over flow

long good = 2100000000L;

out.println("good + 7= " + (good + 7));
out.println("good * 2 = " + (good * 2));

// 2100000007
// 4200000000

long badAgain = 9000000000000000000L; // Close to long max value

out.println("badAgain + 7 = " + (badAgain + 7)); // 9000000000000000007
out.println("badAgain * 2 = " + (badAgain * 2)); // -446744073709551616
// data over flow
BigInteger goodAgain = BigInteger .valueOf(9000000000000000000L);
out.println("goodAgain + 7 = "
+ (goodAgain.add(BigInteger.valueOf(7)))); // 9000000000000000007
// 18000000000000000000
out.println("goodAgain * 2 = " + (goodAgain.multiply(BigInteger.valueOf(2))));
}
}
2. Prefer immutable wrapper objects to primitives.
145

Language Essentials
Each primitive data type has a corresponding wrapper class like Integer, Long, Character,
Float, Double, etc. There are 8 primitive variables and as many wrapper objects. In Java
5, additional wrapper classes like AtomicInteger, AtomicLong, AtomicBoolean and Atomic
Reference<V> were introduced to provide atomic operations for addition, increment,
and assignment. These additional classes are mutable and cannot be used as a
replacement for regular immutable wrapper classes.
Why prefer wrapper objects to primitives? Wrapper objects can be initialized to
null. This can't be done with primitives. Many programmers initialize numbers to 0 or
-1 to signify default values, but depending on the scenario, this may be incorrect or
misleading. Wrapper objects are very useful for optional data. Databases almost always
have a significant fraction of their fields as optional (that is, as possibly NULL). In
addition, the forms submitted in Web applications can contain optional parameters.
Both NULL database fields and missing request parameters naturally map to null
object references. With primitives, there is no such natural mapping.
BP Wrapper objects will also set the scene for a NullPointerException when something is
being used incorrectly, which is much more programmer-friendly as it fails fast than
some arbitrary exception buried down the line. Preferably, check for null early on in
the method and report it immediately where applicable to adhere to the fail fast
principle.
CC The wrapper objects are immutable, hence inherently thread-safe. Other threads
can only read the values set by the thread that initialized this object.
PC When you create wrapper objects, use the valueOf( ) static factory method for
efficiency.
Integer i2 = new Integer(5);
Integer i1 = Integer.valueOf(5);

//first approach is okay

//2nd approach is more efficient

DP The second approach is in fact an implementation of the flyweight design pattern.

When auto-boxing occurs for a well-known value, instead of creating a new wrapper
instance, a pre-created instance is fetched from a pool and returned.
Q. When to prefer primitives?
A. Primitives are faster to create and use than wrapper objects. Wrapper objects need
146

to be auto-unboxed before use. Thus there is an extra step for the JVM to perform.
For example, in order to perform arithmetic on an Integer, it must first be converted to
an int before the arithmetic can be performed. In many business applications this
rarely matters unless you were writing something very number-crunching or profiling
indicates that the auto-boxing is a performance or memory issue in a particular part of
your code as it is executed very frequently.
Anti-pattern: Watch out for premature-optimization anti-pattern where you are
tempted to code for a perceived (whether rightly-or-wrongly) performance gain and
sacrificing good design and maintainability.
Q6

When working with floating-point data types, what are some of the key considera
tions? LF BP COQ FAQ

A6

1. Never compare float or double with == or != operator

package chapter2.com;
public class FloatingPointEquality {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//use < or >
for (float f = 5f; f < 10.0; f += 0.1) {
System.out.println(f);
}
//endless loop -- don't compare float or double for == or !=
for (float f = 5f; f != 10.0; f += 0.1) {
System.out.println(f);
}
}
}
Floating point numbers are represented (using IEEE 754) as base 2 decimal numbers
in scientific notation. An IEEE floating point number dedicates 1 bit to the sign of
the number, 8 bits to the exponent, and 23 bits to the mantissa part. The double-pre
cision floating point dedicates, 1 bit to the sign of the number, 11 bits to the exponent
and 52 bits to the mantissa part. The sign is either a 1 or -1. The mantissa, always a
positive number, holds the significant digits of the floating-point number. The
147

Language Essentials
exponent indicates the positive or negative power of the radix that the mantissa and
sign should be multiplied by. The four components are combined as follows to get
the floating-point value:
sign * mantissa * radix exponent
Floating-point numbers in the JVM use a radix of two as computers only understand
binary. Refer: http://www.h-schmidt.net/FloatApplet/IEEE754.html
sign * mantissa * 2 exponent
This means:
0.5 is represented as 1 * 1.0 * 2-1
-0.25 is represented as -1 * 1.0 * 2-2
0.1 is represented as 1 * 1.6 * 2-4
Floating point arithmetic is rarely exact. While some numbers, such as 0.5, can be
exactly represented as a binary (base 2) decimal (since 0.5 equals 2 -1), other numbers,
such as 0.1, cannot be. As a result, floating point operations may result in rounding
errors, yielding a result that is close to, but not equal to the result you might expect. In
the above FloatingPointEquality example, f will never be exactly 10.0. Use greater than
or less than operators instead.
2. Use long, int, or BigDecimal for storing money, and performing monetary
calculations.
As discussed earlier, floating point data types like float, double, Float, or Double can
have strange results as shown below, and use either the BigDecimal or int/long repres
enting the value in its lowest units like cents..
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.math.RoundingMode;
public class FloatingPoint2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int itemCount = 100;
float unitCost = 0.30f;
148

int unitCostInCents = 30;

FloatingPoint2 fp = new FloatingPoint2( );
fp.calculateTotalInaccurately1(unitCost, itemCount);
fp.calculateTotalInaccurately2(unitCost, itemCount);
fp.calculateTotalAccurately1(unitCost, itemCount);
fp.calculateTotalAccurately1(unitCostInCents, itemCount);
}
//using a float
private void calculateTotalInaccurately1(float unitCost, int itemCount){
float total = unitCost * itemCount;
System.out.println("Total1 --> " + total);
// 30.000002 Bad
}
//using a double
private void calculateTotalInaccurately2(float unitCost, int itemCount){
double total = unitCost * itemCount;
System.out.println("Total2 --> " + total);
// 30.000001907348633 Bad
}
//using a BigDecimal
private void calculateTotalAccurately1(float unitCost, int itemCount){
BigDecimal total = BigDecimal.ZERO;
//use the right constructor
BigDecimal uc = new BigDecimal(String.valueOf(unitCost));
BigDecimal ic= new BigDecimal(String.valueOf(itemCount));
total = uc.multiply(ic);
total = total.setScale(2, RoundingMode.HALF_EVEN);
System.out.println("Total3 --> " + total);
// 30.00 good
}
//using an int or long
private void calculateTotalAccurately1(int unitCost, int itemCount){
long total = unitCost * itemCount;
System.out.println("Total4 in cents --> " + total);
// 3000 good
}
}
149

Language Essentials

Widening versus narrowing conversions

Q7

What is your understanding of widening versus narrowing conversions of primitive

data types? Can you explain explicit and implicit casting? LF COQ FAQ

A7
byte short char int long float double
(1 byte)

(2 bytes)

(2 bytes) (4 bytes) (8 bytes)

(4 bytes)

(8 bytes)

Left to right (e.g. byte to short) is a widening conversion and considered safe
because there is no chance for data loss. For example, byte has a range between
-128 and 127 and short has a wider range between -32768 and 32767. So when you
go from left to right, the data types are implicitly cast by the compiler since it is
safe to do so.
Right to left (e.g. short to byte) is a narrowing conversion and considered unsafe
because there is a chance for data loss. So when you go from right to left, the
compiler expects you to explicitly cast the data to clearly state that it is safe to do
so. If you do not cast explicitly, you will get a compile-time error. For example,
package chapter2.com;
public class DataTypes1 {
/**
* Think about the resulting data type
* if you type a numeric value of 5 means of type int.
* if you type a numeric value of 5L or 5l means of type long.
* if you type a decimal value of 5.0f or 5.0F means of type float

* if you type a decimal value of 5.0, 5.0D, or 5.0d means of type double
*/
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
/**
* signed default values. Anything outside the valid range will cause a
* compile-time error requiring either explicit cast or use of a wider
* data type to fix it. Implicit cast is applied automatically when

150

* within the Min and Max range.

*/
byte b = 0;
short s = 0;
int i = 0;
long l = 0L;
float f = 0.0F;
double d = 0.0;

b = 30;
b = 128;

// valid values are -128 to 127

// valid values are -32768 to 32767
// valid values are -2147483648 to 2147483647.
// valid values are -9223372036854775808
//
to 9223372036854775807
// valid values are 1.4E-45 to 3.4028235E38
// valid values are 4.9E-324 to
//
1.7976931348623157E308
// okay (30 is of type int, but within the byte range)
// Not okay (128 is of type int, but is outside the byte range)

/**
* unsigned default value
*/
char c = '\u0000';
boolean bool = false;

// valid values are 0 to 65535

// valid values are true or false

/**
* left to right widening assignment is generally okay. Implicitly cast
* to the right type. Exception being assigning a byte or short to a
* char.
*/
s = b;
i = s;
l = i;
f = l;
d = f;

// okay: short is wider than byte.

// okay: int is wider than short.
// okay: long is wider than int.
// okay: float is wider than long.
//okay: double is wider than float.

i = c;
l = c;
d = s;

//okay: int is wider than char.

//okay: long is wider than char.
//okay: double is wider than short.

/**

151

Language Essentials
* compile-time error. Can't do this
*/
c = s;
//Not okay: type char is unsigned & type short is signed.
/**
* right to left narrowing assignment causes compile-time error if
* not explicitly cast to the right type. Even though the values assigned like i, l,
* f, and d are either 0 or 0.0, the actual values can only be evaluated at run
* time. At compile-time only the type of the data is known, and its actual
* value gets evaluated only at run-time. It is okay to say b = 0; as it is evaluated
* at compile-time.
*/
b = i;
i = l;
l = f;
f = d;

// Not
// Not
// Not
// Not

okay: type int is wider than byte

okay: type long is wider than int
okay: type float is wider than long
okay: type double is wider than float

/**
* fix above compile-time errors with explicit casting.
**/
c = (char)s;

// see explanation below

b = (byte) i;
i = (int) l;
l = (long) f;
f = (float) d;
}
}

Note: byte and short are signed data types and they cannot be implicitly cast to
unsigned char data type even though it is a widening conversion. As per the code in
the above example, the short s is first converted to an int using a widening
conversion and then casts it to a char using a narrowing conversion.
Short (s) widening Int --narrowing Char (c)
152

Q8
A8

What are the dangers of explicit casting? LF COQ FAQ

Not knowing the MIN and MAX values can result in unexpected results due to loss of
data during narrowing.
package chapter2.com;
public class DataTypes2 {
/**
* Trap #1 Be careful when casting explicitly.
*
* Not knowing the correct range (i.e Min and Max) can cause
* unexpected results as illustrated
*/
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int iWithinByteRange = 125;
int iOutsideByteRangeMax = 129;
int iOutsideByteRangeMin = -129;
byte bGood = (byte) iWithinByteRange;
System.out.println("bOkay=" + bGood);

// 125 good

byte bBad = (byte) iOutsideByteRangeMax;

System.out.println("Trap #1 - bBad=" + bBad);

// -127 bad

byte bBadAgain = (byte) iOutsideByteRangeMin;

System.out.println("Trap #1 - bBadAgain=" + bBad); // -127 bad
}
}
Q9

Can you explain why the code snippet under (a) gives a compile-time error and code
snippet under (b) compiles and runs with an output of 20? COQ LF
a)
byte b = 10;
b = b + 10;

// line 1
// line 2

b)
153

Language Essentials
byte b = 10;
b+=10;
A9

//line 1
//line 2

If you take (a):

Line 1 is valid as long as the value is between the valid range for byte. This is -2 7 to 271 or -128 to +127. Same principle is applicable to other data types as well. if you
assign 128 to the variable b, you will get a compile-time error cannot convert from int
to byte. Since 10 is within the range, you will not get a compile-time exception.
Line 2 throws a compile time error because b+10 evaluates to an int. You need an
explicit cast to convert an int to byte as it is a narrowing conversion. As per the last
principle, you may think that 10 + 10 = 20 is well within the byte range and should
not give any compile-time error. This assumption is incorrect.

Firstly, b is a variable and its value would not be known at compile-time. Its
value will be evaluated only at runtime. Adding 10 to the variable b might
push it outside the byte range as it is not known at compile-time.

Secondly and most importantly, there is a different principle known as binary

numeric promotions when performing a binary operation (an operation
requiring two operands). The binary numeric promotion automatically casts
each operand to the size of the larger operand type. If neither operand is
larger, then both are cast to the same type. In b = b + 10, the value 10 is of
type int and is the larger operand type compared to b, which is of type byte,
hence will be evaluated as follows:
b = (int)b + (int)10;
An explicit cast is required to avoid compile-time error:
b = (byte)(b + 10);
This is what really happens:
b = (byte) ((int)b + (int)10 ) ;

154

If you take (b):

Line1 is same as above.
Line 2 is performing a compound assignment operation (e.g. +=, -=, *=, etc). You
may be thinking that b+=10 will be expanded as b = b + 10. But it is really not
correct. This is because the compound operations will have an explicit cast even
though it is not shown in the code. So the line 2 will be evaluated as follows,
b = (byte) (b + 10);
This has the hidden danger of data loss. The following example highlights what had
been discussed here.
package chapter2.com;
public class DataTypes3 {
/**
* Simple versus compound assignment operators.
*
* Think about the resulting data type after an operation
* like +, -, *, / etc.
*
* Keep operator priorities in mind. Casting takes precedence
* over + and -.
*/
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
byte b = 0;
short s = 0;
int i = 10;

// valid values are -128 to 127

// valid values are -32768 to 32767
// valid values are -2147483648 to 2147483647.

long l = 0L;

// valid values are -9223372036854775808 to

//
9223372036854775807
// valid values are 1.4E-45 to 3.4028235E38
// valid values are 4.9E-324 to
//
1.7976931348623157E308

float f = 0.0F;
double d = 0.0;

155

Language Essentials
/**
* ### Simple operations using 'binary numeric promotions' ###
* explicit cast is required to fix compile-time errors
*/
b = b + 10;

// evaluates to an int compile-time error

// fix: b = (byte) (b+10);

i = i + 20;

// evaluates to an int good

s = s + 5;

// evaluates to an int compile-time error

// fix: s = (short) (s + 5);

l = l + 5;

// evaluates to a long good

i = l + 5;

// evaluates to a long compile-time error

// fix-1: i = (int)(l + 5); or
// casting takes precedence over + so
// fix-2: i = (int)l + 5;

i = i + 3.0f;
i = i + 3.0;

// evaluates to a float compile-time error

// evaluates to a double compile-time error

d = d + 20;
f = f + 20;
f = d + 20;

// evaluates to a double good

// evaluates to a float good
// evaluates to a double compile-time error

f = f + 20.0f;
d= d + 20.0;

// evaluates to float good

// evaluates to double good

/**
* Compound Operators, such as +=, -=, *= all contain
* an explicit cast, even though it's not shown.
*
* b+=250; expands to b = (byte) (b + 250); so no compile-time error.
* This can cause unexpected results as shown below due to
* loss of data discussed earlier.
*/

156

System.out.println("b=" + b + ", i=" + i);

// b=0, i=30

b += 250;
System.out.println("b=" + b);

// evaluates to --> b = (byte) (b + 250)

// evaluates to 44 bad

i *= 2147483647;
System.out.println("i=" + i);

// evaluates to i = (int) (i * 2147483647)

// evaluates to -30 bad

}
}
Q10 What is wrong with the following code, and how will you fix it? LF COQ
package chapter2.com;
public class IntegerMaxValue {
public int addFive(int input) {
if (input + 5 > Integer.MAX_VALUE) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid input: " + input);
}
return input + 5;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
IntegerMaxValue imv = new IntegerMaxValue( );
System.out.println("value = " + imv.addFive(5));
}
}
A10 As the integer will never exceed Intger.MAX_VALUE, the IllegalArgumentException will
never be thrown. If you try and invoke the method with an integer value within 5
short of its maximum value, data overflow takes place after (input + 5) is evaluated,
resulting in incorrect result, but an exception will never be thrown. The corrected
method addFiveCorrected(..) is added below:
package chapter2.com;
public class IntegerMaxValue {
157

Language Essentials
//..
public int addFiveCorrected(long input) {
if (input + 5> Integer.MAX_VALUE) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException(
"addFiveCorrected( ) -- Invlid input: " + input);
}

// fail fast

/**
* (long+int) is implicitly cast to a long due to numeric promotion
* explicit casting is required to convert implicitly cast long to an int
**/
return (int) (input + 5);
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
IntegerMaxValue imv = new IntegerMaxValue( );
//...
System.out.println("addFiveCorrected( ) call value = " +
imv.addFiveCorrected(5));
System.out.println("addFiveCorrected( ) call value = "
+ imv.addFiveCorrected(Integer.MAX_VALUE + 1L));
}
}
Output:
addFiveCorrected( ) call value = 10
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException:
addFiveCorrected( ) -- Invlid input: 2147483648
at chapter2.com.IntegerMaxValue.addFiveCorrected(IntegerMaxValue.java:18)
at chapter2.com.IntegerMaxValue.main(IntegerMaxValue.java:33)
Hence, be aware of the data types and its valid ranges when used in conditional
checks.

158

Understanding the operator precedence

Q11 What do you understand by operator precedence in Java? LF
A11 In Mathematics, multiplication and division are done before addition and subtraction.
Programming languages also dictate that some operations are done before others. For
example, a+b*c is evaluated as
a+(b*c)
and NOT as
(a+b)*c.
This is because multiplication (*) has higher precedence than addition (+). The
precedence determines which operation will be performed first. Also, as discussed
earlier, casting has precedence over + or operator. Don't memorize the operator
precedence table, but be aware of it as to how it can change the results and refer to it
http://www.difranco.net/cop2551/java_op-prec.htm, when required.
Q12 Do you think the following code will throw a compile-time exception? If yes, how will
you fix it? LF
float myVal = (float)3.0/2.0;
A12 Yes. It is cast first and then divided as casting operator has precedence over division
operator as per the precedence table. So the above code is equivalent to
float myVal = 3.0f/2.0; // float divided by double returns a double
//as per the binary numeric promotion principle
To fix it, you need to get the division operator to evaluate prior to casting. You can
achieve this by introducing a parenthesis around the division as parenthesis has higher
precedence (in fact highest) than casting as per the precedence table.
float myVal = (float)(3.0/2.0);

// double divided by double returns a

// double and it is then explicitly
// cast to float to return a float value.

.
159

Language Essentials
Q13 What is the output of the following code snippet? LF COQ
package chapter2.com;
public class PrePostOperators {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int x = 5;
int y = ++x;
int z = y++;

// line 1
// line 2
// line 3

System.out.println("x=" + x + ", y=" + y + ", z=" + z);

}
}
A13 x=6, y=7, z=6
line 1: x=5, y=0, z=0
line 2: x=6, y=6,z=0;
line 3 x=6, y=7, z=6
You need to understand the pre and post increment operators to get this right. ++x
is a pre-increment and x++ is a post increment. ++x means x is incremented before
being used and x++ means x is incremented after being used. So line2 increments x
by one and then assign it to y. Whereas in line 3, z is assigned the old y value (i.e.
prior to incrementing) of 6 and then y value is incremented to 7.
As you may rightly ask that as per the precedence table, both pre-increment (i.e. +
+expr) and post-increment (i.e. expr++) operators do have precedence over the
assignment operator (i.e =). The line 3 int z = y++; is roughly evaluated as
follows:
int oldY = 6;
y = y+ 1;
z = oldY;

// current value of y is used by storing it to a variable

// increment y by 1 to 7
// z is set to the stored oldY value of 6

it is a common gotcha that the increment is happening last. The increment is

executed immediately when the expression gets evaluated, and the value before the
increment is remembered for future use inside the same statement. So if you want z
160

to be 7, you could do either

int z = ++y;
or
y++;
int z = y;

// line 3
// added line
// line 3

Note: This is a common mistake beginners make, especially x=x++ and just x++ do
have different meanings. For example,
int x= 0;
x=x++;
System.out.println(x);
The value of x printed above is 0. This is because the evaluation takes place as
shown below:
int oldX = 0;
x= x+1;
x = oldX;

// store the current value of x for later use.

// x is incremented by 1 as + takes precedence over =
// x is set to the stored oldX value of 0

If you were expecting to get 1, you can fix this by changing the code as follows,
int x = 0;
x++;
System.out.println(x);
or
int x = 0;
System.out.println(++x);
A post-increment (i.e. i++) or pre-increment (++i) in a loop generally makes no
difference. The latter is preferable as it is sometimes more efficient.
Q14 What is the output of the following code snippet? LF
package chapter2.com;
public class NaN {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
161

Language Essentials
System.out.println("Output=" + 2.0/0.0); //floating-point division by zero
System.out.println("Output=" + -2.0/0.0); //floating-point division by zero
System.out.println("Output=" + 2 /0);
//integer division by zero
}
}
A14 Floating point division by 0.0 returns a NaN (Not a Number) and integer divisions by
0 returns a runtime exception.
Output:
Output=Infinity
Output=-Infinity
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero
at chapter2.com.NaN.main(NaN.java:7)
Q15 What will be the output of following operations? LF
int i = 10 / 3;
int r = 10 % 3;
A15 The integer division results in dropping the remainder of the operation
int i = 10 /3;

// i = 3

Java provides a mechanism to get the remainder of a division operation through the
modulus (aka remainder) operator, denoted by the percent character (%).
int r = 10 % 3;

// r = 1

Thinking in binary and bitwise operations

Even though there is rarely a time bitwise operations seem directly necessary, the standard
library uses bitwise operations indirectly for efficient processing. For example, the StringBuf
fer.reverse( ), Integer.toString( ), BigDecimal and BigInteger classes to name a few. There are number
of practical examples listed where bitwise operations are very handy. Some interviewers
prefer asking questions on this topic or including it in the written test to determine how
technical you are. If pressed for time, either scan through or skip this topic.
162

Q16 Can you convert the decimal value of 127 to binary, octal, and hexadecimal values?
LF
A16 Binary:
Bit number
Binary has 2 possible values
0 (off) and 1(on).
Expanded
Bits that need to be on (i.e. 1)
to add up to 127 are

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

128

64

32

16

64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 127. Hence the binary value is 0111 1111.

Octal:
Binary value for 127 is

82

Octal has 8 possible values 0,

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

81

80

Represent the octal values in

binary

21

20

22

21

20

22

21

20

Expanded, and the bits that are

turned
on
(i.e.
1's)
highlighted. Shaded values
add up to the octal values
shown below.

Octal representation of 127.

The octal value is 0177. (First zero denotes octal representation ). You can verify your
result by converting this back to decimal as follows:
1 x 82 + 7 x 81 + 7 x 80 = 64 + 56 + 7 = 127.
Hexadecimal:
Binary value for 127 is

163

Language Essentials
Hexadecimal has 16 possible
values from 0 to 15 denoted
by 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A,
B, C, D, E, F (i.e. A is 10, B is
11 and F is 15)

161

160

Represent the hexadecimal 23

values in binary

22

21

20

23

22

21

20

Expanded, and the bits that are

turned
on
(i.e.
1's)
highlighted. Shaded values
add up to the hexadecimal
values shown below.

Hexadecimal representation of
127.

The hexadecimal value is 0x7F. (0x denotes hexadecimal). You can verify your result by
converting this back to decimal as follows:
7 x 161 + 15 x 160 = 112 + 15 = 127.
Q. How will you convert 0x7F back to binary? LF
Hexadecimal value
7

Value

15

Shaded values add up to

the value above

7
8

23

22

21

20

23

22

21

20

The binary value for 0x7F is 0111 111. Here is a sample Java program.
package chapter2.com;
public class Binary1 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
164

Byte bOctal = 0177;

Byte bHexaDecimal = 0x7F;

// decimal value 127

// decimal value 127

System.out.println("decimal value of bOctal = "

+ bOctal.intValue( ));
System.out.println("decimal value of bHexaDecimal = "
+ bHexaDecimal.intValue( ));
System.out.println("binary value of bOctal = " +
Integer.toBinaryString(bOctal));
System.out.println("binary value of bHexaDecimal ="
+ Integer.toBinaryString(bHexaDecimal));

//127
// 127
//1111111
//1111111

}
}
Q17 How do you represent negative numbers in Java? What is the negative binary value for
the number 37? LF
A17 Negative numbers use 2's complement notation. In order to get 2's complement:
Step 1: take the bit pattern for the equivalent positive number and invert all bits. All
1's to 0's, and all 0's to 1's. This is 1's complement achieved with the Java's unary
operator ~. Unary is a single operand. For example, 5 is 00000101 and ~5 is
11111010.
Step 2: add 1 to the above result. -5 is 11111010 + 000000001 = 11111011.
To evaluate -37:
27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

128

64

32

16

37 in binary is (32 + 4 + 1)

~37 (complement of 1's)

1 in binary =

Add 1 to ~37 to get -37.

-37 = 128 + 64 + 16 + 8 + 2 + 1 = 219.

165

Language Essentials
Note: For signed bits, the most significant bit (i.e. left most bit) represents the sign. 0
means a positive number and 1 means a negative number. In order to put things into
perspective, some byte values in the range of -128 to 127 are:
-1

-2

-5

-9

-20

-37 -127

255 254 251 247 236 219

129

-128

127

37

30

1 0

128

127

37

30

1 0

To verify the answer: 37 + -37 should be equal to 0.

37 in binary
0
0
1
0
0

-37 in binary

37 + -37 =
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Note: The possible values for binary are 0 and 1. Similar to decimal addition, when
you add 1 and 1, you get 0 and 1 carried over to the left. For example,
0 + 0 = 0;
1 + 0 = 1;
0 + 1 = 1;
1 + 1 = 0; (and 1 is carried over to the left).
Q18 What are the common bitwise operations? LF
A18

b1

b2
b1 | b2
(inclusive
OR)

b1 & b2
(AND)

b1 ^ b2
(exclusive
XOR)

~ b1
(NOT)

The other operations are

>> signed right shift

166

Operations

>> 2 , slide to right 2 bit places, dropping lower order bits filling on left with
the sign bit. Shifting right by 1 bit is equivalent to dividing by 2 with the
following exception that -1 >> 1 = -1 because of sign extension. -1/2 should
be 0. Other negative numbers will work fine. So x >> n is equivalent to x / 2 n.
36 >> 2 is 36 / 22 = 9.
128

64

32

16

36 in binary is
(The significant bit is 0 in
bold face). Shaded area is
shifted out.

36 >> 2

8+1=9
Note: 36 >> 1 = 18 and 36 >> 2 = 9. The sign bit 0 means a positive number, and 1
means a negative number. The significant bit is the left most bit.
128

64

32

16

-36 in binary
(The significant bit is 1 in
bold face). Shaded area is
shifted out

-36 >> 2 (Highlighted area

is inserted)

128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 247,
which is -9
<< signed left shift
<< 3 , slide to left 3 bit places, dropping higher order bits filling on right with
0's. Shifting left by 1 bit is equivalent to multiplying by 2 . You calculate 2 to
the nth power with x << n. if x = 5, then x << 3 is equivalent to 5 * 2 3 = 40
where n is 3.
128

64

32

16

1
167

Language Essentials
5 in binary is
(The significant bit is 0
in bold face). Shaded
area is shifted out.

5 << 3 ((Highlighted
area is inserted))

32 + 8 = 40
>>> unsigned right shift
>>> 2 , slide to right 2 bit places, dropping lower order bits and filling on left
with the 0 bit. Shifting right by 1 bit is equivalent to dividing by 2, but this
won't work for negative numbers because the sign bit gets converted to 0 with
an unsigned shift.
The & bitwise operator is used for masking and | bitwise operator is used for
combining. Often bit manipulations are used for packing several fields into a single
int and then unpacking them again. You can achieve this with >>>, <<, &, | and ~
bitwise operators. Rarely you might use the signed right shift operator >>.
Example 1: Extract low order three bits from x, where x = 37.
The operation can be written as x & 0x07 where 0x07 is equivalent to the masking
bits 00000111.
Binary

Hexadecimal 0x

168

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

128

64

32

16

x in binary (32 + 4 + 1)

Masking bits to extract low

order 3 bits (0x07)

x & 0x07

The resulting value is 5 (i.e. 1 x 22 + 0 x 21 + 1 x 20 = 4 + 0 + 1).

package chapter2.com;
public class Binary2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
byte x = 37;
byte result = (byte)(x & 0x07);
System.out.println("Low order 3 bits for x = "+ Integer.toBinaryString(result));
System.out.println("Numeric value of the result = " + result);
}
}
Output:
Low order 3 bits for x = 101
Numeric value of the result = 5
Example 2: Extract bits 5 & 6 from x, where x = 37.
Bits 5 and
highlighted.

are

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

128

64

32

16

x in binary (32 + 4 + 1)

x >>> 4. Shaded area above

(4 bits) is shifted out and
highlighted values on the
left are moved to the right,
and the left is filled with 0's

Masking bits to extract low

order 2 bits (0x03)

x >>> 4 & 0x03

0
169

Language Essentials
Hence the 5th and 6th bits of the value x are 0 and 1.
package chapter2.com;
public class Binary3 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Byte x = 37;
Byte result = (byte) (x >>> 4 & 0x03);
System.out.println("Extract 5th and 6th bits of x = " +
Integer.toBinaryString(result));
System.out.println("Numeric value of result = " + result);
}
}
Output:
Extract 5th and 6th bits of x = 10
Numeric value of result = 2
Example 3: Say value of x=37, and value of y=7. You can now combine the 2 low
order bits of x into bit positions 5 & 6 with the 3 low order bits of y (i.e. bit positions
1, 2, and 3).
Bits

170

128

64

32

16

x in binary (32 + 4 + 1)

x << 4 (highlighted bits

are shifted to the left by
4 bits, and the shaded
area is shifted out.). This
enables the 2 low order
bits of x to be in position
5 & 6.

y in binary (4+2+1)

x << 4 | y (combines 5th

& 6th position of x with
y).

package chapter2.com;
public class Binary4 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Byte x = 37;
Byte y = 7;
byte result = (byte)(x << 4 | y);
System.out.println("Combined result = " + Integer.toBinaryString(result));
System.out.println("Numeric value of result = " + result);
}
}
Output:
Combined result = 1010111
Numeric value of result = 87
Q19 Can you list some practical applications where the bitwise operations can be applied?
LF COQ
A19 Example 1: To pack and unpack values. For example, to represent

age of a person in the range of 0 to 127. Use 7 bits.

gender of a person 0 or 1 (0 female and 1 male). Use 1 bit.
height of a person in the range of 0 to 255. Use 8 bits.

To pack this info: (((age << 1) | gender ) << 8 ) | height. For example, age = 25,
gender = 1, and height = 255cm. Shift the age by 1 bit, and combine it with gender,
and then shift the age and gender by 8 bits and combine it with the height.
Packing
Age

Ge
nde
r

Height

171

Language Essentials
16 15 14

Bits

13 12 11 10

age (25 years) 0

using 7 bits

Age << 1 (Shift 0

age by 1 bit)

Gender (1 male) 0
using 1 bit

Combine age with 0

gender:

((age << 1) | 0
gender ) << 8 ),
shift age and
gender by 8 bits.

Height (255 cm) 0

using 8 bits.

Combine height 0
with age and
gender:

(age <<
gender

1)

val = (((age << 1)

| gender ) << 8 ) |
height
Age range
16 + 8 + 1 = 25

package chapter2.com;
public class Binary5 {

172

Ge
Height range
nd
er 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 +
=
2 + 1 = 255.
1

public static void main(String[ ] args) {

//packing
int val = ((((25 << 1) | 1) << 8) | 255);
System.out.println("packed=" + val);
System.out.println("packed binary="
+ Integer.toBinaryString(val));

//0011001111111111

//unpacking
System.out.println("height=" + (val & 0xff));
//extract last 8 bits.
System.out.println("gender=" + ((val >>> 8) & 1)); //extract bit 9
System.out.println("age=" + ((val >>> 9)));
//extract bits 10 16.
}
}
Output:
packed=13311
packed binary=11001111111111
height=255
gender=1
age=25
Unpacking (or extracting) height: Extract the low order 8 bits.
packed value:
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1

1 1

Masking: 0xFF

0 0 0

1 1

Extract height =
value & 0xFF:

0 0 0

1 1

27

26

25 24

23

height:

Unpacking (or extracting) gender: Extract bit 9.

packed value:
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

22 21 20

128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 +
2 + 1 = 255

1 1 1

173

Language Essentials
8 lower order bits 0
(i.e. shaded area)
are shifted out.

0 0 0

0 1 1

0 0 0

0 0 1

0 0 0

0 0

value >>> 8
Masking: 1

Extract gender =
0
(value >>> 8) &1:

0 1
20

gender:

Unpacking (or extracting) age: Extract bits 10 16 (i.e. higher order bits ).
packed value:
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Extract age =
value >>> 9:

0 0 0

0 0 1

26 25

24

23

22 21 20

24 + 23 + 20 = 16 + 8 + 1 =
25

age:

Example 2: To compactly represent a number of attributes like being bold, italics, etc
of a character in a text editor. This is a more practical example.
shadow

blink

subscript

superscript

strikethrough

underline

italics

bold

package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class Binary6 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
byte[ ] vals = { 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1 };
byte value = pack(vals);
System.out.println("packedValue=" + value);
174

// 81

System.out.println("unpackedValues="
+ Arrays.toString(unpack(value)));

// [0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1]

}
public static byte pack(byte[ ] vals) {
byte result = 0;
for (byte bit : vals) {
result = (byte) ((result << 1) | (bit & 1));
}
return result;
}
public static byte[ ] unpack(byte val) {
byte[ ] result = new byte[8];
for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
result[i] = (byte) ((val >> (7 - i)) & 1);
}
return result;
}
}
Example 3: If you can think of anything as slots or switches that need to be flagged
on or off, you can think of bitwise operators. For example, if you want to mark some
events on a calendar.
6
Saturday

5
Friday

4
Thursday

3
Wednesday

2
Tuesday

1
Monday

0
Sunday

Example 4: To multiply or divide by 2n.

public class ShiftOperator {
//multiply by 2 power n. n = 6
private static final int MULTIPLY = 10 << 6;
//Divide by 2 power n where n = 6.
private static final int DIVIDE = 640 >> 6;
175

Language Essentials
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(MULTIPLY);
System.out.println(DIVIDE);
}

// 640
// 10

Initializing your data correctly

Q20 What would happen when the following code is compiled and run? LF COQ
package chapter2.com;
public class VariableInitialization2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int x = 10, y;
if (x < 10) {
y = 1;
}
if (x >= 10) {
y = 2;
}
System.out.println("y is " + y);
}
}
A20 The above program won't compile. It will be complaining about y not being
initialized. Even though you know that one of the if conditions will be satisfied, the
if conditions will not be evaluated until runtime. As far as the compiler is
concerned, they are two conditional statements that may or may not be reached.
Proper initialization of variables is an important aspect of programming. In Java,
instance and static (i.e. class) variables have default values: null for all object types,
false for boolean primitive type and 0 for numeric primitive types. But local variables
inside a method (either static or non-static method) have no defaults.
176

Local variables in Java must be initialized before they are first read. So it's perfectly
OK to first declare a local variable without initializing it, and initialize it later down the
code, and then use it. But if you try to use it without initializing it anywhere at all or if
your initialization takes place within a conditional block and you try to use it outside
the conditional blocks as in the above sample code, you will get a compile-time error
when you try to use it.
You can fix the above code as follows:
package chapter2.com;
public class VariableInitialization2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int x = 10, y;
if (x < 10) {
y = 1;
System.out.println("y is " + y);
}
if (x >= 10) {
y = 2;
System.out.println("y is " + y);
}
}

// y is declared but not initialized

// y is initialized
// y is used
// y is initialized
// y is used

}
or by initializing it prior to using it.
package chapter2.com;
public class VariableInitialization2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int x = 10, y;
// y is declared but not initialized
y=0;
// y is initialized
if (x < 10) {
y = 1;
}
177

Language Essentials
if (x >= 10) {
y = 2;
}
System.out.println("y is " + y);

// y is used

}
}
It can also be fixed by changing the second if condition to an else condition so
that the compiler knows for sure that one of the two conditions will be reached.
package chapter2.com;
public class VariableInitialization4 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int x = 10, y;
if (x < 10) {
// Either the if or else will be executed
y = 1;
// y would be initialized to 1
}
else {
y = 2;
// y would be initialized to 2
}
System.out.println("y is " + y);
}
}
The instance and static variables don't require to be explicitly initialized at all before
using them. They are automatically initialized with appropriate default values.
package chapter2.com;
import static java.lang.System.out;
public class VariableInitialization {
//instance & static variables are initialized by default
private int iInstance;
private static String sStaticInstance;

178

public static void main(String[ ] args) {

VariableInitialization vi = new VariableInitialization( );
int iLocal;
out.println(iLocal);
//compile-error - iLocal is not initialized
int iLocal2 = 1, iLocal3, iLocal4;
iLocal3 = iLocal2;
iLocal4 = iLocal3;

// iLocal2 is initialized
// iLocal3 is initialized
// iLocal4 is initialized

// instance variable - default initialization to 0

out.println("iInstance=" + vi.iInstance);
// static variable - default initialization to null
out.println("sStaticInstance=" + sStaticInstance);

// 0
// null

}
}
Q21 Can you tell me what is the use of a static block in a class with an example? Is it a
good practice to use static blocks? LF BP COQ
A21 When a class is loaded, all blocks that are declared static and dont have function name
(i.e. static initializers) are executed even before the constructors are executed. As
the name suggests, they are typically used to initialize static fields. If you need to do
computation (e.g. for loop to fill an array, determine the value based on a conditional
logic, date computation using a calendar, etc) in order to initialize your static variables,
you can declare a static block which gets executed exactly once, when the class is first
loaded. It's a normal block of code enclosed within a pair of braces and preceded by a
'static' keyword. These blocks can be anywhere in the class definition where you can
have a field or a method. The Java runtime guarantees that all the static initialization
blocks are called in the order in which they appear in the source code and this happens
while loading of the class in the memory.
package chapter2.com;
public class StaticInitilization {
private static int[ ] square;
private static final int MAX = 10;
static {
square = new int[MAX+1];
179

Language Essentials
for (int i = 0; i <= MAX; i++) {
square[i] = i * i;
}
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("Square of 7 = " + square[7]);
System.out.println("Square of 9 = " + square[9]);
}

// evaluates to 49
// evaluates to 81

}
BP A private static method is a suitable alternative to static initialization blocks. In
fact, it has advantages over static initialization blocks, as you can re-use a private static
method to re-initialize static fields. Static blocks are also harder to unit test. So use
static blocks judiciously. If you have to use it, move the body of the static block into a
private static method, and call this static method from your static block as shown
below.
package chapter2.com;
public class StaticInitilization {
private static int[ ] square;
private static final int MAX = 10;
static {
initilizeSquares(MAX);
}
private static final void initilizeSquares(int max) {
square = new int[max];
for (int i = 0; i < max; i++) {
square[i] = i * i;
}
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("Square of 7 = " + square[7]);
System.out.println("Square of 9 = " + square[9]);
180

// evaluates to 49
// evaluates to 81

//initialize it again on demand

initilizeSquares(100);
System.out.println("Square of 40 = " + square[40]);

// evaluates to 1600

}
}
Q22 How will you provide a member variable named dueDate with an initial default value
set to first day of the following month? LF COQ
A22 Like static initializers, you can use an initializer block for instance variables. Initializer
blocks for instance variables look just like static initializer blocks, but without the
'static' keyword.
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.GregorianCalendar;
public class Initilization2 {
private Date dueDate;
//initializer block
{
Calendar cal = GregorianCalendar.getInstance( );
cal.add(Calendar.MONTH, 1);
cal.set(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH, 1);
dueDate = cal.getTime( );
//dueDate defaults to first day of next month
}
//...
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Initilization2 init = new Initilization2( );
System.out.println("dueDate = " + init.dueDate); // first day of next month
}
}
Q23 Is there anything wrong with the following code snippet? COQ
181

Language Essentials
package chapter2.com;
public class VariableInitialization3 {
private static final String CONSTANT_VALUE = null;

// line A

static {
// load values based on some condition or .properties file.
CONSTANT_VALUE = "loaded";
// line B
}
}
A23 Yes. Compile-time error at line B.
CONSTANT_VALUE = "loaded";
indicating that the final field VariableInitialization3.CONSTANT_VALUE cannot be
assigned.
Q. How will you fix it?
A. Remove the initial null assignment in line A. Final variables can only be assigned
once.
private static final String CONSTANT_VALUE;

// fixed

Constants and static imports

Q25 What is a constant interface anti-pattern? How will you avoid it? DP
A25 The following code snippet demonstrates the constant interface anti-pattern described
by Joshua Bloch in his book Effective Java.
package chapter2.com;
public interface Constants {
public static final double TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX = 1.0 / 2.0;
182

public static final double SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX = 4.0 / 3.0;

//assume that there are 98 other constants defined here
}
The inheriting class:
package chapter2.com;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;
public class ConstantsInterfaceAntiPattern implements Constants {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
double radius = 3.0;
double base = 2.0;
double height = 1.5;
// declared as local since class DecimalFormat is not thread-safe.
DecimalFormat df = new DecimalFormat("#,###,###,##0.00");
/**
* Since Constants interface is inherited No need to write it as
* Constants.TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX
*/
double triangleArea = TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX * base * height;
double sphereVolume = SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX * Math.PI *
Math.pow(radius, 3);
System.out.println("Area of the triangle = " + df.format(triangleArea));
System.out.println("Area of the sphere = " + df.format(sphereVolume));
// assume that TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX & SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX
// get used many more times throughout this class.
}
}

183

Language Essentials
As per the above example, the class ConstantsInterfaceAntiPattern only requires 2
constants (i.e. TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX and SPHERE_-VOLUME_PREFIX)
from the interface Constants, which has 98 other constants not relevant to the
ConstantsInterfaceAntiPattern class. The problem is that by implementing the
Constants interface for convenience reason, all the 100 constants from the interface
Constants end up being a part of the public API of the client class ConstantsInter
faceAntiPattern. This not only breaks inheritance, but also the 100 constants will end
up in your JavaDoc for ConstantsInterfaceAntiPattern class. A better approach
would be to use a constants class say MyConsts to only define the relevant
constants.
package chapter2.com;
public final class MyConsts {
//Marked private so that this class can never be instantiated from outside
private MyConsts( ) {
//to prevent the native (i.e. from within) class from calling it
throw new AssertionError( );
};
public static final double TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX = 1.0/2.0;
public static final double SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX = 4.0/3.0;
}
If you are using a J2SE version prior to 1.5, then it is necessary to fully qualify the
constant with the class name as shown below:
MyConsts.TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX
MyConsts.SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX
If you are using a J2SE version 1.5 or later, static imports can be used as shown
below:
package chapter2.com;
// static imports from Java 5
import static chapter2.com.MyConsts.*;
import static java.lang.Math.PI;
184

import static java.lang.Math.pow;

import java.text.DecimalFormat;
public class ConstantsInterfaceAntiPatternFix {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// declared as local since class DecimalFormat is not thread-safe.
DecimalFormat df = new DecimalFormat("#,###,###,##0.00");
double radius = 3.0;
double base = 2.0;
double height = 1.5;
/**
* Since Constants interface is inherited, no need to write it as
* Constants.TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX
*/
double triangleArea = TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX * base * height;
double sphereVolume = SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX * PI * pow(radius,
3);
System.out.println("Area of the triangle = " + df.format(triangleArea));
System.out.println("Area of the sphere = " + df.format(sphereVolume));
// assume that TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX &
// SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX
// get used many more times throughout this class.
}
}
BP If you overuse the static import feature, it can make your program unreadable
and unmaintainable because over a period, you may not understand which static
method or static attribute belongs to which class. So use it very rarely under following
situations:
1) Use it to declare local copies of java constants. For example, a business application
might define a Constants class, and import it statically. This would allow Constant
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Language Essentials
s.NEW_LINE to be referenced as just NEW_LINE.
2) When you require frequent access to static members from one or two java classes.
For example, a scientific or engineering application might make wide use of Math.PI.
BP It is also a bad practice to have one class that contains all constants that are
used throughout in your application. It is not a good practice to have unrelated
constants in the same class. This creates a coupling between otherwise unrelated
components through this class having only constants. This inhibits code reuse as this
class may be the only thing they have in common. You may want to later extract a
particular component to be used in a different application. This will require you to
ship the component classes with constants as well. The best practice is to put the
constants where they belong. For example, RebateConstants, ManagedFundConstants,
SecurityConstants, etc. Constants should not be used across component boundaries.

Modifiers and where are they applicable?

Q26 Why use modifiers? Why can't you declare a class as both abstract and final? LF
FAQ
A26 Modifiers allow programmers to control the behavior of classes, object constructors,
methods, variables, and even blocks of code. Combinations of modifiers may be used
in meaningful ways. Some modifiers will conflict with each other and cannot be used
together. Modifiers are applied by prefixing the appropriate keyword for the modifier
to the declaration of a class, variable, method or block of code within a method or
class.
You cannot create objects of an abstract class. A class marked with an abstract
modifier is meant for extension (i.e. sub classing). A class is declared with a final
modifier to prevent it from being extended (i.e. prevent sub classing). If you mark an
abstract class as final, it can neither be extended nor instantiated. So it has no use.
Q27 What are the valid access modifiers? LF FAQ
A27 Public, protected, package-private (i.e. no modifier), and private.
Q28 Discuss the significance of the modifiers used in the following class? LF COQ

186

package chapter2.com;
final class MyConsts {
private MyConsts( ){ };
static final double TRIANGLE_AREA_PREFIX = 1.0/2.0;
static final double SPHERE_VOLUME_PREFIX = 4.0/3.0;
}
A28

Final classes cannot be extended from outside or within this class (e.g. using a
static inner class). An outer class can only either be package-private scoped (i.e.
no access modifier) as shown above or public scoped. A package-private
scoped class cannot be accessed from outside this (i.e. chapter2.com) package.
final class MyConsts { ...}

Private constructors prevent a class from being explicitly instantiated by callers

from outside. Classes with a private constructor cannot also be extended from
outside, but can be extended within itself using a static inner class.
private MyConsts( ){ }

The variables are package-private scoped so that they can only be visible
within the same package i.e. chapter2.com.

The variables are marked static to indicate that they can not be attached to a
particular object, but rather to the class as a whole.

The variables are marked final to indicate that they can be assigned or
initialized only once.

Q. How would you go about making the MyConsts class accessible to the classes in
other packages?
A. Firstly, the class should be marked public so that it can be accessed from other
packages. Secondly, the variables should be marked public so that they will be visible
to classes in other packages.
187

Language Essentials
Q. What does the following code snippet do? Discuss the modifiers used? COQ
package chapter2.com;
public final class AnimalFactory {
static final private AnimalFactory singleton;
static {
try {
//... perform initialization here
singleton = new AnimalFactory( );
} catch (Throwable e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e.getMessage( ));
}
}
private AnimalFactory( ) {}
static public AnimalFactory getInstance( ) {
return singleton;
}
}
A.

188

DP

It is an implementation of the singleton design pattern.

The class is marked final so that it cannot be extended.

The variable singleton is marked private so that it cannot be accessed from

outside. It is also marked static and final to indicate that it is a class level
variable and can be initialized only once respectively.

The getInstance( ) method is marked public so that it can be accessed from any
class within any package. It is also marked static to indicate that it is not
attached to a particular instance (i.e. an object), but to the class itself.

The AnimalFactory is eagerly initialized when the class is loaded, and hence

thread-safe. If the construction of AnimalFactory was expensive, then it could

be lazily initialized using the Lazy Initialization Pattern, but care should
be taken to make it thread-safe by making the getInstance( ) a synchronized
method. A method level lock may cause contention issues (e.g. waiting for
locks) by locking the whole object, and sometimes can lead to scalability and
latency problems. Alternatively, thread-safety can be achieved using block level
locks as shown below:
package chapter2.com;
public final class AnimalDCLFactory {
private static volatile AnimalDCLFactory singleton;
private AnimalDCLFactory( ) { }
// Returns instance of the singleton
static public AnimalDCLFactory getInstance( ) {
if (singleton == null) {
synchronized (AnimalDCLFactory.class) {
if (singleton == null)
singleton = new AnimalDCLFactory( );
}
}
return singleton;
}
}
The Double Checked Lock (DCL) idiom shown above only works from
JDK 1.5 onwards. The On Demand Holder (ODH) initialization idiom
shown below is thread-safe and also a lot easier to understand.
package chapter2.com;
public class AnimalODHFactoryHolder {
public static AnimalODHFactory instance = new

AnimalODHFactory( );

}
package chapter2.com;
189

Language Essentials
public final class AnimalODHFactory {
AnimalODHFactory( ) { }
// Returns instance of the singleton
static public AnimalODHFactory getInstance( ) {
return AnimalODHFactoryHolder.instance;
}
}
Note: Also do your research on per thread singleton idiom using a ThreadLocal
class, or the WeakSingleton design pattern using weak references.
Q. If you have ClassA under package pkga as shown below, how will you ensure
that the method processA( ) is visible to all classes under pkga and all classes that
extend ClassA from other packages like pkgb? LF COQ
package pkga;
public class ClassA {
void processA( ) {
//processA ...
}
}
A. Since the method processA( ) does not have any explicit access modifier, it is
package-private scoped by default. This means any class in the package pkga can
access it. In order to enable it to be accessed by any subclasses of ClassA from other
packages like pkgb, it needs to be marked with the access modifier protected as
shown below:
package pkga;
public class ClassA {
protected void processA( ) {
//processA
}
190

}
The "ClassB" can now access method "processA( )" from "ClassA" as shown below.
package pkgb;
import pkga.ClassA;
public class ClassB extends ClassA {
public void processB( ) {
super.processA( );
}
}
Q. Can you access ClassA's processA( ) method from a class ClassC as shown
below that resides in the package pkgb? LF COQ
package pkgb;
import pkga.ClassA;
public class ClassC {
public void processC( ) {
new ClassA( ).processA( );
}
}
A. The answer is No because the ClassC does not extend ClassA. The protected
scope is only visible to subclasses in other packages. If you want any class from other
packages to be able to see it, the access modifier of processA( ) needs to be public
as shown below:
package pkga;
public class ClassA {

191

Language Essentials
public void processA( ) {
//processA
}
}
Q. Is there a way to prevent ClassB from overriding the processA( ) method from
ClassA?
A. Yes. Mark the method as final. Final methods cannot be overriden.
package pkga;
public class ClassA {
public final void processA( ) {
//processA
}
}
Q29 If you want to extend the java.lang.String class, what methods will you override in your
extending class? LF
A29 You would be tempted to say equals( ), hashCode( ) and toString( ) methods, but the
java.lang.String class is declared as final and therefore it cannot be extended.
Q30 Are 'volatile' and 'const' valid modifiers in Java? LF FAQ
A30 Very rarely used modifiers like strictfp, native, transient, and volatile are valid
modifiers. The modifier const is a reserved keyword in Java, but it is not added to
the language yet. So currently, const is an invalid modifier.
Q. What is the difference between the modifiers volatile and synchronized?
A. Volatile modifier is used on instance variables that may be modified simultaneously
by other threads. The modifier volatile only synchronizes the variables marked as
volatile whereas synchronized modifier synchronizes all variables. Local variables are
not required to be marked as volatile because other threads cannot see them.
Q. If added to Java, how would the modifier const differ from a final modifier?
A. A final variable cannot be modified to refer to any other objects other than one it
was initialized to refer to. So the final modifier applies only to the value of the variable
itself, and not to the object referenced by the variable. The following declarations are
real constants as String is an immutable class and int is not an object. So once
192

assigned, it cannot be modified.

public static final String SERVICE_NAME = Financial Service;
public static final int SERVICE_ID = 1;
But the following is not a real constant as the referenced object is mutable (i.e.
modifiable). The code below shows that the reference VAL cannot be reassigned to
a different object since it is final, but the object it is referencing to can be modified
since it is mutable.
package chapter2.com;
public class MutableConsts {
//final variables cannot be reassigned once assigned
private static final MutableBean VAL = new MutableBean( );
//static inner class
public static final class MutableBean {
private int val = 5;
public int getVal( ) {
return val;
}
public void setVal(int val) {
this.val = val;
}
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("before mutating=" + VAL.val);
VAL.setVal(6);
System.out.println("after mutating=" + VAL.val);
}

// prints 5
// prints 6

}
This is where the 'const' modifier can come in very useful if added to the Java
language. A reference variable or a constant marked as 'const' refers to an immutable
193

Language Essentials
object that cannot be modified.
Q. Since the const keyword is not yet added to Java, how would you make sure that
a static final variable remains a constant? COQ
A. By ensuring that the static final variables either refer to primitive data types or
immutable objects. The immutable objects will be discussed under section entitled
Objects Essentials.
Q31 How would you go about determining what access levels to use in your code? BP
FAQ
A31
Declare all your instance variables (aka attributes or fields) as private and
provide public getXXX & setXXX access methods. This prevents you from
being lazy and grabbing internal things you should not or corrupting a
variable. For example, you can implement a fail fast approach to prevent a
variable named age from incorrectly being assigned with a negative value.
package chapter2.com;
public class Person {
private Short age;

// best practice

public Short getAge( ) {

return age;
}
public void setAge(Short age) {
//fail fast
if(age == null || age < 0 || age >= 200) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid Age: " + age);
}
//the age will never be negative or > 200
this.age = age;
}
}
If you had declared the variable as follows,
public short age;

194

// bad practice

Then it is easy for any external class to corrupt the age as,
personInstance.age = -5;

Don't declare any methods or variables as protected with a view that it may be
required in the future. Declare them as protected only if the subclasses
absolutely need them to be declared as protected.

Declare all the methods not in the public interface as private.

Package private access level is useful if you want to open features to your
subclasses within the same package, but want to restrict access outside the
package to those who might not understand the full design or consequences
of using a feature.

Thinking about the right access modifier to use also forces you to think through how
objects and classes are going to interact with each other.
Q32 If you were to give some tips on modifiers, what would they be? LF
A32
'abstract' and 'native' methods have no body. If a method is declared native
means, the method implementation is provided external to the JVM in a native
language such as C. A class that has at least one abstract method must be
declared abstract. A method cannot be declared both 'abstract' and 'native'.
abstract void process( );
native void process( );

'final' variables cannot be 'volatile' and 'volatile' variables cannot be 'final'

because final variables cannot be modified, whereas volatile variables can be
modified.

Methods cannot be declared 'native' and 'strictfp' simultaneously.

Methods that are 'abstract' cannot be declared 'private', 'static', 'final', 'native',
'strictfp' or 'synchronized'.

195

Language Essentials

Classes cannot be declared both 'final' and 'abstract'.

A class, method or variable declaration can contain only one of the following
access modifiers public, protected, or private. If it does not have any of the
above access modifiers, it is package-private scoped by default.

'static' means belong to a class rather than an instance (i.e. an object) of a class.
'static' variables and methods might better have been called per class variables
and methods. There is nothing static (unchanging) about them. 'static' refers to
a method or variable that is not attached to a particular object, but rather to a
class as a whole. When both 'static' and 'final' modifiers are applied to a
variable, it becomes a constant. All static methods are implicitly final, as they
cannot be overriden. It is not an error to mark them as final, but it is redundant
and considered a bad practice. static methods can call instance methods only if
they use their own object references explicitly, and cannot use the implicit
keyword 'this'.

Surprisingly, the java compiler does not complain if you declare a transient
field as static or final. These should be compile-time errors because a
"transient" part of an object's state is assumed to be changing within each
instance, and it can not be static or final. There is no point in declaring a static
member field as transient, since transient means: "do not serialize", and static
fields would not be serialized as they belong to a class and not to an individual
instance. It is important to keep in mind that the process of serialization is
concerned with an object's current state. So declaring a transient variable as
static or final does not make any sense.

Local variables can only be declared as 'final'. Local variables are implicitly
private to the block in which they are declared. You cannot use any other
access modifiers explicitly. Don't have a synchronized block for local variables
as they are always thread-safe. Local variables are stored in a stack and each
thread will have its own stack.

Methods and constructors

Q33 What is the difference between constructors and other regular methods? What
196

happens if you do not provide a constructor? Can you call one constructor from
another? Are constructors inherited? How do you call a super class's constructor?
LF FAQ
A33 A constructor will be automatically invoked when an object is created using the new
keyword whereas a method has to be called explicitly. Constructors are used to
initialize the instance variables (aka fields) of an object. Constructors are similar to
methods, but with some important differences.

A constructor must have the same name as the class it is in.

There is no return type given in a constructor signature. The return value is
implicitly "this" object itself so there is no need to indicate a return value.
There is no return statement in the body of the constructor.
The first line of a constructor must either be a call on another constructor
in the same class using this(..), or a call to the super class constructor using
super(..). If the first line is neither of these, the compiler automatically inserts
a call to the no parameter super class constructor with super( ).

If you don't define a constructor for a class, a default no parameter constructor is

automatically created by the compiler at compile time. The default constructor calls
the default parent constructor super( ) and initializes all instance variables to default
values zero for numeric types, null for object references, and false for booleans. If
you define one or more constructors for your class, no default constructor is automat
ically created.
package chapter2.com;
public class ConstructorParent {
// a no parameter default constructor will be inserted by the compiler.
}
package chapter2.com;
public class ConstructorChild extends ConstructorParent {
private Integer fld1;
private String fld2;
private Float fld3;

197

Language Essentials
//no parameter constructor
public ConstructorChild( ) { } // implicitly calls parent class' constructor
// with the construct super( );
public ConstructorChild(Integer fld1, String fld2, Float fld3) {
this(fld1, fld2);
// cannot have both super(...) & this () here.
this.fld3 = fld3;
// illegal to have super(...) or this(...) anywhere else except in the first line.
}
public ConstructorChild(Integer fld1, String fld2) {
super( );
// cannot have both super( ) & this here.
this.fld1 = fld1;
this.fld2 = fld2;
}
}
Q. Can you call one constructor from another? LF FAQ
A. You can call one constructor from another with the this(...) construct, but it must
be the first line of a constructor.
Q. Are constructors inherited? LF DC
A. Constructors are not fully inherited in a sense that you cannot create an instance of
a subclass using a constructor of it's superclass. One of the main reasons is because
you probably don't want to override a super class's constructor, which would be
possible if they were inherited. By giving a developer the ability to override a super
class' constructor, you would erode the encapsulation abilities of the language.
Q. How do you call a super class's constructor?
A. You call a super class's constructor with the super(...) construct.
Q. Can a constructor throw exceptions?
A. Yes.
Q34 Where and how can you use a private constructor? LF DP FAQ
A34 Private constructor is used, if you do not want other classes to instantiate the object,
and to prevent subclassing. The instantiation is done by the same class. Not defining
any constructors would not work because if you don't define a constructor for a class,
a default no parameter constructor is automatically created by the compiler at compile
198

time. Private constructors are

Used in classes using the singleton design pattern.

Used in classes using the static factory methods. For example, java.util.Collec
tions class.
Used in utility classes. For example, Apache library classes StringUtils, Collec
tionUtils, etc or custom utility classes written by you.

Q35 What are static factory methods? Can you give examples from the Java API? What
design patterns does it use? Can you describe the benefits of static factory methods
and usefulness of private constructors? LF DP FAQ
A35 Static factory methods are an alternative to creating objects through constructors.
Unlike constructors, static factory methods are not required to create a new object (i.e.
a duplicate object) each time they are invoked. The static factory methods are more
testable than complex constructors. They also have a more meaningful names than
constructors like:
Integer.valueOf("5"), MyConnection.newInstance(..), Arrays.asList(..), BigDecimal.
valueOf(3.0),BigInteger.valueOf(389), String.valueOf(5), etc.
Instead of:
String[ ] myArray = {"Java", "J2EE", "XML", "JNDI"};
for (int i = 0; i < myArray.length; i++) {
System.out.println(myArray[i]);
}
You can use:
String[ ] myArray = {"Java", "J2EE", "XML", "JNDI"};
System.out.println(Arrays.asList(myArray)); // factory method
The following static factory method is an alternative to a constructor. It converts a
boolean primitive value to a Boolean wrapper object.
public static Boolean valueOf(boolean b) {
return (b ? TRUE : FALSE);
}
199

Language Essentials

DP The static factory method uses the factory method design pattern. Common
names for factory methods include getInstance(..) and valueOf(..). These names are not
mandatory - choose whatever makes sense for each case. When you need to create a
very large number of objects, each requires an amount of memory to store the
objects' state. In some cases, the objects being created may include information that is
often duplicated. Immutable instances can be cached and reused. Where this is true,
the "flyweight" design pattern can be used. The flyweight design pattern often uses a
variation on the "factory method" design pattern for the generation of the shared
objects. The factory receives a request for a flyweight instance. If a matching object is
already in the cache, that particular object is returned. If not, a new flyweight is
generated. Usually the full set of available flyweight objects is held within the factory
in a collection that can be accessed quickly, such as a HashMap. Here is an example of
a cache.
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
public class PrefixedWord {
private String prefix;
private String word;
//cache
private static Map<String, PrefixedWord> wordCache =
new HashMap<String, PrefixedWord>(50);
// cannot be constructed from outside
private PrefixedWord(String prefix, String word) {
this.prefix = prefix;
this.word = word;
}
//static factory method that caches values
public static PrefixedWord valueOf(String prefix, String word) {
String key = prefix + word;
200

PrefixedWord pWord = null;

//first check the cache
if (wordCache.keySet( ).contains(key)) {
pWord = wordCache.get(key);
//construct if not in cache
} else {
pWord = new PrefixedWord(prefix, word);
wordCache.put(key, pWord);
}
return pWord;
}
}
Q36 Can you extend a class with a private constructor? For example, a singleton class may
have a private constructor. What would you do, if you want to extend a singleton
class? DP COQ FAQ
A36 A class with a private constructor cannot be extended from outside.
package chapter2.com;
public class MySingletonFactory {
private static final MySingletonFactory instance = new MySingletonFactory( );
private MySingletonFactory( ){}
public static MySingletonFactory getInstance( ) {
return instance;
}
}
Note: It might be a good idea to mark such classes as final as well. The final keyword
to the class declaration is purposely omitted to demonstrate that a class with a private
constructor cannot be extended from outside.
package chapter2.com;
public class MyExtSingletonFactory extends MySingletonFactory {

201

Language Essentials
/**
* Compile-time error: Implicit super constructor
* MySingletonFactory( ) is not visible
*/
public MyExtSingletonFactory( ) {
//implicitly invokes the super class's constructor with super( );
}
}
But, strictly speaking, a non-final class with a private constructor can be extended
from inside, using a static inner class as shown below. This is generally not a good
practice.
package chapter2.com;
public class MySingletonFactory {
private static final MySingletonFactory instance =
new MySingletonFactory( );
private MySingletonFactory( ) {
}
public static MySingletonFactory getInstance( ) {
return instance;
}
public static class ExtSingletonFactory extends
MySingletonFactory {
public ExtSingletonFactory( ){
//do something
}
}
}
So it is a good practice to add the final keyword to your class declaration. If you
want to extend a singleton class from outside, change the access modifier of your
constructor from private to protected.
202

Q37 What are some of the do's and don'ts with respect to constructors in order to write
more testable code? What tip would you give your fellow developers to make their
code more testable? BP DP FAQ
A37 Constructors should predominantly have just field assignments. Constructors should
not have any complex object graph construction logic. The complex object graphs
should be constructed via a factory or builder design pattern. According to Misko
Hevery's Guide to Writing Testable Code at http://java.dzone.com/articles/guideto-writing-testable-code), following are the warning signs to watch out for while
writing a constructor:

The new key word in a constructor or at field declarations within a class.

Anything more than field assignments in constructors.
Static method calls in a constructor or at field declarations within a class.
Objects not getting fully initialized on completion of executing the
constructors.
Using an initialization block for object construction.
Constructors performing complex object graph construction.

Q. What tip would you give your fellow developers to make their code more testable?
A.
Firstly, use testing frameworks like JUnit, TestNG, DbUnit, and XMLUnit, and
mocking frameworks like EasyMock or Mockito. Follow the write test cases
first principle as it not only promotes better coverage of test cases, but also
encourages you to write more testable code.

Most importantly, unit testing is all about testing your code in isolation. To
achieve this, care must be taken not to mix object construction with applic
ation logic. You can achieve this isolation through a popular concept known
as the dependency injection, where a dependency is injected instead of
constructing them within an application. So dependency injection makes your
application more testable by allowing you to inject a small subset of your
application in to your unit tests. This small subset can be constructed
independently of your whole system due to looser coupling between your
classes and objects.

Q. What if you have to work with some legacy code, and don't have the luxury to
203

Language Essentials
introduce a dependency injection framework like Spring, Guice, or HiveMind?
COQ

DP

A. The key aspect of making your code more testable is to request for services, and
not to look for services. Avoid looking for services by instantiating services with the
new keyword. Request for services with service locators using either JNDI look ups
or factories using the factory design pattern. A factory design pattern with code to
interface design principle can loosely couple a caller from a callee. This will make
your code not only more testable, but also more flexible and extendable.
Q38 When is a method said to be overloaded and when is a method said to be overridden?
What are their differences? What is a co-variant return type? LF FAQ
A38 Method overloading is the primary way in which, polymorphism is implemented in
Java. Overloading lets you define the same operation in different ways for different
data. An overloaded method:

appear in the same class or a subclass.

have the same name but,
have different parameter lists, and,
can have different return types.
class MyClass {
public void getInvestAmount(int rate) {}
public void getInvestAmount(int rate, long principal) { }
}

The actual method called depends on the number, order, and data types of arguments
passed, and determined at compile-time (aka compile-time polymorphism). It does
not depend on the return types or names of the arguments passed.
Method overriding allows a subclass to re-define a non-static method it inherits from
its super class. Overriding lets you define the same operation in different ways for
different object types. Late-binding also supports overriding. Overriding methods,

204

appear in subclasses.
have the same name as a super class method.
have the same parameter list as a super class method.

have the same return type as as a super class method. Until the J2SE 5.0
release, it was true that a class could not override the return type of the
methods it inherits from a super class.
the access modifier for the overriding method must not be more restrictive
than the access modifier of the super class method. For example, if the super
class method is protected, the overriding method must either be protected or
public
the overriding method can only specify all, none, or a subset of the exception
classes (including their subclasses) specified in the throws clause of the
overridden method in the super class..
class BaseClass{
public void getInvestAmount(int rate) {}
}
class MyClass extends BaseClass {
@override
public void getInvestAmount(int rate) { }
}

The actual method called depends on the type on which the method is invoked, and
determined at runt-time (aka runtime polymorphism).
BP It is a best practice to use the override annotation as shown above to ensure that
you have not mistyped or used the wrong arguments for your overriding method.
Q39 There is a class X.java and it has a public method. Class Y extends class X. How
would you prevent a method in class X from being accessed in class Y using Y's
instance? LF FAQ
A39 Override the method in class X with the same method name and signature in class Y.
Q. Can you write a new static method in the subclass Y that has the same signature as
the one in the super class X?
A. Yes. But this is called hiding or shadowing and not overriding.
Q. Can you also declare a public or protected field in the subclass Y with the same
name as the one in the super class X, thus hiding it?
A. Yes. But this approach is not recommended as it breaks encapsulation. Always
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Language Essentials
declare your fields as private, and provide access via public or protected methods.
Q40 What do you understand by the term co-variant in Java? LF FAQ
A40 An argument or return type in an overridden method that is made more specialized is
called to be co-variant. So you can use co-variant return types to minimize up casting
and down casting. For example,
package covariant;
public class Parent {
Parent process( ) {
System.out.println("Parent process( ) called");
return this;
}
}
If you were using J2SE5.0 or later version:
package covariant;
public class Child extends Parent {
/**
* return type could be either Child or Parent
*/
Child process( ) {
System.out.println("Child process( ) called");
return this;
}
}
If you were using a Java version prior to J2SE 5.0:
package covariant;
public class ChildPreJ2SE5 extends Parent {
/**
206

* Pre J2SE 5.0, a return type of Child will cause a compile-time

* error "The return type is incompatible with Parent.process( )"
* Hence, same return type as Parent class is used.
*/
Parent process( ) {
System.out.println("ChildPreJ2SE5 process( ) called");
return this;
}
}
package covariant;
public class Covarience {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//Before covariance was introduced
ChildPreJ2SE5 c1Pre5 = new ChildPreJ2SE5( );
ChildPreJ2SE5 c2Pre5 = (ChildPreJ2SE5) c1Pre5.process( );
Parent c3Pre5 = c1Pre5.process( );
//After covariance was introduced
Child c1 = new Child( );
Child c2 = c1.process( );
// c2 is Child. No casting is required.
Parent c3 = c1.process( );
// c3 points to Child
}
}
Note: Prior to J2SE 5.0, the return type of the overridden clone( ) method had to be an
Object and a cast was necessary. From J2SE 5.0, the return type of the overriding
clone( ) method can be a more specialized subtype.
Q41 How many ways can an argument be passed to a subroutine and explain them? LF
A41 2 ways. Pass by value and pass by reference. Java is always pass by value.
Q42 What are varargs? LF
A42 This is another handy feature added in J2SE 5.0. The varargs is a variable arguments
language feature that makes it possible to call a method with a variable number of
arguments. Before making that call, the rightmost parameter in the method's
207

Language Essentials
parameter list must conform to the following syntax:
type ... variableName
The ellipsis (...) identifies a variable number of arguments, and is demonstrated in the
following example.
package varargs;
public class WithoutVarargs {
static int sumWithoutVarargs(int[ ] numbers) {
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
sum += numbers[i];
}
return sum;
}
static int sumWithVarargs(int... numbers) {
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
sum += numbers[i];
}
return sum;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// need to construct the array of numbers first
int[ ] i1 = { 3, 7, 9, 8 };
int sum = sumWithoutVarargs(i1);
// need to construct the array of numbers first
int[ ] i2 = { 9, 9 };
sum = sumWithoutVarargs(i2);
// with varargs, you can pass it directly
sum = sumWithVarargs(3, 7, 9, 8);
sum = sumWithVarargs(9,9);
208

}
}
Q43 What is the difference between an argument and a parameter? LF
A43 The words argument and parameter are often used interchangeably. In Java, argument
is an expression in the comma-separated list in a method call. For example,
sum = sumWithVarargs(3, 7, 9, 8);

// arguments

A parameter is an object or reference that is declared in a method declaration or

definition (or in a catch clause of an exception handler). For example,
static int sumWithoutVarargs(int[ ] numbers) { // parameter
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
sum += numbers[i];
}
return sum;
}

Stack versus Heap

Q44 Can you explain what goes on a stack and what goes on a heap for the following code
snippet?
package heap;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
public class StackVersusHeap {
private SimpleDateFormat instanceSdf = new SimpleDateFormat();
public void instanceMethod( ){
SimpleDateFormat localSdf = new SimpleDateFormat();
//...
}
209

Language Essentials
}
A44 Instance variables and Objects are stored on the Heap. The SimpleDateFormat
objects go to the heap. The instance variable instanceSdf also goes to the heap. Heap is
where the state is maintained, and when you get memory leaks, this is where your
profiler helps you to find the allocation of memory. Object members or instance
variables are stored on the heap along with the object. Therefore, if two threads call a
method on the same object instance and this method updates object members, the
method is not thread safe.
Local variables and methods are stored on the Stack. So the method
instanceMethod( ) and the local variable localSdf go to the stack. Each thread will have its
own stack. Local variables and methods are stored in each thread's own stack. That
means that local variables are never shared between threads. That also means that all
local primitive variables are thread safe. Local references to objects are a bit different.
The reference itself is not shared and sits in the stack. But local object referenced is
not stored in each thread's local stack. All objects are stored in the shared heap. If an
object created locally never escapes the method it was created in, it is thread safe. In
fact you can also pass it on to other methods and objects as long as none of these
methods or objects make the passed object available to other threads.

210

Q45 What is the difference between processes and threads?

A45 A process is an execution of a program but a thread is a single execution sequence
within the process. A process can contain multiple threads. A thread is sometimes
called a lightweight process.
A JVM runs in a single process and threads in a JVM share the heap belonging to that
process. That is why several threads may access the same object. Threads share the
heap and have their own stack space. This is how one threads invocation of a method
and its local variables are kept thread safe from other threads. But the heap is not
thread-safe and must be synchronized for thread safety.

Java is pass-by-value
Q44 Explain the statement Java is always pass by value? LF FAQ
A44 Other languages use pass-by-reference or pass-by-pointer. But in Java, no matter what
type of argument (i.e. a primitive variable or an object reference) you pass, the corres
ponding parameter will get a copy of that data, which is exactly how pass-by-value
211

Language Essentials
(i.e. copy-by-value) works. Even though the definition is quite straight forward, the
way the primitives and object references behave when passed by value, will be
different. For example, If the passed in argument was a primitive value like int, char,
etc, the passed in primitive value is copied to the method parameter. Modifying the
copied parameter will not modify the original primitive value. On the contrary, if
the passed in argument was an object reference, the passed in reference is copied to
the method parameter. The copied reference will still be pointing to the same object.
So if you modify the object value through the copied reference, the original object
will be modified. For example,

package chapter2.com;
public class PassByValue {
int val = 10;
int[ ] values = {10};
212

// primitive reference
// object reference

public void mutatePrimitive(int val){

val = 100;
}
public void mutateObject(int[ ] values){
values[0] = 100;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
PassByValue instance = new PassByValue( );
//primitive reference
System.out.println("val before mutate=" + instance.val);
instance.mutatePrimitive(instance.val);
System.out.println("val after mutate=" + instance.val);

// prints 10
// prints 10

//object reference
System.out.println("values[0] before mutate=" + instance.values[0]);// prints 10
instance.mutateObject(instance.values);
System.out.println("values[0] after mutate=" + instance.values[0]); // prints 100
}
}
Note: Regardless of what type of array (i.e. primitive array or object array ) youre
working with, the array identifier is actually a handle to a true object thats created on
the heap.
Q45 The value of Point p before the following method calls is (10,20). What will be the
value of Point p after executing the following method calls? LF COQ
Scenario 1:
static void mutatePoint(Point p) {
p.x = 50;
p.y=100;
}
Scenario 2:

213

Language Essentials
static void mutatePoint(Point p) {
p = new Point(50,100);
}
A45 Scenario 1:
Point p = (50,100), as the copied reference will still be pointing and modifying the
original Point (10,2 0) object through the mutatePoint( ) method.
Scenario 2:
Point p = (10,20), as the copied reference will be creating and pointing to the newly
created Point (50, 100) object.

Recursive functions
Q46 How would you take advantage of Java being a stack based language? What is a reentrant method? LF FAQ
A46 Recursive method calls are possible with stack based languages and re-entrant
methods.
A re-entrant method would be one that can safely be entered, even when the same
method is being executed, further down the call stack of the same thread. A non-reentrant method would not be safe to use in that way. For example, writing or
logging to a file can potentially corrupt that file, if that method were to be reentrant.
A function is recursive if it calls itself. Given enough stack space, recursive
method calls are perfectly valid in Java though it is tough to debug. Recursive
functions are useful in removing iterations from many sorts of algorithms. All
recursive functions are re-entrant, but not all re-entrant functions are recursive.
Stack uses LIFO (Last In First Out), so it remembers its caller and knows whom to
return when the function has to return. Recursion makes use of system stack for
storing the return addresses of the function calls.
public class RecursiveCall {
214

public int countA(String input) {

// exit condition recursive calls must have an exit condition
if (input == null || input.length( ) == 0) {
return 0;
}
int count = 0;
//check first character of the input
if (input.substring(0, 1).equals("A")) {
count = 1;
}
//recursive call to evaluate rest of the input
//(i.e. 2nd character onwards)
return count + countA(input.substring(1));
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(new RecursiveCall( ).countA("AAA rating")); // 3
}
}

BP PC Recursion might not be the efficient way to code, but recursive functions
215

Language Essentials
are shorter, simpler, and easier to read and understand. Recursive functions are very
handy in working with tree structures and avoiding unsightly nested for loops. If a
particular recursive function is identified to be a real performance bottleneck as it is
invoked very frequently or it is easy enough to implement using iteration like the
sample code below, then favor iteration over recursion. The iterative approach is
shown below:
public class Iteration {
public int countA(String input) {
if (input == null || input.length( ) == 0) {
return 0;
}
int count = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < input.length( ); i++) {
if(input.substring(i, i+1).equals("A")){
count++;
}
}
return count;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(new Iteration( ).countA("AAA rating"));
}

// 3

}
Q47 What are idempotent methods? LF FAQ
A47 Idempotent methods are methods, which are written in such a way that repeated calls
to the same method with the same arguments yield the same results. For example,
clustered EJBs, which are written with idempotent methods, can automatically recover
from a server failure as long as it can reach another server.
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

216

public class IdempotentOperations {

//member variable
List<Integer> numbers = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
/**
* An idempotent operation leaves everything in the same state
* if you call it once or many times, provided you pass
* in the same parameters.
*/
public Integer square(Integer input) {
return input * input;
}
/**
* An operation that does something like appending to a shared list
* are not idempotent.
*/
public List<Integer> add(Integer input){
numbers.add(input);
return numbers;
}
}

Class, instance, and local variables

Q48 What are the different kinds of variables in Java? What are some of the best practices
relating to usage of these types of variables? LF FAQ
A48 Local variables are defined in a method, constructor or block. Local variables (i.e.
primitives and object references) are stored in a stack. Use: Local variables hold values
used in computations in a method. Lifetime: Created when a method or constructor
is entered and destroyed on exit of a method or a constructor. Scope/Visibility:
Visible only in the method, constructor, or block in which they are declared. Declar
ation/Initial Value: must be declared, and initialized during declaration or later
down the code, but cannot be used if not initialized. BP Best practice/caveat:
Prefer using local variables if you do not really want to maintain any state between
217

Language Essentials
method calls. Declare and initialize local variables just before using them. Declaring
local variables without using them immediately may unnecessarily increase their scope.
This decreases legibility, and increases the likelihood of errors. Local variables are
implicitly thread-safe and synchronization is not required. There are exceptional
scenarios where the local variables need to be declared before immediately using them.
For example,

When a variable in the try block needs to be visible in the finally block.
Some variables that are used within a loop.

package chapter2.com;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Scanner;
public class Declared {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
/**
* local variable is declared and initialized outside
* try block to be visible in the finally block
*/
Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
try {
/**
* local variable 'keepGoing' & 'typedValues" are
* declared & initialized well before used
* in the while loop.
*/
boolean keepGoing = true;
List<String> typedValues = new ArrayList<String>(20);
while (keepGoing) {
System.out.print("Enter Something? [type QUIT to exit] ");
/**
* local variable 'answer' is declared &
* initialized immediately before getting used
* 'answer' is out of scope outside the while loop.
218

*/
String answer = sc.next( );
if ("QUIT".equalsIgnoreCase(answer)) {
keepGoing = false;
}
typedValues.add(answer);
}
/**
* local variable i is declared and initialized
* immediately before used. 'typedValues' is declared
* outside the while loop, hence visible here.
*/
for (int i = 0; i < typedValues.size( ); i++) {
System.out.println("Input Number " + (i + 1) + " = "
+ typedValues.get(i));
}
} finally {
sc.close( );
}
}
}
Output:
Enter Something? [type QUIT to exit] test1
Enter Something? [type QUIT to exit] Test2
Enter Something? [type QUIT to exit] quit
Input Number 1 = test1
Input Number 2 = Test2
Input Number 3 = quit
Instance (aka member) variables are declared in a class, but outside a method. They
are also called member variables, fields or attributes. These variables are created when
an object is created and allocated in the heap. Use: Hold values that must be refer
enced by more than one method. Lifetime: Creates when an instance of a class is
created with new. Destroyed when there are no more references to the containing
object, and the garbage collector has removed it from the heap. Scope/visibility: Can
be seen by all methods in the class. Which other classes can see them depends on the
219

Language Essentials
access modifiers. Declaration/initial Value: Declared anywhere at a class level. Can
be initialized at declaration or in constructor. Unlike local variables, these variables are
implicitly initialized to its default values (0, 0.0, or false) if not explicitly initialized. BP
Best practice/caveat: Typically declared as private and access is provided to outside
classes via public, protected, or package-private scoped methods with proper checks or
validation. As the objects can be accessed simultaneously by multiple threads, use
these variables in a thread-safe manner. Never use same name for your local, instance,
and class variables. If same names were used for an instance variable and a local
variable, the local variable hides the instance variable, unless the instance variable is
prefixed with the this keyword. Meaning this object's member or instance variable.
It is a best practice to use a naming convention to distinguish between the variable
types. For example, prefixed with 'this' or a naming convention like m_sameNameVar
where 'm' stands for member variable.
package chapter2.com;
public class VariableNamingIssue {
int sameNameVar = 5;

//instance variable

public int getSameNameVar( ) {

int sameNameVar = 6;
//local variable
//do something here....
/**
* local variable sameNameVar is returned
* unless you use the "this" explicitly
* as --> return this.sameNameVar
*/
return sameNameVar;
//value of the local variable is returned
}
public void setSameNameVar(int sameNameVar) {
/**
* prefixing with 'this' improves readability, and uses the instance variable.
* If this is omitted, the local variable gets assigned instead.
*/
this.sameNameVar = sameNameVar;
}

220

public static void main(String[ ] args) {

VariableNamingIssue vni = new VariableNamingIssue( ); //create an object
vni.setSameNameVar(10); //instance variable sameNameVar is set to 10.
System.out.println("value=" + vni.getSameNameVar( )); //value of the local
//variable 6 is returned.
}
}
Output:
value=6
Class variables or static variables are declared with the static keyword in a class, but
outside a method. There is only one copy per class (strictly speaking, per classloader),
regardless of how many objects are created from it. Use: Mostly used for constants. It
can also be used to aggregate values (e.g. a counter) across objects. Lifetime: Created
when the program starts (i.e. a class is loaded) and destroyed when the program stops.
Scope/visibility: Same as instance variables, but are often declared in protected,
package or public scope to make constants available to external classes.
Declaration/initial Value: Declare anywhere at class level. If not explicitly initialized,
implicitly initialized to default values (0, 0.0, or false). BP Best practice/caveat:
Global state is harmful to your application design. Sometimes you really do need the
globalness of static variables, but dont use it where it would make more sense to just
use local variables or create an object with instance variables. Excessive usage of static
variables is not a best practice as it can adversely impact maintainability, robustness,
scalability, and testability.
BP Where applicable, prefer making the variables final to prevent changing those
values, and consequently making your code less buggy.
Note: Java only allocates primitive data types like int and double, and object references
on the stack. All objects are allocated on the heap.
Q49 What will be the output for the following code? LF COQ
package chapter2.com;
public class AccessingInstanceVariables {
221

Language Essentials
int a = 6;
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("a is " + a);
}
}
A49 Compile-time error. Since 'a' is an instance variable, you cannot access it without
actually creating an instance of an object and qualifying it with the reference.
package chapter2.com;
public class AccessingInstanceVariables {
int a = 6;

//instance variable

/**
* static method
*/
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
AccessingInstanceVariables ref = new AccessingInstanceVariables( );
System.out.println("a is " + ref.a);
// prints 6
ref.addFive( );
}
/**
* non-static (aka instance) method can refer it directly.
*/
public void addFive( ) {
System.out.println("a is " + (a += 5));
// prints 11
addTwo( );
}
/**
* non-static (aka instance) method can refer it directly.
*/
public void addTwo( ) {
System.out.println("a is " + (a += 2));
// prints 13
222

}
}
Even though there is no name conflict, improve readability by qualifying it with this
as shown below.
package chapter2.com;
public class AccessingInstanceVariables {
int a = 6; // instance variable
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
AccessingInstanceVariables ref = new AccessingInstanceVariables( );
System.out.println("a is " + ref.a);
// prints 6
ref.addFive( );
}
public void addFive( ) {
System.out.println("a is " + (this.a += 5));
this.addTwo( );
}
public void addTwo( ) {
System.out.println("a is " + (this.a += 2));
}

// prints 11

// prints 13

223

Language Essentials

224

Section-5:

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Working with classes and interfaces

subclassing, overriding, and hiding
Designing your classes and interfaces
Working with abstract classes and interfaces
Inheritance versus composition
Applying the design principles
Class invariant and design by contract
Working with inner classes
Packaging your classes to avoid conflicts

This section is for all. If you asked me to pick a section that is most popular with the
interviewers, this is it. If you don't perform well in this section, your success rate in inter
views will be very low. Good interviewers will be getting you to analyze or code for a
particular scenario. They will be observing your decisions with interfaces and classes, and
question your decisions to ascertain your technical skills, analytical skills, and communication
skills. You can't memorize your answers. This section requires some level of experience to
fully understand. It has enough examples for beginners to get some level of familiarization.
Be ready to be asked about some tricky questions around the topics discussed in this
section. Java interview questions are meant to analyze your technical bent of mind. You have
to tell the way you are going to solve a particular problem with Java or any other
programming language of your choice. So the key is to ask the right questions and then
apply what you had learned. Keep practicing the examples provided here, and experiment
with them until you get a good grasp.

225

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Working with classes and interfaces

Object oriented (i.e. OO) concepts are an important building for creating good services.
They provide a common vocabulary to talk about the architecture. Without good under
standing of the OO concepts, you could easily implement a procedural programming using
classes. All you have to do is create a bunch of classes with nothing but data with getter and
setter methods, and some other Handler or Processor classes to handle the logic with if/else and
instanceof constructs sprayed all over the place. It is important to understand that objects
need to not only take care of themselves with data and behavior, but also have to interact
with each other.
Q1 Which class declaration is correct if A and B are classes and C and D are interfaces?
LF
a.) class Z extends A implements C, D{}
b.) class Z extends A,B implements D {}
c.) class Z extends C implements A,B {}
d.) class Z extends C,D implements B {}
A1

a. class Z extends A implements C, D{}

A class is a template. A class can extend only a single class (i.e. single inheritance. Java
does not support multiple implementation inheritance), but can implement
multiple interfaces to achieve multiple interface inheritance. An interface can also
extend more than one other interfaces.
interface E extends C,D { //.... }

Q2 What is a class? What are the valid modifiers of a top level class? LF
A2 A class is a template for multiple objects with similar features. In another words, A
class defines responsibilities (i.e. characteristics and behaviors) that are common to
every object.
Modifiers: A top level class can either be public or package-private (i.e. no access
modifier) scoped. It can be final concrete, abstract, or non-final concrete (i.e. no final
or abstract modifiers).
public class A { }
226

// non-final concrete class

class A { }
public abstract class A { }
public final class A { }

// non-final concrete class

// abstract class
// final concrete class

Subclassing, overriding, and hiding (aka shadowing)

Q3 What is a subclass? LF
A3 A subclass is a class that extends a class. A subclass inherits all of the public and
protected members of its parent class, no matter what package the subclass is in. If
the subclass is in the same package as its parent, it also inherits the package-private (i.e.
no access modifier) scoped members of the parent.
Q4 What can you do in a subclass? LF FAQ
A4 You can supplement, override, inherit, and hide/shadow your superclass members.
Supplement:
You can declare new fields in the subclass that are not in the superclass.
You can declare new methods in the subclass that are not in the superclass.
You can write a subclass constructor that invokes the constructor of the
superclass, either implicitly or by explicitly using the keyword super(...).
Override:
You can write a new instance method in the subclass that has the same
signature as the one in the superclass, thus overriding it. The ability to override
methods allows you to take advantage of runtime polymorphism.
Inherit:
You can inherit commonly used state and behavior in the super class. One of
the benefits of implementation inheritance is to minimize the amount of
duplicate code in an application by reusing code from the superclass. Since Java
does not support multiple implementation inheritance, it becomes a card that
can be played only once, and thus it should be used with caution.
Shadow/hide:
You can declare a field in the subclass with the same name as the one in the
superclass, thus hiding it (not recommended).
227

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

You can write a new static method in the subclass that has the same signature
as the one in the superclass, thus hiding it (not recommended).

Q5 What is the output of the following code snippet? Give your reasons and recommend
ations? COQ
package subclass1;
public abstract class Animal {
String name = "animal";
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}
}
package subclass1;
public class Cat extends Animal {
String name = "cat";
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}
}
package subclass1;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Animal animal = new Cat( );
Cat cat = new Cat( );
System.out.println(animal.name);
System.out.println(cat.name);
System.out.println(((Cat)animal).name);
228

System.out.println(((Animal)cat).name);
System.out.println(animal.getName( ));
System.out.println(cat.getName( ));
}
}
A5

The output will be:

animal
cat
cat
animal
cat
cat
The above code demonstrates implementation of inheritance and polymorphism. But
there are a number of bad practices that need to be fixed in the above code.
When both a parent class and its subclass have a field with the same name, this
technique is called variable shadowing. If the field in the parent class has private
access or is in another package and has package-private access, there is no room for
confusion because the child class cannot access the field in question of the parent
class. In the above example, the variable "name" is defined in both parent and child
classes within the same package, and have the package-private scope. Hence, the
variable "name" in the parent class Animal is accessible to the child class Cat. The
variable shadowing depends on the static type of the variable in which the objects
reference is stored and NOT based on the dynamic type of the actual object stored.
Note: The dynamic type will only be resolved at runtime.
Unlike variables, when a parent class and a child class each have a non-static method
(aka an instance method) with the same signature, the method of the child class
overrides the method of the parent class. The method overriding depends on the
dynamic type of the actual object being stored and NOT the static type of the variable
in which the object reference is stored. This can only be evaluated at runtime. As you
can see, the rules for variable shadowing and method overriding are directly opposed.
This can be demonstrated as shown below:
package subclass1;
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

import static java.lang.System.out;
public class Example2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//stored object type = Cat & referencing object type = Animal.
Animal animal = new Cat( );
//stored object type = Cat & referencing object type = Cat
Cat cat = new Cat( );
out.println("Variable Shadowing: the output depends on");
out.println("~~ the static type of the variable referencing ~~");
out.println(animal.name);
out.println(cat.name);
out.println(((Cat) animal).name);
out.println(((Animal) cat).name);
out.println("\nMethod Overriding: the output depends on ");
out.println("~~ the dynamic type of the object stored. ~~");
out.println(animal.getName( ));
out.println(cat.getName( ));
}
}
Output:
Variable Shadowing: the output depends on
~~ the static type of the variable referencing ~~
animal
cat
cat
animal
Method Overriding: the output depends on
~~ the dynamic type of the object stored. ~~
cat
cat
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Recommendations:

Firstly, the variable shadowing returns unexpected results. Hence it is a pitfall

and should be avoided. Use method overriding instead, which makes possible a
powerful object oriented concept known as polymorphism. Both objects of
type Cat and Dog can be stored to the reference of type Animal. When you
invoke the method getName( ), the actual method being invoked depends on the
dynamic type of the object stored (i.e. Cat or Dog) and NOT the static type
referencing (i.e. Animal) it.

Secondly, the variable name is scoped package-private. This can break encap
sulation by allowing incorrect direct assignments like
cat.name = null;
from outside classes like Example2 within this package. Hence, it is recom
mended to change the variable name from package-private scoped to private
scoped so that it cannot be directly modified as shown above. The modific
ation is only allowed through a setter method that can validate the input
argument(s) before assigning.

Where it makes sense, to harness the power of polymorphism, code to an

abstraction (i.e. interface or an abstract class) and not to an implementation.
Hence avoid using
Cat cat = new Cat( );
instead use:
Animal animal = new Cat( );
Animal animal2 = new Dog( );

Where the Animal could be an interface or an abstract class. The code below incor
porates the above recommendations.
package subclass1a;

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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

public abstract class Animal {
private String name = "animal"; //since private, cannot be accessed directly
// from outside this class.
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}

//accessed via get & set methods.

public void setName(String name){ // 'name' is well encapsulated

//check for valid input
if(name == null || name.length( ) == 0){
throw new IllegalArgumentException("name=" + name);
}
this.name = name;
}
}
package subclass1a;
public class Cat extends Animal {
private String name = "cat";
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}
}
package subclass1a;
import subclass1a.Animal;
public class Dog extends Animal {
private String name = "dog";
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
232

}
}
package subclass1a;
import static java.lang.System.out;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//stored obj type = Cat & referencing obj type = Animal
Animal animal = new Cat( );
//stored obj type = Dog & referencing obj type = Animal
Animal animal2 = new Dog( );
out.println("Stored obj is a --> " + animal.getName( ));
out.println("Stored obj is a --> " + animal2.getName( ));
}
}
Output:
Stored obj is a --> cat
Stored obj is a --> dog
Q6 What happens when a parent class and a child class each have a static method with
the same signature? LF
A6 The behavior of static methods will be similar to the variable shadowing, and not
recommended. It will be invoking the static method of the referencing static object
type, and NOT the dynamic object type being stored.

Designing your classes and interfaces

You need to have a good understanding of the OO concepts, design principles, and certain
amount of common sense to design a quality system. Any one can recite the definition of
the OO concepts and design principles, but only a few can come up with good class designs
for a given problem. It is important to understand when to use an attribute versus a subclass,
and when to use a composition or aggregation as opposed to inheritance. For example, if a
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Dog is a class extending an abstract class Animal, how would you design a Dog with a mole?
As a subclass or as an attribute? If you have a class Animal, how would you define its body
parts? As a subclass of animal or composition? [Hint: define mole as an attribute like special
Marks, and define the body parts as a composition]. A mole won't make a Dog to be more
specialized. A dog with a mole does not have a more specialized behavior compared to
dogs without a mole. The body parts of a dog don't have an is a relationship with the Dog.
You can't say that a leg is a dog. You will have to say a dog has legs. This is a has a
relationship denoting a composition or aggregation. There are more to it, and you will have
a better understanding after going through the following Q&As with lots of examples.
Q7 How do you know that your classes are badly designed? DC OEQ
A7
If your application is fragile when making a change, unexpected parts of the
application can break.
If your application is rigid it is hard to change one part of the application
without affecting too many other parts.
If your application is immobile it is hard to reuse the code in another
application because it cannot be separated.
Overly complex design is as bad as no design at all. Get the granularity of your classes
and objects right without overly complicating them. Don't apply too many patterns
and principles to a simple problem. Apply them only when they are adequate. Don't
anticipate changes in requirements ahead of time. Preparing for future changes can
easily lead to overly complex designs. Focus on writing code that is not only easy to
understand, but also flexible enough so that it is easy to change if the requirements
change.
Q8 Can you explain if the following classes are badly designed? OEQ SBQ
The following snippets design the classes & interfaces for the following scenario. Bob,
and Jane work for a restaurant. Bob works as manager and a waiter. Jane works as a
waitress. A waiter's behavior is to take customer orders and a manager's behavior is to
manage employees.
package badrestaurant;
public interface Person {}

234

package badrestaurant;
public interface Manager extends Person {
public void managePeople( );
}
package badrestaurant;
public interface Waiter extends Person {
public void takeOrders( );
}
package badrestaurant;
public class Bob implements Manager, Waiter {
@Override
public void managePeople( ) {
//implementation goes here
}
@Override
public void takeOrders( ) {
//implementation goes here
}
}
package badrestaurant;
public class Jane implements Waiter {
@Override
public List<String> takeOrders( ) {
//implementation goes here
}
}
The Restaurant class uses the above classes as shown below.

235

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

package badrestaurant;
public class Restaurant {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Bob bob = new Bob( );
bob.managePeople( );
bob.takeOrders( );
Jane jane = new Jane( );
jane.takeOrders( );
}
}
A8

The above classes are badly designed for the reasons described below.

The name should be an attribute, and not a class like Bob or Jane. A good OO
design should hide non-essential details through abstraction. If the restaurant
employs more persons, you don't want the system to be inflexible and create
new classes like Peter, Jason, etc for every new employee.

The above solution's incorrect usage of the interfaces for the job roles like
Waiter, Manager, etc will make your classes very rigid and tightly coupled by
requiring static structural changes. What if Bob becomes a full-time manager?
You will have to remove the interface Waiter from the class Bob. What if Jane
becomes a manager? You will have to change the interface Waiter with Manager.

The above drawbacks in the design can be fixed as shown below by asking the right
questions. Basically waiter, manager, etc are roles an employee plays. You can abstract
it out as shown below.
package goodrestuarant;
public interface Role {
public String getName( );
public void perform( );
}
236

package goodrestuarant;
public class Waiter implements Role {
private String roleName;
public Waiter(String roleName) {
this.roleName = roleName;
}
@Override
public String getName( ) {
return this.roleName;
}
@Override
public void perform( ) {
//implementation goes here
}
}
package goodrestuarant;
public class Manager implements Role {
private String roleName;
public Manager(String roleName) {
this.roleName = roleName;
}
@Override
public String getName( ) {
return this.roleName;
}
@Override
public void perform( ) {
237

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

//implementation goes here
}
}
The Employee class defines the employee name as an attribute as opposed to a class.
This makes the design flexible as new employees can be added at run time by instanti
ating new Employee objects with appropriate names. This is the power of abstraction.
You don't have to create new classes for each new employee. The roles are declared as
a list using aggregation (i.e. containment), so that new roles can be added or existing
roles can be removed at run time as the roles of employees change. This makes the
design more flexible.
package goodrestuarant;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Employee {
private String name;
private List<Role> roles = new ArrayList<Role>(10);
public Employee(String name){
this.name = name;
}
public String getName( ) {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
public List<Role> getRoles( ) {
return roles;
}
public void setRoles(List<Role> roles) {
238

this.roles = roles;
}
public void addRole(Role role){
if(role == null){
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Role cannot be null");
}
roles.add(role);
}
public void removeRole(Role role){
if(role == null){
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Role cannot be null");
}
roles.remove(role);
}
}
The following Restaurant class shows how flexible, extensible, and maintainable the
above design is.
package goodrestuarant;
import java.util.List;
public class Restaurant {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Employee emp1 = new Employee ("Bob");
Role waiter = new Waiter("waiter");
Role manager = new Manager("manager");
emp1.addRole(waiter);
emp1.addRole(manager);
Employee emp2 = new Employee("Jane");
emp2.addRole(waiter);

239

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

List<Role> roles = emp1.getRoles( );
for (Role role : roles) {
role.perform( );
}
//you can add more employees or change roles based on
//conditions here at runtime. More flexible.
}
}
Q9 What do you achieve through good class and interface design? DC OEQ
A9
Loosely coupled classes, objects, and components enabling your application
to easily grow and adapt to changes without being rigid or fragile.
Less complex and reusable code that increases maintainability, extendability
and testability.
Q10 What are the principles of class design used in regards to OOD? DC
A10 They are the principles abbreviated as the SOLID principles.

240

SRP

Single Respons A class should only have a single purpose (i.e. cohesive),
ibility Principle and all its methods should work together to achieve this
goal.

OCP

Open
Principle

LSP

Liskov Substi Derived classes must be substitutable for their base classes.
tution Principle Derived classes must have the same intent, but different
implementation.
Another way to look at this principle is to think of design
by contract. A sub class should honor the contracts made
by its parent classes.

ISP

Interface Segreg Make fine grained interfaces that are client specific. While
ation Principle
SRP addresses high cohesion in the class level, ISP
promotes high cohesion in the interface level.

DIP

Dependency
Inversion

Close You should be able to extend a class' behavior, without

modifying it.

Depend on abstractions, not on implementations.

Principle

Higher level modules should not depend directly

on lower level modules. Both should depend on
abstractions (interfaces or abstract classes).
Abstractions should not depend on implementa
tions. The implementations should depend on
abstractions.

Q11 What are the 3 main concepts of OOP? DC FAQ

A11 Encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance are the 3 main concepts or pillars of an
object oriented programming. Abstraction is another important concept that can be
applied to both object oriented and non object oriented programming. [Remember: a
pie abstraction, polymorphism, inheritance, and encapsulation.]

Abstraction refers to hiding all the non-essential details from the user.
Abstraction comes in two forms: abstracting the behavior and abstracting the
data. For example, a person driving a car only needs to know about how to use
a steering wheel, gear, accelerator, etc, but does not need to know about the
internal details like how the engine works? how the transmission works?, how
much fuel is released on acceleration?, etc. Thus, abstraction lets you focus on
what the object does instead of how it does.
Abstraction gives you the ability to conceptualize things by ignoring the irrel
evant details. If you refer to an object as a vehicle that can be used in place of
an actual vehicle like a car, bus, van, etc, you are making an abstraction. You
can make an abstraction at different levels by handling details at different
levels. A Vehicle class can focus on common behaviors like forward(..), reverse(..),
turn(..) etc and attributes like make, model, etc of a vehicle. A set of derived
classes like Car, Bus, Truck, etc can focus on more specific details of a vehicle.
This gives you another level of abstraction by allowing you to refer to an
object as a car that can be used in place of different makes like a Toyota, Ford,
Volvo, etc and models like Camry, Corolla, etc by capturing the make and
model as attributes.
Abstraction is all about managing complexities at package, class, interface, and
method levels. Can you imagine how complex your class hierarchy will become
if you represent the make and model as classes instead of attributes within a
class? You may end up with thousands of classes from different make and
model if not tens of thousands. Good programmers develop this essential skill
241

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

to logically map a problem to its barest essential through the process of mental
exercise. Both the ability to look at the big picture and eye for details of how
things work are two essential traits to succeed in software development.

Encapsulation takes abstraction, which allows you to look at an object at a

high level of detail a step further by forbidding access to some internal details
to minimize complexity. Encapsulation makes your code modular by capturing
the data and the function into a single class. Modularity is a goal to treat each
class or method like a black box. It identifies the parts of an object that
should be made public and those that should be made private. The data and
methods that an object exposes to every other object is called the object's
public interface and the parts that are exposed to its subclasses via its inher
itance is called the protected interface. The access modifiers discussed in the
previous section are used to restrict access to some of the internal details.
Thus, encapsulation is hiding of internal details (e.g. having variables and
methods with either private or protected access), and connecting with other
objects through well defined narrow boundaries (e.g. well defined methods
with package-private or public access) and contracts.
The question How would you go about determining what access levels to use
in your code? in Language Essentials section demonstrates that a well
encapsulated code will maintain the data integrity by preventing any uninten
tional data corruption.

Inheritance is a way to form new classes using classes that have already been
defined. As some believe, the main focus of inheritance is not to achieve code
reuse. In a software system, you will often find objects that are much like
other objects, except for a few differences. Inheritance is a mechanism used
mainly to achieve categorization, modularity, clear representation of
concepts, and separation of concerns. Categorization is a process in which
ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood. For example,
a car, truck, bus, etc are categorized as a vehicle. It implies that objects are
grouped into categories for a specific purpose. Using inheritance, you can build
a hierarchy of concepts separated in concerns at different levels of abstraction.
Inheritance also facilitates polymorphism. Another added benefit of inher
itance is code reuse. The code reuse is achieved through a type of inheritance
known as the implementation inheritance to be more specific. But code reuse

242

is NOT the main driver for using inheritance and there is a better approach
known as composition to achieve code reuse. This will be covered in detail
later. There are 2 types of inheritances as shown below:

Implementation inheritance (aka class inheritance): You can extend

an application's functionality by reusing functionality in the parent class by
inheriting all or some of the operations already implemented. In Java, you can
only inherit from one superclass using the extends keyword. BP Imple
mentation inheritance promotes code reuse by allowing you to implement the
common or shared code in the parent class. But improper use of implement
ation inheritance can cause programming nightmares by breaking encapsu
lation, and making future changes a problem. With implementation
inheritance, the subclass becomes tightly coupled with the superclass. This will
make the design fragile because if you want to change the superclass, you must
know all the details of the subclasses to avoid breaking them. So when using
implementation inheritance, make sure that the subclasses only change the
implementation and not the meaning or intent of the parent class.

Interface inheritance (aka type inheritance): This is also known as

sub-typing. Interfaces provide a mechanism for specifying a relationship
between otherwise unrelated classes, typically by specifying a set of common
methods each implementing class must contain. Interface inheritance promotes
the design concept of program to interface not to implementation. This
reduces the coupling or implementation dependencies between systems. In
Java, you can implement any number of interfaces with the implements
keyword. BP This is more flexible than implementation inheritance because
it wont lock you into specific implementations, which can make subclasses
difficult to maintain. But care should be taken not to break the implementing
classes by modifying the interfaces or forcing the classes to implement a
method. The Interface Segregation Principle (ISP) states that:
clients should not be forced to implement interfaces they dont use. Instead of one fat
interface, many small interfaces are preferred based on groups of methods, each one serving
one sub-module.
Unlike implementation inheritance, the interface inheritance does not achieve
any code reuse as interfaces can only define behavior, not implement them. It
is the responsibility of the class that implements the interfaces to implement
243

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

the behavior. So how do you achieve code reuse with interface inheritance? It
is achieved through a design concept known as the composition. Both types
of inheritances promote polymorphism.

Polymorphism is the capability to invoke a method without knowing until

runtime what kind of object you are dealing with. In a nutshell, polymorphism
is a bottom-up method call. The benefit of polymorphism is that it is very easy
to add new classes of derived objects without breaking the calling code that
uses the polymorphic classes using the implementation inheritance or
polymorphic interfaces using the interface inheritance. COQ Polymorphism
prevents programs to rely on low level details of object implementations. This
considerably reduces the dependencies (aka coupling) between modules. Less
dependencies means more maintainable and easier to modify programs.
Polymorphism in Java comes in 2 forms through method overriding (aka
runtime polymorphism) and method overloading (aka compile-time
polymorphism). The power of OOP using Java is centered on runtime
polymorphism using class inheritance or interface inheritance with method
overriding. The fact that the decision as to which version of the method to
invoke cannot be made at compile time and must be deferred and made at
runtime is sometimes referred to as late binding. Note: Refer Q3, Q20 &
Q21 in Platform Essentials section and Q38 in Language Essentials
section.

Q12 What problem(s) does abstraction and encapsulation solve? DC

A12 Both abstraction and encapsulation solve same problem of complexity in different
dimensions. Encapsulation exposes only the required details of an object to the caller
by forbidding access to certain members, whereas an abstraction not only hides the
implementation details, but also provides a basis for your application to grow and
change over a period of time. For example, if you abstract out the make and model of
a vehicle as class attributes as opposed to as individual classes like Toyota, ToyotaCamry,
ToyotaCorolla, etc you can easily incorporate new types of cars at runtime by creating a
new car object with the relevant make and model as arguments as opposed to having
to declare a new set of classes.
Q. How would you go about designing a farm animals application where animals
like cow, pig, horse, etc move from a barn to pasture, a stable to paddock, etc? The
solution should also cater for extension into other types of animals like circus animals,
244

wild animals, etc in the future. COQ

A.
package subclass0;
public abstract class Animal {
private int id;

// id is encapsulated

public Animal(int id) {

this.id = id;
}
public int getId( ) {
return id;
}
public abstract void move(Location location);
}
package subclass0;
public class FarmAnimal extends Animal {
private Location location = null;

// location is encapsulated

public FarmAnimal(int id, Location defaultLocation) {

super(id);
validateLocation(defaultLocation);
this.location = defaultLocation;
}
public Location getLocation( ) {
return location;
}
public void move(Location location) {
validateLocation(location);
System.out.println("Id=" + getId( ) + " is moving from "
+ this.location + " to " + location);
245

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

this.location = location;
}
private void validateLocation(Location location) {
if (location == null) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("location=" + location);
}
}
}
package subclass0;
public enum Location {
Barn, Pasture, Stable, Cage, PigSty, Paddock, Pen
}
package subclass0;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Animal pig = new FarmAnimal(1, Location.Barn);
Animal horse = new FarmAnimal(2, Location.Stable);
Animal cow = new FarmAnimal(3, Location.Pen);
pig.move(Location.Paddock);
horse.move(Location.Pen);
cow.move(Location.Pasture);
}
}
Output:
Id=1 is moving from Barn to Paddock
Id=2 is moving from Stable to Pen
Id=3 is moving from Pen to Pasture
In the above example, the class FarmAnimal is an abstraction used in place of an
actual farm animal like horse, pig, cow, etc. In future, you can have WildAnimal, Circus
246

Animal, etc extending the Animal class to provide an abstraction for wild animals like
zebra, giraffe, etc and circus animals like lion, tiger, elephant, etc respectively. An
Animal is a further abstraction generalizing FarmAnimal, WildAnimal, and CircusAnimal.
The Location is coded as an enumeration for simplicity. The Location itself can be an
abstract class or an interface providing an abstraction for OpenLocation, EnclosedLocation,
and SecuredLocation further abstracting specific location details like barn, pen, pasture,
pigsty, stable, cage, etc. The location details can be represented with attributes like
name, type, etc.
The FarmAnimal class is also well encapsulated by declaring the attribute location as
private. Hence the location variable cannot be directly accessed. Assignment is only
allowed through the constructor and move(Location location) method, only after a
successful precondition check with the validateLocation(...) method. The
validateLocation(...) itself marked private as it is an internal detail that does not have to
be exposed to the caller. In practice, the public move(..) method can make use of many
other private methods that are hidden from the caller. The caller only needs to know
what can be done with an Animal. For example, they can be moved from one location
to another. The internal details as to how the animals are moved is not exposed to the
caller. These implementation details are specific to FarmAnimal, WildAnimal, and
CircusAnimal classes.

Working with abstract classes and interfaces

Q13 What do you understand by abstract classes and interfaces? LF FAQ
A13 Classes, which contain at least one abstract method, are called abstract classes. An
abstract class cannot be instantiated as it is meant for extension. Abstract classes may
contain a mixture of non-abstract and abstract methods. Non-abstract methods
implement the method statements. Any concrete subclass, which extends the class
containing abstract methods, must provide the implementation for all the abstract
methods.
package subclass2;
public abstract class Animal {
public void about( ) {
System.out.println("It is a living organism.");
247

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

}
public void intro( ){
System.out.println("Animals are eukaryotes.");
}
public abstract void sound( );
}
A concrete class that extends the abstract class is required to provide a concrete imple
mentation to the the abstract method sound( ). If it does not provide a concrete
implementation, then the extending class should be marked abstract as well. Also note
that the subclasses can achieve code reuse from their parent class by invoking

a method in the parent directly if that method is not overridden by the

subclass and
using the super.methodName( ) if a parent class method is overridden by the
subclasses.

package subclass2;
public class Cat extends Animal {
@Override
public void about( ) {
super.about( );
//code reuse via implementation inheritance
intro( );
//code reuse via implementation inheritance
System.out.println("There are wild and domestic cats.");
}
@Override
public void sound( ) {
System.out.println("Meow Meow");
}
}
package subclass2;
public class Example {
248

public static void main(String[ ] args) {

//stored obj type = Cat & referencing obj type = Animal
Animal animal = new Cat( );
animal.about( );
animal.sound( );
}
}
Output:
It is a living organism.
Animals are eukaryotes.
There are wild and domestic cats.
Meow Meow
UML Diagram:

An interface is a named collection of method definitions without implementations.

An interface defines a set of methods, but does not implement them. A class that
implements the interface agrees to implement all of the methods defined in the
interface, thereby agreeing to certain behavior. The code reuse for interface inheritance
is achieved via composition.

249

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

package subclass2b;
public interface Animal {
public String getName( );
public void about( );
}
package subclass2b;
public interface Soundable {
public void sound( );
}
The implementing classes must provide the concrete implementation of the interface
methods. You can see multiple-interface inheritance in action as the Cat inherits
methods from both Animal and Soundable.
package subclass2b;
//implements multiple interfaces
public class Cat implements Animal, Soundable {
private String name = "cat";
private AnimalHelper helper = new AnimalHelper( ); //composition
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}
public void sound( ) {
System.out.println("Meow Meow");
}
public void about( ) {
helper.about( );
//code reuse via composition
helper.intro( );
//code reuse via composition
System.out.println("There are wild and domestic cats.");
}
250

}
The AnimalHelper class is a composed class, and will be reused for the Dog class as
shown below.
package subclass2b;
//implements multiple interfaces
public class Dog implements Animal, Soundable {
private String name = "dog";
private AnimalHelper helper = new AnimalHelper( ); //composition
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}
public void sound( ) {
System.out.println("Wow Wow");
}
public void about( ) {
helper.about( );
//code reuse via composition
helper.intro( );
//code reuse via composition
System.out.println("There are wild and domestic dogs.");
}
}
The composed helper class is:
package subclass2b;
public class AnimalHelper {
public void about( ) {
System.out.println("It is a living organism.");
}
public void intro( ) {
251

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

System.out.println("Animals are eukaryotes.");
}
}
Finally, the code snippet that shows interface inheritance and polymorphism in action:
package subclass2b;
import static java.lang.System.out;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Example example = new Example( );
Animal cat = new Cat( );
Animal dog = new Dog( );

// Line A
// Line B

example.aboutAnimal(cat);
example.makeSound(cat);
example.aboutAnimal(dog);
example.makeSound(dog);
example.printName(cat);
example.printName(dog);
}
//takes an Animal as a parameter
public void makeSound(Animal animal) {
if(!(animal instanceof Soundable)){
throw new IllegalArgumentException(animal + "is not soundable!!");
}
((Soundable) animal).sound( ); // depending on the stored animal, right
// method gets executed polymorphically.
}
//takes an Animal as a parameter
252

public void aboutAnimal(Animal animal) {

animal.about( );
// depending on the stored animal, right
// method gets executed polymorphically.
}
//takes an Animal as a parameter
public void printName(Animal animal) {
//depending on the stored animal, right method gets executed polymorphically.
out.println("Stored obj is a --> " + animal.getName( ));
}
}
Output:
It is a living organism.
Animals are eukaryotes.
There are wild and domestic cats.
Meow Meow
It is a living organism.
Animals are eukaryotes.
There are wild and domestic dogs.
Wow Wow
Stored obj is a --> cat
Stored obj is a --> dog
The big benefits of programming to interfaces comes when the implementation
comes to a object at runtime, for instance via constructor, parameter, factory,
dependency injection, etc. In the above example, the methods makeSound(..),
aboutAnimal(..), and printName(..) takes an instance of an Animal object as a parameter
at runtime. Depending on the type of animal stored (e.g. Cat or Dog), the right method
gets invoked polymorphically.
UML diagram:

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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Note: In UML terms, association relationship denotes that two classes are connected
with each other. A navigability arrow on an association shows which direction the
association can be traversed or queried. For example, a Dog can be queried about its
AnimalHelper or traversed to the AnimalHelper. The multiplicity of an association end
is the number of possible instances of the class associated with a single instance of
the other end. In the above example, there can be only one AnimalHelper for each Dog.
Association example,
// A Message has an association with a Person
public class Message {
private Person recipient;
private Person sender;
private String text;
public Message(Person recipient, Person sender, String text) {
this.recipient = recipient;
this.sender = sender;
this.text = text;
}
254

}
Aggregation and composition are two types of associations. An aggregation is a
weaker relationship as shown below where the life cycle of a Product is not controlled
by the LineItem. If a line item is deleted, the associated product does not have to be
deleted as well. This product can be used by other line items in other orders.
// A LineItem is an aggregate of Product & Quantity
public class LineItem {
private Product product;
private Quantity qty;
public LineItem(Product product, Quantity qty) {
this.product = product;
// product & qty are created outside this
this.qty = qty;
//constructor and passed in.
}
//...
}
Composition is a stronger relationship where the life cycle of the composed class is
managed by the composing class as shown below. If an order is deleted, the line item
needs to be deleted as well.
//An Order is composed of a LineItem and controls life cycle of the LineItem
public class Order {
private LineItem lineItem;
public Order( ) {
this.lineItem = new LineItem(...); //lineItem is built in the enclosing
//object's (i.e. Order's) constructor.
}
//....
}
Conceptually an animal is composed of legs, head, heart, etc and aggregated (or
255

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

preferably use associated) with location (i.e. where they live?), toys, breeder, owner,
etc.
Q14 What is the significance of abstract classes & interfaces with respect to OO design?
DC FAQ
A14 In object oriented design, you want the base class to present only an interface for its
derived classes. This means, you dont want anyone to actually instantiate an object of
the base class. You only want to up cast to it (i.e. implicit up casting, which gives you
polymorphic behavior), so that its interface can be used. This is accomplished by
making a class abstract using the abstract keyword. If anyone tries to make an object
of an abstract class, the compiler prevents it. This was demonstrated earlier in this
section with the Animal class, which is marked abstract.
The interface keyword takes this concept of an abstract class a step further by
preventing any method or function implementation at all. You can only declare a
method or function, but not provide an implementation. The class, which is imple
menting the interface, should provide the actual implementation. An interface is a very
useful and commonly used aspect in OO design, as it provides the separation of
interface and implementation, and enables you to:

Capture similarities among unrelated classes without artificially forcing a class

relationship.

Declare methods that one or more classes are expected to implement.

Reveal an object's programming interface without revealing its actual imple

mentation.

Model multiple interface inheritance in Java, which provides some of the

benefits of full on multiple implementation inheritance, a feature that Java
does not support, but some object-oriented languages support by allowing a
class to have more than one superclass.

Q15 What can an interface do that an abstract class cannot? What are the differences
between abstract classes and interfaces? LF FAQ

256

A15

Abstract class

Interface

A class may extend only one abstract A class may implement several interfaces.
class. This gives you implementation This gives you multiple interface inher
inheritance.
itance.
Has implementation
abstract methods.

methods

and Has no implementation methods. All

methods are abstract.

If you add a new method to an abstract

class, you have the option of providing
a default implementation of it in the
abstract class. Then all implementing
classes will continue to work without
change. If the new method must be
abstract, then you must track down all
implementations of this abstract class
and provide them with a concrete
implementation of this method.

If you add a new method to an interface,

you must track down all implementations
of that interface in your entire code base
and provide them with a concrete imple
mentation of that method.

The visibility of abstract methods can The visibility of interface methods can be
be public, protected or package-private. either public or package-private (i.e. no
access modifier).
Represents is-a/is-an relationship. For Represents can-do or -able relationship.
example,
For example,
class Cat extends Animal {

Class MyDevice implements Runnable {

public void run( ) {

public void run( ) {

}
}

}
}

This can be read as, a Cat is-an animal. This can be read as MyDevice is Runnable or
MyDevice can run as a separate Thread.

257

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Q16 When would you prefer one over the other? DC DP COQ
A16 When to use an abstract class? In case where you want to use implementation
inheritance, then it is usually provided by an abstract base class. Abstract classes are
excellent candidates inside of application frameworks. Abstract classes let you define
some default behavior in the base class and force subclasses to provide any specific
behavior. For example, template method(e.g. Struts RequestProcessor class) and
composite (e.g. Swing API component and container classes) design patterns make
use of abstract classes. Care should be taken not to overuse implementation inher
itance.
When to use an interface? In case where you want to use interface inheritance,
where a client wants to only deal with a type and does not care about the actual imple
mentation, use interfaces. If you need to change your design frequently, you should
prefer using interfaces instead of abstract classes. Coding to an interface reduces
coupling and interface inheritance can achieve code reuse with the help of object
composition using the helper classes. Another justification for using interfaces is that
they solve the diamond problem of traditional multiple inheritance as shown in the
diagram. Java does not support multiple inheritance. Java only supports multiple
interface inheritance. Interface will solve many of the ambiguities caused by this
diamond problem.

258

Q17 Can interfaces have constant declarations? BP DP COQ

A17 An interface can also include constant (i.e. only public static final) declarations. For
example,
public interface MyConstants {
public static final int i = 12;
int j = 13;
}
Every field declaration in the body of an interface is implicitly public, static, and final.
However, it is a bad practice (i.e. an anti-pattern) to define your constants via an
interface as shown above. Please refer to Q25 What is a constant interface antipattern? How will you avoid it? in section Language Essentials for further details.
Q18 What modifiers can be used in an interface? LF
A18 An interface can only be public or package-private (i.e. no access modifier) scoped.
Q19 Can you give an example of an interface driven framework in the Java API? OEQ
A19 The Java collection framework is an interface based framework. The interfaces used to
represent different types of collections are Collection, List, Set and Map. The Comparable
and Comparator interfaces address natural and specialized orderings respectively.
Q20 What are marker interfaces in Java? Why to have marker interfaces? LF FAQ
A20 The interfaces with no defined methods are called marker interfaces or null interfaces.
They just tell the compiler that the objects of the classes implementing the interfaces
with no defined methods need to be treated differently. For example, java.io.Serializable,
java.lang.Cloneable, java.util.EventListener, java.rmi.Remote, etc. Marker interfaces are also
known as tag interfaces since they tag all the derived classes into a category based on
their purpose.
DC PC Now with the introduction of annotations in Java 5, the marker interfaces
make less sense from a design standpoint. Annotations are more flexible than marker
interfaces. Annotations can have parameters and can not only be applied to classes, but
to methods, fields etc. as well. Refer to Q23: Are marker or tag interfaces obsolete with
the advent of annotations (i.e. runtime annotations)? in Platform Essentials section
for more detail.

259

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Inheritance versus composition

Q21 How do you achieve code reuse in your application? DC
A21 Through implementation inheritance, composition, and delegation.
Q22 How do you achieve polymorphic behavior? DC
A22 Through implementation inheritance or interface inheritance.
Q23 What is the difference between implementation inheritance and composition? DC
FAQ
A23 Inheritance is modeled on is-a/is-an relationship and composition is modeled on
has-a/has-an relationship. There is a weaker composition relationship known as
delegation. The delegation is modeled on uses a/uses an relationship. As shown
below, the AnimalHelper is not composed within the Cat class, but the Cat class uses an
AnimalHelper to achieve code reuse.
public class Cat implements Animal, Soundable {
private String name = "cat";
public String getName( ){
return this.name;
}
public void sound( ) {
System.out.println("Meow Meow");
}
public void about( ) {
AnimalHelper helper = new AnimalHelper( );
helper.about( );
//code reuse through delegation
helper.intro( );
//code reuse through delegation
System.out.println("There are wild and domestic cats.");
}
}
Inheritance happens at compile-time and composition/delegation happens at runtime.
Please refer to Q22 - Can you differentiate compile-time inheritance and runtime
260

inheritance with examples and specify which Java supports? in section Platform
Essentials. It is always tempting to create an inheritance hierarchy to get all the
functionality provided by a common base class. This is a pitfall and care should be
taken in modeling an is-a relationship as discussed later. For example,

A Dog or Cat is an Animal (Implementation inheritance in UML: gener

alization and interface inheritance in UML: realization )
A Dog has an AnimalHelper (Composition in UML: association,
composition, or aggregation)
A Dog uses an AnimalHelper (Delegation in UML: dependency)

Q24 What questions do you ask yourself to choose composition (i.e. has-a relationship) for
code reuse over implementation inheritance (i.e. is-a relationship)? DC FAQ SBQ
A24 Do my subclasses only change the implementation and not the meaning or
internal intent of the base class? Is every object of type Dog really is-an object of
type Animal? Have I checked this for Liskov Substitution Principle?
According to Liskov substitution principle (LSP), a Square is not a Rectangle
provided they are mutable. Mathematically a square is a rectangle, but behaviorally a
rectangle needs to have both length and width, whereas a square only needs a width.
Another typical example would be, an Account class having a method called calculateIn
terest(..). You can derive two subclasses named SavingsAccount and ChequeAccount that
reuse the super class method. But you cannot have another class called a MortgageAc
count to subclass the above Account class. This will break the Liskov substitution
principle because the intent is different. The savings and cheque accounts calculate
the interest due to the customer, but the mortgage or home loan accounts calculate the
interest due to the bank.
Violation of LSP results in all kinds of mess like failing unit tests, unexpected or
strange behavior, and violation of open closed principle (OCP) as you end up having
if-else or switch statements to resolve the correct subclass. For example,
if(shape instanceof Square){
//....
}
else if (shape instanceof Rectangle){
//...
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

}
If you cannot truthfully answer yes to the above questions, then favor using has-a
relationship (i.e. composition). Don't use is-a relationship for just convenience. If
you try to force an is-a relationship, your code may become inflexible, post-condi
tions and invariants may become weaker or violated, your code may behave unexpec
tedly, and the API may become very confusing. LSP is the reason it is hard to create
deep class hierarchies.
Always ask yourself, can this be modeled with a has-a relationship to make it
more flexible? For example, If you want to model a circus dog, will it be better to
model it with is a relationship as in a CircusDog is a Dog or model it as a role that a
dog plays? If you implement it with implementation inheritance, you will end up with
sub classes like CircusDog, DomesticDog, GuideDog, SnifferDog, and StrayDog. In future, if
the dogs are differentiated by locality like local, national, international, etc, you may
have another level of hierarchy like LocalCircusDog, NationalCicusDog, InternationalCir
cusDog, etc extending the class CircusDog. So you may end up having 1 animal x 1 dog
x 5 roles x 3 localities = 15 dog related classes. If you were to have similar differenti
ation for cats, you will end up having similar cat hierarchy like WildCat, DomesticCat,
LocalWildCat, NationalWildCat, etc. This will make your classes strongly coupled.

262

If you implement it with interface inheritance, and composition for code reuse, you
can think of circus dog as a role that a dog plays. These roles provide an abstraction
to be used with any other animals like cat, horse, donkey, etc, and not just dogs. The
role becomes a has a relationship. There will be an attribute of interface type Role
defined in the Dog class as a composition that can take on different subtypes (using
interface inheritance) such as CircusRole, DomesticRole, GuideRole, SnifferRole, and
StrayRole at runtime. The locality can also be modeled similar to the role as a compos
ition. This will enable different combinations of roles and localities to be constructed
at runtime with 1 dog + 5 roles + 3 localities = 9 classes and 3 interfaces (i.e. Animal,
Role and Locality). As the number of roles, localities, and types of animals increases, the
gap widens between the two approaches. You will get a better abstraction with looser
coupling with this approach as composition is dynamic and takes place at runtime
compared to implementation inheritance, which is static.

The following code snippet demonstrates the power of interface inheritance with
composition. Firstly, define the interfaces,

263

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

package subclass4;
public interface Animal {
public String getName( );
public void display( );
}
package subclass4;
public interface Role {
public void displayRole( );
}
package subclass4;
public interface Locality {
public void displayLocality( );
}
Secondly, the concrete classes that implement these interfaces to demonstrate interface
inheritance.
package subclass4;
public class Dog implements Animal{
private String name = "dog";
//composition (strictly speaking in UML terms, this is an aggregation as the
// life cycle of role and locality are not managed by the Animal.)
Role role;
Locality locality;
public Dog(String name,Role role, Locality locality){
super( );
this.name = name;
this.role = role;
this.locality = locality;
}
264

public String getName( ){

return this.name;
}
public String setName( ){
return this.name;
}
@Override
public void display( ) {
System.out.println(getName( ));
role.displayRole( );
locality.displayLocality( );
}
}
package subclass4;
public class CircusRole implements Role {
@Override
public void displayRole( ) {
System.out.println("I play on circuses.");
}
}
package subclass4;
public class GuideRole implements Role {
@Override
public void displayRole( ) {
System.out.println("I guide people.");
}
}
package subclass4;

265

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

public class Local implements Locality {
@Override
public void displayLocality( ) {
System.out.println("I am a local dog");
}
}
package subclass4;
public class International implements Locality {
@Override
public void displayLocality( ) {
System.out.println("I am an international dog");
}
}
Finally and most importantly, the example class that demonstrates how the combina
tions can be built on the fly at runtime.
package subclass4;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//code to interface
Role roleA = new GuideRole( );
Locality localityA = new Local( );
Role roleB = new CircusRole( );
Locality localityB = new International( );
//you can create different combinations at runtime
Animal dog1 = new Dog("ABBY", roleA, localityA);
Animal dog2 = new Dog("ABEL", roleB, localityB);
Animal dog3 = new Dog("ABERCROMBIE", roleA, localityB);
Animal dog4 = new Dog("ABRACADABRA", roleB, localityA);
dog1.display( );
266

dog2.display( );
dog3.display( );
dog4.display( );
}
}
Output:
ABBY
I guide people.
I am a local dog
ABEL
I play on circuses.
I am an international dog
ABERCROMBIE
I guide people.
I am an international dog
ABRACADABRA
I play on circuses.
I am a local dog
Note: The programming language like OT/J from the Object Teams
(http://www.objectteams.org/) is a Java extension that implements natively the idea of
objects playing roles.
Q25 Can you give an example where composition is favored over implementation inher
itance? DC DP OEQ
A25 The GoF design patterns favor use of interfaces with composition for code reuse over
abstract classes. Design patterns like strategy (e.g. Java Collection framework) lets you
swap new algorithms and processes into your program without altering the objects
that use them. Other popular design patterns that favor interfaces are decorator (e.g.
the Java I/O classes) and proxy (e.g. RMI and EJB).
Q26 Can you give an example of the Java API that favors composition? DC DP OEQ
A26 The Java IO classes that use composition to construct different combinations using
the decorator design pattern at runtime.
//construct a reader
StringReader sr = new StringReader(Some Text....);
267

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

//decorate the reader for performance
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(sr);
//decorate again to obtain line numbers
LineNumberReader lnr = new LineNumberReader(br);

Applying the design principles

Q27 How will you improve on the following code snippets with appropriate design
principles? DC COQ SBQ
package principle_srp1;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
public class Animal {
private Integer id;
private String name;
private Connection con = null;
//getters and setters for above attributes go here..
public boolean validate( ) {
return id != null && id > 0 && StringUtils.isNotBlank(name);
}
public void saveAnimal( ) throws SQLException {
//save Animal to database using SQL
//goes here ...
}
public Animal readAnimal( ) throws SQLException {
//read Animal from database using SQL
//...
Animal animal = null;
268

//...
return animal;
}
}
A27 The above class represents 3 different responsibilities.

Uniquely identifies an animal with id and name.

Interacts with the database to save and read an animal.
Validates the animal details.

Hence, the above class violates the Single Responsibility Principle (SRP), which
states that a class should have only one reason to change. This principle is based on
cohesion. Cohesion is a measure of how strongly a class focuses on its responsibil
ities. It is of the following two types:

High cohesion: This means that a class is designed to carry on a specific and
precise task. Using high cohesion, methods are easier to understand, as they
perform a single task.

Low cohesion: This means that a class is designed to carry on various tasks.
Using low cohesion, methods are difficult to understand and maintain.

Hence the above code suffers from low cohesion. The above code can be improved as
shown below. The Animal class is re-factored to have only a single responsibility of
uniquely identifying an animal.
package principle_srp1a;
public class Animal {
private Integer id;
private String name;
public Integer getId( ) {
return id;
}
public void setId(Integer id) {
269

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

this.id = id;
}
public String getName( ) {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
The responsibility of interacting with the database is shifted to a data access object (i.e.
DAO) class. The data access object class takes an animal object or any of its attributes
as input.
package principle_srp1a;
public interface AnimalDao {
public void saveAnimal(Animal animal);
public Animal readAnimal(Integer id);
}
package principle_srp1a;
import java.sql.Connection;
public class AnimalDaoImpl implements AnimalDao {
private Connection con = null;
// getters and setters for above attributes
// go here..
@Override
public void saveAnimal(Animal animal) {
// save Animal to database using SQL
// goes here ...
}
@Override
270

public Animal readAnimal(Integer id) {

// read Animal from database using SQL
// goes here ...
Animal animal = null;
// ...
return animal;
}
}
Finally, the responsibility of validating an animal is re-factored to a separate class that
takes an animal object as input.
package principle_srp1a;
public interface Validator {
public boolean validate(Animal animal);
}
package principle_srp1a;
import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
public class AnimalValidator implements Validator {
@Override
public boolean validate(Animal animal) {
return animal.getId( ) != null && animal.getId( ) > 0
&& StringUtils.isNotBlank(animal.getName( ));
}
}
You now have 3 classes that have clear separation of concerns. The Animal class has
been decoupled from database concern and validation concern. The above code is also
well encapsulated and highly cohesive.
The challenge with SRP is getting the granularity of a responsibility right. One of the
most common complaints about SRP is object explosion. This is a valid complaint,
but when things are broken down by concern as shown above, it is far easier to
consider the concern in isolation and come up with a better design for that single
271

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

concern. The art of design is all about striking a good balance by asking the right
questions and not blindly following a principle.
Q28 Is there anything wrong with the following code snippet? DC COQ SBQ
package principle_ocp1;
public interface Animal {
//methods are left out for brevity
}
package principle_ocp1;
public class Cat implements Animal {
//methods are left out for brevity
}
package principle_ocp1;
public class Spider implements Animal {
//methods are left out for brevity
}
package principle_ocp1;
public class Ostritch implements Animal {
//methods are left out for brevity
}
package principle_ocp1;
import java.util.List;
public class AnimalLegsCounter {
public int count(List<Animal> animals) {
int count = 0;
for (Animal animal : animals) {
if (animal instanceof Cat) {
272

count += 4;
} else if (animal instanceof Spider) {
count += 8;
} else if (animal instanceof Ostritch) {
count += 2;
}
}
return count;
}
}
package principle_ocp1;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Animal> list = new ArrayList<Animal>( );
Animal animal = new Cat( );
list.add(animal);
animal = new Spider( );
list.add(animal);
animal = new Ostritch( );
list.add(animal);
int count = new AnimalLegsCounter( ).count(list);
System.out.println("Total count for " + list.size( ) + " animals = " + count);
}
}
A28 The above code violates the open closed principle (OCP). As time goes on, you may
want to add more animals like dog, crab, dragon fly, etc with differing number of legs.
This will require you to modify the AnimalLegCounter class' count(...) method with more
else-if statements like:
if (animal instanceof Cat || animal instanceof Dog) {
273

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

count += 4;
} else if (animal instanceof
count += 8;
} else if (animal instanceof
count += 2;
} else if (animal instanceof
count += 10;
} else if (animal instanceof
count += 6;
}

Spider) {
Ostritch) {
Crab) {
DragonFly) {

This shows that the class AnimalLegCounter is not closed for modification as you will
have to modify it in order to extend it. In other words, this means it is not open for
extension. The above example is a trivial one, but in real world applications, the code
base might be 10 to 1000 times larger and modifying a class is not a trivial task.
Any time you see big if/else or switch statements, you should think about
polymorphism. The code below shows how the real counting logic can be moved to
the count( ) method in individual animal classes, and the AnimalLegCounter classes'
count( ) method only makes use of the count( ) method in the Animal classes to make it
adhere to the OCP principle using polymorphism as shown below.
package principle_ocp2;
public interface Animal {
//other methods are left out for brevity
public abstract int count( );
}
package principle_ocp2;
public class Cat implements Animal {
//other methods are left out for brevity
@Override
public int count( ) {
return 4;
}
}
274

package principle_ocp2;
public class Ostritch implements Animal {
//other methods are left out for brevity
@Override
public int count( ) {
return 2;
}
}
package principle_ocp2;
public class Spider implements Animal {
//other methods are left out for brevity
@Override
public int count( ) {
return 8;
}
}
package principle_ocp2;
import java.util.List;
public class AnimalLegsCounter {
public int count(List<Animal> animals) {
int count = 0;
for (Animal animal : animals) {
count += animal.count( );
}
return count;
}
}

275

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Now, if you want to add more animals like dog, crab, etc, all you have to do is add the
relevant classes like Dog, Crab, etc implementing the same Animal interface, and
provide the count(...) method implementation. The AnimalLegsCounter class does not
have to be modified at all. In other words, the AnimalLegsCounter class is closed for
modification by opening it up for extension through adding new classes.
Q29 How can you improve on the following code snippet? DC COQ SBQ
package principle_dip1;
public class CircusService {
TigerHandler handler;
public void setHandler(TigerHandler handler) {
this.handler = handler;
}
public void showStarts( ) {
//code omitted for brevity
handler.handle( );
}
}
package principle_dip1;
public class TigerHandler {
TigerHelper helper;
public void setHelper(TigerHelper helper) {
this.helper = helper;
}
public void handle( ){
//...
helper.help( );
//...
}
276

}
package principle_dip1;
public class TigerHelper {
public void help( ){
//......
}
}
A29 The above three classes are tightly coupled with each other. The high level class
CircusService depends on the lower level class TigerHandler and the TigerHandler in turn
depends on the lower level class TigerHelper. All these classes are directly dependent on
the implementation as opposed to the abstraction. If some time in the future, the
circus service needs to deal with an elephant as opposed to a tiger, and you will have to
change the CircusService class to use the newly written ElephantHandler instead of the
TigerHandler. If you want to use an ImprovedTigerHelper instead of the TigerHelper, you
will have to change all the handler classes that use the TigerHelper. If the CircusService
wants to expand into other animals, then there will be more changes across various
classes. This shows that the above code is rigid. This situation can be improved by
applying the dependency inversion principle.

277

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

The Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP) states that

High level modules should not depend upon low level modules. Both should
depend upon abstractions.
Abstractions should not depend upon details. Details should depend upon
abstractions.

When this principle is applied, the higher level classes will not be working directly with
the lower level classes, but with an abstract layer. This gives us the flexibility at the cost
of increased effort. The classes that are less likely to change don't need to apply this
principle. Blindly applying this principle can make a system more complex.
The above code can be improved by using the dependency inversion principle (DIP)
as shown below:
Firstly define the abstraction layer.
package principle_dip2;
public interface AnimalHandler {
public abstract void handle( );
}
package principle_dip2;
public interface AnimalHelper {
public abstract void help( );
}
Now the implementation that depends on the abstraction as opposed to the imple
mentation.
package principle_dip2;
public class CircusService {
AnimalHandler handler;
278

public void setHandler(AnimalHandler handler) {

this.handler = handler;
}
public void showStarts( ) {
//code omitted for brevity
handler.handle( );
}
}
package principle_dip2;
public class TigerHandler implements AnimalHandler{
AnimalHelper helper;
public void setHelper(AnimalHelper helper) {
this.helper = helper;
}
public void handle( ){
//...
helper.help( );
//...
}
}
package principle_dip2;
public class TigerHelper implements AnimalHelper{
public void help( ){
//......
}
}
Q30 What is your understanding of some of the following most talked terms like
Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP), Dependency Injection (DI) and Inversion of
Control (IoC)? DC COQ FAQ
279

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

A30 Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP) is a design principle which is in some ways
related to the Dependency Injection (DI) pattern. The idea of DIP is that higher layers
of your application should not directly depend on lower layers. Dependency Inversion
Principle does not imply Dependency Injection. This principle doesnt say anything
about how higher layers know what lower layer to use. This could be done as shown in
the above example, or through Dependency Injection by using an IoC container like
Spring framework, Pico container, Guice, or Apache HiveMind.
Dependency Injection (DI) is a pattern of injecting a classs dependencies into it at
runtime. This is achieved by defining the dependencies as interfaces, and then injecting
in a concrete class implementing that interface to the constructor. This allows you to
swap in different implementations without having to modify the main class. The
Dependency Injection pattern also promotes high cohesion by promoting the Single
Responsibility Principle (SRP), since your dependencies are individual objects which
perform discrete specialized tasks like data access (via DAOs) and business services
(via Service and Delegate classes) .
The Inversion of Control Container (IoC) is a container that supports Dependency
Injection. In this you use a central container like Spring framework, Guice, or
HiveMind, which defines what concrete classes should be used for what dependencies
through out your application. This brings in an added flexibility through looser
coupling, and it makes it much easier to change what dependencies are used on the fly.
The real power of DI and IoC is realized in its ability to replace the compile time
binding of the relationships between classes with binding those relationships at
runtime. For example, in Seam framework, you can have a real and mock implement
ation of an interface, and at runtime decide which one to use based on a property,
presence of another file, or some precedence values. This is incredibly useful if you
think you may need to modify the way your application behaves in different scenarios.
Another real benefit of DI and IoC is that it makes your code easier to unit test. There
are other benefits like promoting looser coupling without any proliferation of factory
and singleton design patterns, follows a consistent approach for lesser experienced
developers to follow, etc. These benefits can come in at the cost of the added
complexity to your application and has to be carefully manged by using them only at
the right places where the real benefits are realized, and not just using them because
many others are using them.
Note: The CDI (Contexts and Dependency Injection) is an attempt at describing a
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true standard on Dependency Injection. CDI is a part of the Java EE 6 stack, meaning
an application running in a Java EE 6 compatible container can leverage CDI out-ofthe-box. Weld is the reference implementation of CDI.
Q31 Can you list some of the key principles to remember while designing your classes? DC
OEQ
A31
Favor composition over inheritance.
Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY principle). Code once and only once.
Find what varies and encapsulate it.
Code to an interface, and not to an implementation.
Strive for loose coupling and high cohesion.
Use design principles and patterns, but use them judiciously. Design for current
requirements without anticipating future requirements, and over complicating things.
A well designed (i.e. loosely coupled and more cohesive) system can easily lend itself
to future changes, whilst keeping the system less complex.

Designing an application or a system

Q32 How would you go about designing a system as described below? OEQ SBQ
A barn that contains animals such as cows and horses. A farmer milks the cows in the
farm, and the animals eat hay that are stored in the barn. The barn is constructed with
wooden planks.
A32 [Hint:]
is a relationships
A Cow is an animal, and so is a Horse.
has a relationships

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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Zero to many (i.e. 0..*) animals live in a Barn. The Barn is also made of at least 1 and
probably many (i.e. 1..*) WoodenPlanks. The Barn also stores the Hay for the animals.
uses relationship(s)
A farmer interacts with many (i.e. 0..*) Cows by sending messages.
Conceptualize your thoughts with a UML diagram as shown below.

The above class diagram was generated using the open source tool argoUML. In the
above design, the animals are tightly coupled to the barn. The above design can be
made more flexible to handle other farm animals like hen, etc as shown below. The
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design below is better because of lower coupling between the animals and the
enclosures like Barn, HenHouse, etc. Similar changes can be applied between the
Enclosure and the WoodenPlank so that the enclosures can be made with other materials
like Mesh, etc. While designing, you can also think of the design principles discussed
above and patterns like factory pattern or dependency injection to promote looser
coupling between entities.

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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Q33 How would you go about designing a car parking station? OEQ SBQ
A33 [Hint: Ask the right questions and map out the requirements.]
Map out the requirements:

The car park needs to cater for different types of car parks like regular, handi
capped, and compact.
It should keep track of empty and filled spaces.
It should also cater for valet parking

Map out the classes that would be required. Use a UML class diagram as shown above.
Here are some points to get started.

A CarPark class to represent a parking station.

A ParkingSpace can be an abstract class or an interface to represent a parking
space, and RegularParkingSpace, HandicappedParkingSpace, CompactParkingSpace, etc
are subtypes of a ParkingSpace. This means a RegularParkingSpace is a Parking
Space.
A CarPark has a (i.e. composition) finite number of ParkingSpaces. A CarPark
also keeps track of all the parking spaces and a separate list of all the vacant
parking spaces.
A Vehicle class uses a (i.e. delegation) ParkingSpace. The Vehicle class will hold
attributes using enum classes like VehicleType and ParkingType. The vehicle
types could be Compact, Regular, and Handicapped. The parking types could be
Self or Valet. Depending on the requirements, the self or valet types could be
designed as subtypes of the Vehicle class.

Note: Care must be taken to have a right balance between over engineering and not
engineering at all. All depends on requirements and which parts of the design are most
likely to grow in the future phases. The only way to get better at designing is with
experience and keeping all the design concepts, principles, and patterns in mind to
design a loosely coupled system that is simple, easy to understand, flexible and
maintainable.

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Class invariant and design by contract

Q34 What is a class invariant? DC FAQ
A34 Class invariant is -- what must be true about each instance of a class? If an invariant
fails then there could be a bug in either calling-method or called-method. It is
convenient to put all the expressions required for checking invariants into reusable
internal methods that can be called. For example, if you have a class, which deals with
only negative integers then you define the isNegative(..) convenient internal method as
follows:
package chapter2.com;
class NegativeInteger {
Integer value = null;

//invariant

// constructor
public NegativeInteger(Integer val) {
if (!isNegative(val)) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException(
"Invalid negative number = " + val);
}
this.value = val;
}
public Integer addNumber(Integer val) {
if (!isNegative(val)) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException(
"Invalid negative number = " + val);
}
return this.value + val;
}
private boolean isNegative(Integer val) {
return val.intValue( ) < 0;
}

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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

public static void main(String[ ] args) {
NegativeInteger val1 = new NegativeInteger(-5);
System.out.println(val1.addNumber(-3));
}
}
An invariant is more conceptual than a variable. It can be viewed in terms of
algorithms and data structures. For example, a binary search tree (i.e. an ordered binary
tree) might have the invariant that for every node, the key of the node's left child if
not empty is less than the node's own key, and the nodes right child if not empty is
more than the node's own key. A correctly written insertion or deletion function for
this ordered tree will maintain that invariant.
root
8

10

Binary Search Tree (BST)

You could also have a loop invariant that could be verified for being true at the
beginning and end of each iteration. For example, you could have a loop that
processes a list of orders by moving them from list1 to list2, and you could say that
the invariant is list1.size( ) + list2.size( ) = constant, at the beginning or end of the loop.
If the above invariant check failed, it could indicate that there is a bug in the logic. For
example, you may have forgotten to add the processed element from list1 onto list2.

286

package chapter2.com;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
import javax.xml.bind.ValidationException;
import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
public class LoopInvariant {
public static void main(String[] args) throws ValidationException {
String[ ] input = {"age:9", "age=6", "gender:M" , "gender=Male"};
List<String> outPut = find(input, "=");
System.out.println(outPut);
}
public static List<String> find(String[ ] input, String toFind) throws
ValidationException {
//precondition check
if(input == null || StringUtils.isEmpty(toFind)){
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invlid input !!");
}
int initialInputSize = input.length;

//loop invariant

List<String> inputList = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<String>(input); //A

List<String> outputList = new ArrayList<String>(initialInputSize);
for (String val : inputList) {
if(val.contains(toFind)){
inputList.remove(val);
outputList.add(val);
}

//B

if(inputList.size ( ) + outputList.size( ) != initialInputSize){

//C
throw new ValidationException("Loop invariant is violated");
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

}
}
return outputList;
}
}
Output:
[age=6, gender=Male]
Q. What happens if the line marked with //B is commented?
A. If you comment out the line //B and run the above code, you will get a Valida
tionException as the invariant condition check fails on line //C;
Q. Why CopyOnWriteArrayList is used instead of an ArrayList or Arrays.asList(input)?
A. It is interesting to note that on line marked //A, a concurrent collection class
CopyOnWriteArrayList is used instead of an ArrayList as shown below.
List<String> inputList = Arrays.asList(input); //throws UnsupportedOperationException
The above line will throw an java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException on line \\B.
Arrays.asList( ) returns a list that doesn't allow operations affecting its size. Array.asList(
) wraps an array in the list interface. The list is still backed by the array. Arrays are fixed
size, and they don't support addition or removal of elements, so the wrapper can't
either.
If you use the following construct on line //A, you will get a java.util.ConcurrentModific
ationException.
List<String> inputList = new ArrayList<String>(Arrays.asList(input));
This exception is thrown because the underlying collection is changing while being
looped.
BP Programming with invariants is a best practice because you can be confident
that your objects are always presented in a consistent state. This will also act as a
documentation because programmers often informally write class invariants in
documentation or as code comments.
288

Q35 What do you understand by the term design by contract? DC FAQ COQ
A35 The design by contract ensures code quality by enforcing that the services offered by
classes and interfaces adhere to unambiguous contracts. The design by contract is very
useful for designing classes and interfaces. These contracts are like checking for an
empty or null string, checking for negative numbers, checking for a particular range,
etc.
In general the contracts checked are:

Pre-conditions: These are checked when execution enters a method.

Post-conditions: These are checked when execution exits a method.
Class invariants: These must hold at every observable point.

The above contracts have to be followed by the programmer. There is no way to

ensure this programmatically.
Contracts are inherited, just like methods. When a method is overridden by a subclass,
the subclass may specify its own contracts. This means a subclass may weaken the
pre-condition and strengthen the post-condition.
Requirements must be stated in javadoc, and may be enforced by throwing checked or
unchecked exceptions when the stated conditions are violated. Using assertions for
enforcing requirements is not recommended as assertions can be disabled.
package principle_dbc;
import java.math.BigDecimal;
public class Funds {
private BigDecimal result = null;
//...
public BigDecimal calcRate(double rate) {
//pre-condition check
if (rate <= BigDecimal.ZERO.doubleValue( )
|| rate > BigDecimal.TEN.doubleValue( )) {
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Outside 0.01% - 10.00%");
}
// ... logic to calculate the result
//post-condition check
if (this.result == null
|| this.result.doubleValue( ) <= BigDecimal.ZERO
.doubleValue( )) {
throw new RuntimeException("Invalid result");
}
return result;
}
//...
}
Firstly, in the above code snippet the parameter rate is an invariant that must hold
true. The Funds object's calculation of the result could be incorrect if an invalid rate
is passed as an argument by its caller. A precondition validation is performed on the
rate to ensure that the caller fulfills the requirements. Secondly, the implementation
of the logic to calculate the result could be defective. So a post-condition validation is
performed to verify the correctness of internal logic.
There are a number of frameworks that support design by contract like OVal, Jass,
etc. The OVal is a validation framework that lets you place the conditions in different
ways like annotations, XML, POJO, or scripting languages like Groovy, JavaScript,
OGNL (Object Graph Navigation Language an expression language for getting and
setting properties of Java objects), etc and also partly implements programming by
contract.

Working with inner classes

Q36 What is an inner class? Can you provide an example from the Java API? When to use
inner classes? LF FAQ
A36 In Java not all classes have to be defined separate from each other. You can put the
290

definition of one class inside the definition of another class. The inside class is called
an inner class and the enclosing class is called an outer class or a top level class. So
when you define an inner class, it is a member of the outer class in much the same way
as other members like member variables, methods and constructors.
There are two varieties of inner classes, static inner classes and non-static inner classes.
The difference is suggested in the name itself, the static inner classes are associated
with the enclosing class (as any other static member) while the non-static inner
classes are associated with the "object" of the enclosing class. Inner classes are a
phenomenon of the compiler. It converts the inner classes as plain class files with
some strange class names like OuterClass$InnerClass.class, so that the virtual machine
does not distinguish between regular and inner class files.
Access Modifiers: Unlike outer or top most class, which can only use public or
package-private (i.e. default) access modifiers, the inner classes can have any access
modifiers.
Inner classes can be categorized as below:
1. Static inner class
2. Non-static inner class
a) member class.
b) anonymous class.
c) local class.
Static inner class:
In effect, a static nested class is behaviorally a top-level class that has been nested in
another top-level class for packaging convenience. Static member classes can be
thought of as regular classes that are simply defined inside another class. They have
complete access to all the enclosing class's static member variables and methods.
package innerstatic;
public class OuterClass {
private static int d = 7;
private int e = 6;

//instance variable

291

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

private static class InnerClass {
private int i = 2;

//instance variable

public static void executeStatic( ) {

System.out.println("d=" + d);
}
public void execute( ) {
System.out.println("i=" + i);
System.out.println("e=" + new OuterClass( ).e);
}
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
OuterClass.InnerClass.executeStatic( );
OuterClass.InnerClass inner = new OuterClass.InnerClass( );
inner.execute( );
}
}
Output:
d=7
i=2
e=6
Q. Can you provide an example from the Java API? LF OEQ
A. Static inner classes are a pretty worthless feature because classes are already divided
into name spaces by packages. The only real conceivable reason to create a static inner
class is that such a class has access to its containing class's private static members. That
is both a handy feature and also can be abused since you can, in essence, violate the
encapsulation of the outer class by mucking up the outer class's protected and private
fields. The most common use of static inner classes is as an auxiliary class that only
makes sense when used in conjunction with its enclosing class. For example, the Map
interface, which includes Map.Entry static interface. Although this is an interface, the
idea is the same.
Non-static inner class:
292

As with instance methods and variables, an inner class is associated with an instance
of its enclosing class, and has direct access to that object's methods and member
variables. Also, because an inner class is associated with an instance, it cannot define
any static members itself. Like with a static inner class, the instance inner class is
known as qualified by its containing class name.
Access Modifiers: Since a non-static inner class cannot exist without an enclosing
instance, most non-static inner classes are either private or package-private (i.e. no
access modifier) scoped.
Q. So what is the real benefit of non-static inner classes? LF COQ
A. The inner class instance has access to the instance variables of the containing class
instance. These enclosing instance members are referred to inside the inner class via
just their simple names, and not via "this" as this in the inner class refers to the inner
class instance, and not the associated containing class instance.
package inner.nonstatic;
public class OuterClass {
private static int d = 7;
private int e = 6;
private void outerMethod( ){
InnerClass ic = new InnerClass( );
System.out.println("i=" + ic.i);
ic.execute( );
}

//instance variable

// create an instance first

// accessing inner class variable

private class InnerClass {

private int i = 2;
public void execute( ) {
System.out.println("i=" + i);
System.out.println("e=" + e);
System.out.println("d=" + d);
}

//instance variable

//accessing outer class variables

//accessing outer class variables

293

Classes and Interfaces Essentials

}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
OuterClass.InnerClass inner = new OuterClass( ).new InnerClass( );
inner.execute( );
OuterClass outer = new OuterClass( );
outer.outerMethod( );
}
}
Output:
i=2
e=6
e=7
i=2
i=2
e=6
d=7
Q. Can you provide an example from the Java API? DP OEQ
A. The iterator design pattern makes use of a member inner class. For example,
public class MyCollection {
...
public Iterator iterator( ) {
return new MyCollectionIterator( );
}
...
private class MyCollectionIterator implements Iterator {
public boolean hasNext( ) { ... }
public Object next( ) { ... }
....
}
...
}
This way it can access all the members of the collection, and it is encapsulated so
294

other classes can not access the MyCollectionIterator directly. All the classes are not aware
of MyCollectionIterator, and they just use the Iterator interface. The non-static inner
classes are also useful as adapters, where the keys or values in a Map can be viewed as a
Set by creating an inner class that implements the Set interface.
Q37 Can you have an inner class inside a method and what variables can you access? LF
FAQ
A37 Yes, you can also declare an inner class within the body of a method without naming
it. These classes are known as anonymous inner classes.
They can use local variables and parameters of the method, but only ones which are
declared "final". This is because the local class instance must maintain a separate copy
of the variable, as it may out-live the method. So as not to have the confusion of two
modifiable variables with the same name in the same scope, the variable is forced to be
non-modifiable.
Q. Can you provide an example from the Java API?
A. Anonymous classes are very powerful, but care must be taken not to over use it as it
can clutter up your top level classes and consequently compromise the readability. In
certain cases, it can improve readability as shown below.
In Java GUI development where they are attached as listeners:
goButton.addActionListener (new ActionListener( )
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e )
{
doImportantStuff( );
}
}
);
Another most common use of anonymous inner class is as comparators inside a
method:
List<String> listOfValues = new ArrayList<String>( );
Collections.sort(listOfValues, new Comparator<String>( ) {
public int compare(String s1, String s2) {
return s1.compareTo(s2);
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

}
});
You can start a simple thread for one-off use inside a method:
new Thread(new Runnable( )
{
public void run( ){
// do runnable stuff here
}
}
).start( );
You can use it for filters:
public static FilenameFilter filter(final String regex) {
//Creation of anonymous inner class:
return new FilenameFilter( ) {
private Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex);
public boolean accept(File dir, String name) {
return pattern.matcher(new File(name).getName( )).matches( );
}
}; // End of anonymous inner class
}
Note: In general, defining a class on its own is preferable over anonymous inner
classes.
Q38 What is a callback method? LF
A38 A callback method is when you register a method with some other object, which that
object can call back at a later time.
In Java there is no way to register a method by passing a function pointer like in C/C+
+. Callback methods are the way of managing life cycle of an instance. Callback
methods are those which are called automatically by applications or frameworks when
a particular condition has been met. It could be event handling (e.g actionPerformed( )) or
methods in a Servlet life cycle like destroy( ) getting called by the container while the
container is shutting down.
296

Most of the languages specify a callback method by passing the address of the
subroutine to the system to the request it is calling back from, but Java performs the
same thing by using interfaces. Java does not allow passing the address of a
subroutine, but allows passing an instance of a class that implements the standard
interface. For this purpose, anonymous classes are mainly used as they support a better
compact definition of the class that is required as a new class. The following code
snippets illustrates a callback method with inner member interface and an anonymous
inner class.
package callback;
//Outer class
public class CallBackExample {
//inner interface
public interface CallBack {
int calculate(int a, int b);
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//anonymous inner class
CallBack adder = new CallBack( ) {
public int calculate(int a, int b) {
return a + b;
}
};
CallBack multiplier = new CallBack( ) {
public int calculate(int a, int b) {
return a * b;
}
};
System.out.println(adder.calculate(5, 10));
System.out.println(multiplier.calculate(5, 10));

//prints 15
//prints 50

}
}
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

DP
The callback method is a very powerful technique used by various design
patterns. For example, the visitor design pattern uses callback methods. The
Java/J2EE job interview companion (400+ Q&A) covers various design patterns with
code snippets and examples.
Q. Can you give an example of a callback method from the Java API?
A. To figure out which button was clicked, one could write the code in a monolithic
way with ugly if else blocks as shown below:
public class MyGUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
protected JButton submitButton;
protected JButton cancelButton;
//...more buttons
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
//Bad practice
if(e.getSource( ) == submitButton)
{
// do something
}
else if(e.getSource( ) == cancelButton)
{
// do something
}
//more else if conditions
}
//...
}
BP COQ Whenever you see switch statements or large if-else blocks, alarm bells
should begin to ring in your mind. In general, such constructs are bad object-oriented
design since a change in one section of the code may require a corresponding change
in the switch statement. Inner member classes and anonymous classes allow us to get
away from the switched actionPerformed(..) methods by using an anonymous inner class
as shown below:

298

submitButton = new JButton( );

submitButton.addActionListener (new ActionListener( )
{
public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent e )
{
doImportantStuff( );
}
}
);
You could also use member inner classes as demonstrated below:
public class MyGUI extends JFrame
{
protected JButton submitButton;
protected JButton cancelButton;
//...more buttons
// inner class definitions
class SubmitButtonHandler implements ActionListener
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
// do something
}
}
//...define inner member classes for other buttons like cancelButton, etc
protected void buildGUI( )
{
//initialize the buttons
submitButton = new JButton( );
cancelButton = new JButton( );
//...
// register an inner class action listener instance
// for each button
submitButton.addActionListener(new SubmitButtonHandler( ));
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

//.. repeat for each button
}
}
Since inner classes have access to everything in the enclosing class, you can move any
logic that would have appeared in a monolithic actionPerformed(..) implementation to an
inner class.

Packaging your classes to avoid conflicts

Q39 What are the usages of Java packages? How do you go about designing good
packages? LF DC
A39 The packages

help you organize files within your project. For example, java.io package does
something related to I/O and java.net package does something to do with
networking and so on.

resolve naming conflicts when different packages have classes with the same
name. For example, the StringUtils class is provided by both the Spring
framework and Apache commons library as org.springframework.util.Strin
gUtils and org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils respectively.

If we tend to put all .java files into a single package, as the project gets bigger, it
would become a nightmare to manage all your files.
Q40 How do you go about designing good packages? DC
A40 The packages exist solely because classes are not sufficient to group code. When
designing a package, you will have to ask a number of questions like,

300

What if I just want to release the packages (e.g. com.xyz.dao.*) related to just
data access?
What happens if I distribute my jar files (e.g. RMI or Web Service client jars)
to the client applications and the totally unexpected thing happens by showing
up bugs? I need to be able to determine whether the client had an old version
of the package, as the newest version definitely fixed all the remaining bugs. I

want to version my packages in a repository system like CVS or subversion

(SVN) to keep track of my changes.
Can this package be unit tested in isolation?
Can a change to one package have a knock on effect to a number of other
dependent packages? Do I have a cyclic dependency?

Packages create a dependency hierarchy. For example, all the classes related to database
operation can be placed in a package called com.xyz.dao. Another package called
com.xyz.client depends on the services offered by the package "com.xyz.dao". Make
use of the package UML diagrams to visualize and analyze package dependencies.
When designing packages, think of reuse, granularity, release management, unit testing,
distribution, and the level of coupling (i.e. dependency) with the other packages. There
are a number of principles that can help you design good packages.

Reuse-Release Equivalence Principle (REP) helps you determine the granu

larity of reuse and release. It states that anything that you reuse must also be
released and tracked. If a class depends on another class in a different package,
it depends on the entire package. A package can be considered to be the unit
of distribution of the software. Releasing a package means an implicit signed
contract, that this package will serve as specified. Code should not be reused
by copying it from one package and pasting it into another package. Instead,
the code should be reused by including a released library in your code. The
author of the library retains responsibility for maintaining it, and you should
really treat the library like a black box. The author of a library needs to identify
releases with different versions. For example, a meta-inf/manifest.mf file,
which contains the meta-data about the contents of the jar itself.
Manifest-Version: 1.0
Main-Class: com.OnlineMain
Specification-Title: Online Forms Framework
Specification-Version: 2.0
Specification-Vendor: XYZ
Name: com/forms/online/
Implementation-Title: Super Forms Framework
Implementation-Version: 1.0.2
Implementation-Vendor: XYZ
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

Name: com/forms/online/ui
Specification-Title: User Interface Framework
Specification-Version: 2.0
Specification-Vendor: Sun
Implementation-Title: User Interface Framework UI classes
Implementation-Version: 1.1.1
Implementation-Vendor: XYZ
In general, jar files are hard to distribute, version, and reference. The Java
Module System's architecture that will be introduced in Java 7.0 release will
provide module definition, the metadata associated with the module, the
versioning system and the repositories for storing and retrieving the module
definitions. A Java Module is a distribution standard that contains set of classes
and resources similar to a JAR (Java ARchive) File. What differs from JAR
from a JMS (Java Module System, not Java Messaging System) is that the
modules themselves can be versioned. The Java Module System contains a
metadata file that contains information about the inclusion of classes,
resources and the set of jar files that this module is dependent on. The
specification of Java Module System also defines a repository whose Java
Module files can be stored, discovered and used by other modules.

Common-Reuse Principle (CRP) helps you decide which classes should be

placed into a package. It says that only cohesive classes should be packaged
together. It states that the classes that tend to be reused together should be
placed in the same package. If a class depends on another class in a different
package, it depends on the entire package. Every time the used package is
released, the using package must be re-validated and re-released, even though
the change was made in a different class. Hence, the classes which are not
tightly related to each other should not be in the same package. For example,
you can have data access object (i.e. dao) classes and domain (i.e. model)
classes for different domains like rebates, commissions, and sales as shown
below:
com.xyz.dao.rebates
com.xyz.dao.commissions
The dao package has the classes like CommissionsDao, CommissionsDaoImpl, etc

302

for data access logic using pure SQL or Hibernate queries.

The dao.model package has the domain classes like CommissionStatement,

CommissionDetail, etc. The model classes can not only be used by the dao
package classes, but also by the other business service package classes.
com.xyz.dao.model.rebates
com.xyz.dao.model.commissions

Common-Closure Principle (CCP) helps you identify the coupling among the
different packages. This principle looks at the maintainability rather than reusability. The packages should be loosely coupled by not having multiple
reasons to change. Its preferable that changes occur in just one package rather
than distributed along the whole system. So packages need to be looked at
from change and distribution point of view.

Acyclic-Dependencies Principle (ADP) helps you identify the cyclic depend

encies among the packages. This is very important from a deployment
perspective. For example, the package X depends on package Y, and package Y
depends on package X. This causes problems when you have to release a
package that was modified. You can break the cycle by introducing a new
package Z between X and Y, and move the classes that both X and Y uses to
the package Z. One of the ways to break cyclic dependencies is to use
dependency inversion principle (DIP).

Stable-Dependencies Principle (SDP) and Stable-Abstractions Principle (SAP)

help determine the stability of your package. Stability is measured by calcu
lating how easy it is to change a package without impacting other packages
within the application. The package stability is measured in terms of the
number of classes inside package X that depends on classes outside package X
and number of classes outside package X that depend on classes within
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Classes and Interfaces Essentials

package X. A package is called stable if it is hard to change, or a lot of classes
outside this package depend on it. The diagram below illustrates how to
measure instability and how to break cyclic dependency. This principle can go
to an atomic level of classes and states that classes should depend only on
more stable classes. This where the dependency inversion principle (DIP)
comes in handy.

Note: Refactor your packages when it makes more sense to do so by moving classes
from one package to another or to a newly created package.
Book recommendation: This has only scratched the surface on design principles. For
a more detailed understanding, refer to Agile Software Development, Principles,
Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin.

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Section-6:
Objects Essentials

Working with objects

Cloning objects
Casting objects
Immutable objects
Working with enumerations
Understanding == versus equals( )
Working with the String class
Type safety with generics
Serializing your objects
Garbage collecting your objects

An object (or instance) is an executable copy of a class. In the last section, you
looked at the object oriented concepts, design principles, working with classes, and inter
faces. It is a must to have a good understanding in working with the objects. You will be
performing various operations like creating, cloning, casting, comparing, modifying, serial
izing, and garbage collecting your objects.
The general preparation for a Java job interview can be summed up in four steps:
research, predict questions, prepare answers and practice. The step 2 to predict questions is
often not an easy task, but you can always prepare for most common interview questions
relating to OO concepts, classes, interfaces, working with objects, and language funda
mentals. Still more than 50% of the candidates don't answer these questions right. If you
can demonstrate that your fundamentals are solid by answering these questions with
examples and illustrations, you will stand a good chance of succeeding. This will be valued a
lot more than happening to know or having experience with a sought-after framework the
very moment. In other words, if you don't get these fundamental questions right, knowing
the sought-after frameworks is not going to do you any good.

305

Objects Essentials

Working with Objects

The java.lang.Object class is the ultimate super class of all objects. If a class does not explicitly
extend a class, then the compiler assumes it extends java.lang.Object.
Q01 What are the non-final methods in Java Object class, which are meant primarily for
extension? Are these methods easy to implement correctly? What are the implications
of implementing them incorrectly? LF
A01 The non-final methods are equals( ), hashCode( ), toString( ), clone( ), and finalize( ). These
methods are meant to be overridden. The equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods prove to be
very important, when objects implementing these two methods are added to collec
tions. If implemented incorrectly or not implemented at all, then your objects stored in
a collection like a Set, List or Map may behave strangely and also it is hard to debug.
The other methods like wait( ), notify( ), notifyAll( ), getClass( ), etc are final methods and
therefore cannot be overridden. The methods clone( ) and finalize( ) have protected
access.
Q. Are these methods easy to implement correctly?
A. No. It is not easy to implement these methods correctly because,

You must pay attention to whether your implementation of these methods will
continue to work correctly if sub classed. If your class is not meant for
extension, then declare your class as final.
These methods have to adhere to contracts, and when implementing or
overriding a method, the contracts must be satisfied.

Q. What are the implications of implementing them incorrectly?

A. In short, excess debug and rework time. Incorrect implementations of equals( ) and
hashCode( ) methods can result in data being lost in HashMaps and Sets. You can also get
intermittent data related problems that are harder to consistently reproduce over time.
Q02 If a class overrides the equals( ) method, what other method it should override? What
are some of the key considerations while implementing these methods? LF COQ
A02 It should override the hashCode( ) method. The contract between the hashCode( ) and
equals( ) methods is clearly defined on the Java API for the Object class under respective
306

methods. Here are some key points to keep in mind while implementing these
methods,

The equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods should be implemented together. You

should not have one without the other.
If two objects return the same hashCode( ) integer value does not mean that
those two objects are equal.
If two objects are equal, then they must return the same hashCode( ) integer
value.
The implementation of the equals( ) method must be consistent with the
hashCode( ) method to meet the previous bullet points.
Use @override annotation to ensure that the methods are correctly overridden.
Favor instanceof instead of getClass(..) in the equals( ) method which takes care
of super types and null comparison as recommended by Joshua Bloch, but
ensure that the equals implementation is final to preserve the symmetry
contract of the method: x.equals(y) == y.equals(x). If final seems restrictive,
carefully examine to see if overriding implementations can fully maintain the
contract established by the Object class.
Check for self-comparison and null values where required.

package chapter2.com;
public final class Pet {
int id;
String name;
/**
* use @override annotation to prevent the danger of misspelling
* method name or incorrect method signature.
*/
@Override
public boolean equals(Object that){
//check for self-comparison
if ( this == that ) return true;
/**
* use instanceof instead of getClass here for two reasons
307

Objects Essentials
* 1. it can match any super type, and not just one class;
* 2. explicit check for "that == null" is not required as
* "null instanceof Pet" always returns false.
**/
if ( ! (that instanceof Pet) )
return false;
Pet pet = (Pet)that;
return this.id == pet.id && this != null && this.name.equals(pet.name);
}
/**
* fields id & name are used in both equals( ) and
* hashCode( ) methods.
*/
@Override
public int hashCode( ) {
int hash = 9;
hash = (31 * hash) + id;
hash = (31 * hash) + (null == name ? 0 : name.hashCode( ));
return hash;
}
}
Use Apache's HashCodeBuilder & EqualsBuilder classes to simplify your implementation,
especially when you have a large number of member variables. Commonclipse is an
eclipse plugin for jakarta commons-lang users. It is very handy for automatic gener
ation of toString( ), hashCode( ), equals(..), and compareTo( ) methods.
package chapter2.com;
import org.apache.commons.lang.builder.EqualsBuilder;
import org.apache.commons.lang.builder.HashCodeBuilder;
public final class Pet2 {
int id;
String name;
308

@Override
public boolean equals(Object that) {
if (this == that)
return true;
if (!(that instanceof Pet2))
return false;
Pet2 pet = (Pet2) that;
return new EqualsBuilder( ).append(this.id, pet.id).append(
this.name, pet.name).isEquals( );
}
/**
* both fields id & name are used in equals( ),
* so both fields must be used in hashCode( ) as well.
*/
@Override
public int hashCode( ) {
//pick 2 hard-coded, odd & >0 int values as arguments
return new HashCodeBuilder(1, 31).append(this.id).append(
this.name).toHashCode( );
}
}
Q03 When should you override a toString( ) method? LF COQ
A03 You can use System.out.println( ) or logger.info(...) to print any object. The toString( )
method of an object gets invoked automatically, when an object reference is passed in
the System.out.println(refPet) or logger.info(refPet) method. However for good results, your
class should have a toString( ) method that overrides Object class's default implement
ation by formatting the object's data in a sensible way and returning a String.
Otherwise all that's printed is the class name followed by an @ sign and then
unsigned hexadecimal representation of the hashCode. For example, If the Pet class
doesn't override the toString( ) method as shown below, by default Pet@162b91 will be
printed via toString( ) default implementation in the Object class. The public class Pet3
can be read as public class Pet3 extends Object.

309

Objects Essentials
package chapter2.com;
public class Pet3 {
int id;
String name;
@Override
public String toString( ) {
return new StringBuilder( ).append("id:" + id).append(
",name:" + name).toString( );
}
}
Output:
id:<id>, name:<name>
This is by far the easiest method to override. Still you can make mistakes like, say you
have the following toString( ) implementation for the BasePet class,
@Override
public String toString( ) {
return BasePet - + id= + id + , name= + name;
}
The above method is fine if not extended by any other class. If the above method is
extended by a Cat class, the output will still have the hard coded BasePet - . This
can be fixed as follows,
@Override
public String toString( ) {
return this.getClass( ) + - + id= + id + , name= + name;
}
If the above code is called from a Cat class, it will print Cat - followed by the id
and name. If it is called from a Dog class, it will print Dog - followed by the id and
name.
Q04 Can you override clone( ) and finalize( ) methods in the Object class? How do you disable
310

a clone( ) method? LF COQ

A04 Yes, but you need to do it very judiciously. Implementing a properly functioning
clone( ) method is complex and it is rarely necessary. You are better off providing
some alternative means of object copying through a copy constructor or a static
factory method.
//copy constructor
public Pet(Pet petToCopy){
this.setName(petToCopy.getName( ));
//...
}
//static factory method
public static Pet newInstance(Pet petToCopy){
Pet pet = new Pet( );
pet.setName(petToCopy.getName( ));
//...
return pet;
}
Q. How do you disable a clone( ) method?
A. It can be disabled as follows
public final Object clone( ) throws CloneNotSupportedException {
throw new CloneNotSupportedException( );
}
Unlike C++ destructors, the finalize( ) method in Java is unpredictable, often
dangerous and generally unnecessary. Use finally{} blocks to close any resources or
free memory. The finalize( ) method should only be used in rare instances as a safety net
or to terminate noncritical native resources. If you do happen to call the finalize( )
method in some rare instances, then remember to follow the following guidelines:

You should call the finalize method of the super class in case it has to clean up.
protected void finalize( ) throws Throwable {
try{
//finalize subclass state
}
311

Objects Essentials
catch(Throwable t){
//log the exception
}
finally {
super.finalize( );
}
}

You should not depend on the finalize method being called. There is no
guarantee that when (or if) objects will be garbage collected and thus no
guarantee that the finalize method will be called before the running program
terminates.

Finally, the code in finalize method might fail and throw exceptions. Catch
these exceptions so that the finalize method can continue.

Cloning Objects
The reason for making a local copy of an object is if youre going to modify that object and
you dont want to modify the callers object.
Q05 What is the main difference between shallow cloning and deep cloning of objects? LF
A05 Shallow copy: If a shallow copy is performed, the contained objects are not cloned.
Java supports shallow cloning of objects by default when a class implements the
java.lang.Cloneable interface. For example, invoking clone( ) method on a collection like
HashMap, List, etc returns a shallow copy of the HashMap, List, instances. This means
if you clone a HashMap, the map instance is cloned but the keys and values themselves
are not cloned, but are shared by pointing to the original objects.

312

Deep copy: If a deep copy is performed, then not only the original object has been
copied, but the objects contained within it have been copied as well. Serialization can
be used to achieve deep cloning. For example, you can serialize a HashMap to a
ByteArrayOutputStream and then deserialize it. This creates a deep copy, but does require
that all keys and values in the HashMap to be Serializable. The main advantage of this
approach is that it will deep copy any arbitrary object graph. Deep cloning through
serialization is faster to develop and easier to maintain, but carries a performance
overhead. Alternatively, you can provide a static factory method to deep copy as shown
below:
public static List deepCopy(List listCars) {
List copiedList = new ArrayList(10);
for (Object object : listCars) {
Car original = (Car)object;
Car carCopied = new Car( );
carCopied.setColor((original.getColor( )));
copiedList.add(carCopied);
}
return copiedList;
}

//instantiate a new Car object

313

Objects Essentials

Casting Objects
Understand implicit and explicit casting. Also, be clear about overriding and hiding (aka
shadowing). They are two different things.
Q06 What is type casting? Explain up casting vs. down casting? When do you get ClassCas
tException? LF FAQ
A06 Type casting means treating a variable of one type as though it is another type.
byte short char int long float double
(1 byte)

(2 bytes)

(2 bytes)

(4 bytes) (8 bytes) (4 bytes)

(8 bytes)

When up casting primitives from left to right, automatic conversion occurs. But if you
go from right to left, down casting or explicit casting is required. This was already
discussed under Choosing the right data types with widening versus narrowing
conversions, in Language Essentials section.
When it comes to object references, you can always cast from a subclass to a super
class because a subclass object is also a super class object. You can cast an object
implicitly to a super class type (i.e. up casting). If this were not the case,
polymorphism wouldnt be possible.
You can cast down the hierarchy as well, but you must explicitly write the cast and the
object must be a legitimate instance of the class you are casting to. The ClassCastEx
ception is thrown to indicate that code has attempted to cast an object to a subclass of
which it is not an instance. If you are using J2SE 5.0, then generics will minimize the
need for casting, and otherwise you can deal with the problem of incorrect down
casting in two ways:
Using the exception handling mechanism to catch ClassCastException:
Object o = null;
try{
o = new Integer(1);
System.out.println((String) o);
}
catch(ClassCastException cce) {
logger.log(Invalid casting, String is expectedNot an Integer);
314

System.out.println(((Integer) o).toString( ));

}
Using the instanceof statement to guard against incorrect casting:
if(o instanceof String) {
String s2 = (String) o;
}
else if (o instanceof Integer) {
Integer i2 = (Integer) o;
}
The instanceof and typecast constructs can make your code unmaintainable due
to large if and else if statements, and also can adversely affect performance if
used in frequently accessed methods or loops. Look at using generics or visitor design
pattern to avoid or minimize these casting constructs where applicable.
Note: You can also get a ClassCastException when two different class loaders load the
same class because they are treated as two different classes. Refer to Knowing your
way around Java section under Gauging your experience with UNIX where the
Java Linkage Error is discussed with tips to solve them.
Q07 What do you understand by variable shadowing? LF FAQ
A07 When both a parent class and its subclass have a field with the same name, it is called
variable shadowing. If the field in the parent class has private access or is in another
package and has default (i.e. package private) access, there is no room for confusion.
The child class cannot access the field in question of the parent class. So it's clear with
which variable any reads and writes in the child class will take place.
However, if the same name variable in the parent class is accessible to instances of the
child class, the general rule is that the variable accessed depends on the class to which
the variable has been cast. For example,
package shaddowing;
public class Parent {
protected String val = "parent";

315

Objects Essentials
public String getVal( ) {
return val;
}
}
package shaddowing;
public class Child extends Parent {
protected String val = "child";
public String getVal( ) {
return val;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Child c = new Child( );
System.out.println("val=" + c.val);

//prints "child"

Parent p = c;
System.out.println("val=" + p.val);

//implicitly cast to Parent

//prints "parent" due to
//variable hiding
System.out.println("val=" + p.getVal( ));
//prints "child" due to
//method overriding
System.out.println("val=" + ((Child)p).val); //prints "child" since it is
//explicitly cast to Child
}
}
Q08 If you have a reference variable of a parent class type, and you assign a child class
object to that variable, and then you invoke a static method that is present in both
parent and child classes, which method will be invoked? LF FAQ
A08 Parent's method. Unlike instance methods, you can't override static methods. However,
it is possible to write code as shown below, but this is not a method overriding, but a
static method shadowing or hiding another static method. You won't get a compiletime error, but the results can be unexpected.
package shaddowing;

316

public class Parent {

public static void sameName( ) {
System.out.println("Parent -- sameName( )");
}
}
package shaddowing;
public class Child extends Parent {
public static void sameName( ) {
System.out.println("Child -- sameName( )");
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Child c = new Child( );
c.sameName( );
// prints: Child sameName( ).
Parent p = c;
p.sameName( );

// implicitly cast to Parent.

// prints: Parent sameName( ).

}
}
Note: So when you override a method, you get the benefit of polymorphic behavior,
but when you hide or shadow, you don't get the polymorphic behavior.
Note: If you happen to have a parameter in a constructor or a method having the
same name as an instance variable, you must prefix the instance variable with this
keyword. Otherwise the parameter will be hiding or shadowing your instance variable.
For example,
Class Fruit {
private String name = null;
public Fruit(String name) {
this.name = name;
//name = name

// instance variable name

// parameter name
// Correct
// Wrong. The instance variable is hidden
317

Objects Essentials
// or shadowed by the parameter.
}
}

Immutable Objects
"Classes should be immutable unless there's a very good reason to make them mutable....If a
class cannot be made immutable, limit its mutability as much as possible."
-- by Joshua Bloch
Q09 What is an immutable object? How do you create an immutable type? What are the
advantages of immutable objects? LF BP FAQ
A09 Immutable objects are objects whose state (the object's data) cannot change after
construction. Examples of immutable objects from the JDK include String and
wrapper classes like Integer, Double, Character, etc.
Q. How do you create an immutable type?

Make the class final so that it cannot be extended or use static factories and
keep constructors private.
public final class MyImmutable { }

Make fields private and final.

private final int[ ] myArray;

318

Don't provide any methods that can change the state of the immutable object
in any way not just setXXX methods, but any methods which can change the
state.

The this reference is not allowed to escape during construction from the
immutable class, and the immutable class should have exclusive access to fields
that contain references to other mutable objects like arrays, collections and
mutable classes like Date by:

Declaring the mutable references as private.

Not returning or exposing the mutable references to the caller. This can
be done by defensively copying the objects by deeply cloning them..

Q. What are the advantages of immutable objects?

Immutable classes can greatly simplify programming by freely allowing you to

cache and share the references to the immutable objects without having to
defensively copy them or without having to worry about their values becoming
stale or corrupted.

Immutable classes are inherently thread-safe and you do not have to

synchronize access to them to be used in a multi-threaded environment. So
there are no chances for negative performance consequences as multiple
threads can share the same instance.

Eliminates the possibility of data becoming inaccessible when used as keys in

HashMaps or as elements in Sets. These types of errors are hard to debug and
fix.

Eliminates the need for class invariant check once constructed.

Allow hashCode( ) method to use lazy initialization, by caching its return value.

Cloning is not required.

Simpler to construct, use, and test due to its deterministic state.

Q10 Why is it a best practice to implement the user defined key class as an immutable
object? LF COQ
A10 Immutable objects generally make the best map keys as the keys cannot be modified
once they have been added to the Map. In general String, Integer, or Long are used as
keys, which are immutable objects. If you define your own key class, make sure that
they are immutable. Otherwise, if the keys are accidentally modified after adding to a
Map, you will never be able to retrieve the stored value as the key values have been
changed.
319

Objects Essentials
This is a common pitfall many Java developers, especially beginners fall for.

As shown, when Maps are used in Java, the equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods are impli
citly invoked. If these methods are incorrectly implemented or the keys are modified
once added to the map, then unpredictable behavior will be experienced, and these
behaviors are harder to debug. The hashCode( ) and equals( ) methods are implicitly
invoked to determine where the key is stored. These methods are called again to
retrieve the stored key. If they are implemented inconsistently or the key is mutated,
then the stored object cannot be retrieved as the returned values of these methods will
vary in between different invocations. To be more specific, the hashCode( ) method is
called to determine the key index (aka the bucket) of the array, and the equals( ) method
is called to retrieve the exact key from the list of keys belonging to that particular key
index (or bucket) as the same bucket will be holding multiple keys linked to multiple
values. Remember the contract between these two methods? If 2 objects are equal,
they must return the same hashCode( ) value, but the reverse is not true. Which means,
if 2 objects return the same hashCode( ) value does not mean that those 2 objects are
equal( ).

320

Q11 Does the following code produce immutable objects? COQ

package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Arrays;
public final class MyImmutable {
private final Integer[ ] myArray;
public MyImmutable(Integer[ ] anArray) {
this.myArray = anArray;
}
public Integer[ ] getMyArray( ) {
return myArray;
}
public String toString( ) {
StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Numbers are: ");
sb.append(Arrays.deepToString(myArray));
return sb.toString( );
}
}
A11 No. The following assignment is incorrect.
this.myArray = anArray;
If you test the above code with the following code snippet,
package chapter2.com;
public class ImmutableTest {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Integer[ ] array = new Integer[ ] { 1, 2 };
MyImmutable myImmutableRef = new MyImmutable(array);
System.out.println("Before constructing " + myImmutableRef);
myImmutableRef.getMyArray( )[1] = 5;
//mutate value
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Objects Essentials
myImmutableRef.getMyArray( )[0] = 7;
// mutate value
System.out.println("After constructing " + myImmutableRef);
}
}
Output:
Before constructing Numbers are: [1, 2]
After constructing Numbers are: [7, 5]
As you can see that the array values have been mutated (i.e. modified) through the
references that escaped. You can fix the above code by defensively copying the array
before returning in the getMyArray( ) method as well as in the constructor. This is
essential because Java's references are passed by value. You can fix the above problem
as follows,
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Arrays;
public final class MyImmutable2 {
private final Integer[ ] myArray;
public MyImmutable2(Integer[ ] anArray) {
this.myArray = anArray.clone( );
}
public Integer[ ] getMyArray( ) {
return myArray.clone( );
}
public String toString( ) {
StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("Numbers are: ");
sb.append(Arrays.deepToString(myArray));
return sb.toString( );
}
}

322

Output:
Before constructing Numbers are: [1, 2]
After constructing Numbers are: [1, 2]
Q12 How would you defensively copy a Date field in your immutable class? COQ
A12
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Date;
public final class MyDiary {
private final Date myDate;
public MyDiary(Date aDate) {
this.myDate = new Date(aDate.getTime( )); //defensive copying by
// not exposing the
// myDate reference
}
public Date getDate( ) {
return new Date(myDate.getTime( ));

// defensive copying by
// not exposing the
// myDate reference

}
}
You can try with and without defensive copying by using the following test code,
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Date;
public class MyDiaryTest {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Date myDate = new Date( );
MyDiary ref = new MyDiary(myDate);
System.out.println("myDate before = " + ref.getDate( ));
myDate = ref.getDate( );
323

Objects Essentials
myDate.setDate(25);
//mutate myDate
System.out.println("myDate after = " + ref.getDate( ));
}
}
Q13 How will you prevent the caller from adding or removing elements from pets? How
will you make this code fully immutable? COQ
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.List;
public class PetCage {
private final List<Pet> pets;
public PetCage(List<Pet> pets) {
this.pets = pets;
}
public List<Pet> getPets( ) {
return pets;
}
}
A13 An instance of PetCage class is not immutable because one can add or remove pets
either by obtaining the pets by calling getPets( ) or by retaining a reference to the List
object passed when an object of this class is constructed. The following change
partially solves the immutability problem.
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
public class PetCage {
private final List<Pet> pets;
public PetCage(List<Pet> pets) {
324

this.pets = Collections.unmodifiableList(new ArrayList<Pet>(pets));

}
public List<Pet> getPets( ) {
return pets;
}
}
It ensures that you cannot add or remove pets. However, there is no guarantee that the
pets are also immutable. To make this instance fully immutable, the Pet instance itself
must be immutable or use the decorator pattern as a wrapper around each of the pets
to make them also immutable. For example, The Integer wrapper class provides immut
ability to mutable primitive int value. You could also defensively deep copy the list
of pets in the constructor and getPets( ) method.
Q14 What about data that changes sometimes? Is there any way to obtain the benefits of
immutability with the added benefit of thread-safety for data that changes less
frequently? COQ PC
A14 The Copy-On-Write collections like CopyOnWriteArrayList and CopyOnWriteArraySet
classes from the util.concurrent package, introduced in JRE 5.0 are good examples of
how to harness the power of immutability while still permitting occasional modifica
tions for infrequently changing data. CopyOnWriteArrayList behaves much like the
ArrayList class, except that when the list is modified, instead of mutating the under
lying array, a new array is created and the old array is discarded. CopyOnWriteArrayList
is designed for cases where:

reads hugely outnumber writes.

the array is small (or writes are very infrequent).
the caller genuinely needs the functionality of a list rather than an array.

When you obtain an iterator, which holds a reference to the underlying array, the array
referenced by the iterator is effectively immutable and therefore can be traversed
without synchronization or risk of concurrent modification. This eliminates the need
to either clone the list before traversal or synchronize on the list during traversal. If
reads are much more frequent than insertions or removals, which is the case very
often, the Copy-on-Write collections and ConcurrentHashMaps offer better performance
and development convenience. The development convenience is provided not needing
to deal with synchronization, deep cloning, or ConcurrentModificationException. The
325

Objects Essentials
ConcurrentModificationException is generally thrown by an ArrayList, HashSet, or a
HashMap implementation when you try to try to modify (e.g. remove) an object from a
collection while iterating over it.

Working with Enumerations

Q15 Why is it a best practice to use enums over static final int or String constants? LF BP
A15 The old Java solution for declaring constants is good, but is not a best practice
because,

Allows invalid values. Any integer value can be assigned, although there are
only 4 valid choices .
season = 25;

// Illogical value, but allowed by the compiler.

No easy methods to convert values to and from a string form.

Less readable and requires more maintaining due to additional look-up code. If
there are additions, deletions, or re-orderings to a constant class, the other
dependent classes using the constant class will not automatically be readjusted
to reflect these changes.
Fragile for loops as iterating over all values is subject to errors which are not
diagnosed at compile time if the values are rearranged, deleted, or added to.
There is no way to use the enhanced for loop.
Only values no behavior.

package withoutenum;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
//not a best practice
public class Weather {
public static final int WINTER = 0;
public static final int SPRING = 1;
public static final int SUMMER = 2;
public static final int FALL = 3;
326

public static final int NO_OF_SEASONS = 4; //if new seasons added or

//removed, this value has
//to be adjusted.
private final int season;

// not type safe. Allows

// illegal values like 25
private static final List<Weather> listWeather = new
ArrayList<Weather>( );
private Weather(int season) {
this.season = season;
}
public int getSeason( ) {
return season;
}
static {
// Can't use for each loop.
for (int i = 0; i < NO_OF_SEASONS; i++) {
listWeather.add(new Weather(i));
}
}
public static List<Weather> getWeatherList( ) {
return listWeather;
}
public String toString( ) {
//no easy methods to convert values to and from string.
return new Integer(season).toString( );
}
}
An enum type is a kind of class definition. enums are implicitly final subclasses of
java.lang.Enum. The possible enum values are listed in the curly braces, separated by
commas. By convention the value names are in upper case.
package withenum;
327

Objects Essentials
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Weather {
public enum Season {WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL}
private final Season season;

//type safe because

//only right seasons can be assigned

private static final List<Weather> listWeather = new ArrayList<Weather>( );

private Weather(Season season) {
this.season = season;
}
public Season getSeason( ) {
return season;
}
static {
//using J2SE 5.0 for each loop
for (Season season : Season.values( )) {
listWeather.add(new Weather(season));
}
}
public static List<Weather> getWeatherList( ) {
return listWeather;
}
public String toString( ) {
return season.toString( );
}
}
Q16 Can enums be used in switch statements? LF
A16 Yes. The switch statement was enhanced to allow use of enums. It is important to note
328

that the case values don't have to be qualified with the enum class name, which can be
determined from the switch control value.
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Weather w = new Weather(Season.WINTER);
switch (w.season) {
//values are not fully qualified with the enum type Season.
case WINTER:
System.out.println("It is Winter");
break;
case SPRING:
System.out.println("It is Spring");
break;
case SUMMER:
System.out.println("It is Summer");
break;
case FALL:
System.out.println("It is Fall");
break;
default:
break;
}
Note: The case statements are not fully qualified with the enum name. As shown
above it is just WINTER, and not Season.WINTER.
Q17 How will you get an integer equivalent of an enum value?
A17 Using the ordinal( ) method.

LF

w.season.ordinal( );
Q18 How will you convert a String value to an enum value? LF
A18 Using the valueOf( ) method. You can use the methods name( ) or toString( ) to convert
an enum value back to a string value.
Q19 Would you use equals( ) or == to compare enum values? LF
A19 Both equals( .. ) and == amount to the same thing, and can be used interchangeably as
enums are implicitly public static final.

329

Objects Essentials
Q20 Do you have to override equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods for enum? LF
A20 No. Since you can only create one instance (i.e. singleton) of each season, you don't
have to override these methods. The class Enum declares equals( ), hashCode( ), clone( ),
and compareTo( ) methods as final. You can override the toString( ) method to provide
better information for debugging.
Q21 Are enums immutable? LF DP
A21 Yes. As with any class, it is easy to provide methods in an enum type which can change
the state of an enum constant. Hence, the term "enum constant" is misleading. What
is constant is the identity of the enum element, not its state. Perhaps a better term
would have been "enum" instead of "enum constant". The enum classes can have
behavior, hence the responsibility is on the developers to make it immutable.
Since enum is basically a special class type, and can have methods and fields just like
any other class, you can apply the "template method" design pattern to create enumer
ations that are factories or command objects. Here is a simple example of a
"command" enumeration. You can also implement your own method to do a reverse
lookup of a weather based on a given weather code as illustrated below.
package withenum;
import java.util.EnumSet;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
public enum Season {
WINTER("WT") {
@Override
public void execute( ) {
System.out.println("Winter...");
}
},
SPRING("SP") {
@Override
public void execute( ) {
System.out.println("Spring....");
}
},
330

SUMMER("SM") {
@Override
public void execute( ) {
System.out.println("Summer...");
}
},
FALL("FL") {
@Override
public void execute( ) {
System.out.println("Fall...");
}
};
private static final Map<String, Season> lookup =
new HashMap<String, Season>( );
static {
for (Season s : EnumSet.allOf(Season.class))
lookup.put(s.getCode( ), s);
}
private String code;
private Season(String code) {
this.code = code;
}
public String getCode( ) {
return code;
}
//template method
public abstract void execute( );
//reverse lookup method
public static Season getByCode(int code) {
return lookup.get(code);
}
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Objects Essentials
}
Unsightly switch/case or if/else statements can be minimized or avoided with the help
of template method pattern shown above. The client code would use something like
season.execute( ). The static getByCode(String) method provides the reverse lookup by
simply getting the value from the Map. The static block that populates the Map, uses a
specialized implementation of Set, java.util.EnumSet, which has better performance
than java.util.HashSet. Java 5.0 also provides a more compact and specialized imple
mentation of Map for enums with java.util.EnumMap.

Understanding == versus equals( )

Q22 What is the difference between "==" and equals(..) method? What is the difference
between shallow comparison and deep comparison of objects? LF BP FAQ
A22 It is important to understand the difference between identity (i.e. ==) comparison,
which is a shallow comparison that compares only the object references, and the
equals( ) comparison, which is a deep comparison that compares the object attributes.
The diagram below explains the difference between the two. There are some excep
tional conditions when using primitives, String objects, and enums. This will be
discussed in the ensuing Q&As. Apart from these 3 exceptional conditions, all the
other objects in general follow the standard rule depicted by the Pet object.
If the equals(..) method is not overridden, then the Object class's default implementation
is invoked, which only compares the object references. Invoking the equals(..) method
of the Object class is equivalent to making a shallow comparison with ==. This is
why it is imperative to override the equals( ) method (, and the hashCode( ) method) in
your custom classes like Pet. The Java API objects like String, Integer, Double, etc override
the equals(..), hashCode( ) , and the toString(..) methods. These methods are meant to be
overridden as discussed earlier.

332

The code snippet below explains how the String class follows the standard rule as
explained above and a variation to the above rule when the String objects are pooled
for performance using the flyweight design pattern.
package chapter2.com;
public class String2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String s1 = new String("A");
String s2 = new String("A");
333

Objects Essentials
//standard: follows the == and equals( ) rule applicable to any Java object
if (s1 == s2) {
// shallow comparison
System.out.println("references/identities are equal"); // never reaches here
// as s1 & s2 point to
// 2 different objects
}
if (s1.equals(s2)) {
// deep comparison
System.out.println("values are equal");
// this line is printed as s1 & s2
// have the same value of A
}
//variation: does not follow the == and equals rule
//Specific to String objects declared as shown below
//This is an example of the fly-weight design pattern.
String s3 = "A";
String s4 = "A";

// goes into a String pool.

// refers to String already in the pool.

if (s3 == s4) {
// shallow comparison
System.out.println("references/identities are equal");
}
if (s3.equals(s4)) {
System.out.println("values are equal");
}

// this line
// is printed

// deep comparison
// this line is also printed

}
}
Q23 What happens when you run the following code? LF COQ FAQ
Boolean b1 = new Boolean(false);
Boolean b2 = Boolean.FALSE;
if(b1 == b2) {
System.out.println("Equal");
}
334

else{
System.out.println("Not Equal");
}
A23 Prints Not Equal.
The == is a shallow comparison that only compares the references. The references are
not equal. If you want to print Equal, perform a deep comparison as shown below,
which compares the values.
if (b1.equals(b2)){
System.out.println("Equal");
}
else {
System.out.println("Not Equal");
}

//gets printed

Q24 Can you discuss the output of the following code? COQ
public class PrimitiveAndObjectEquals {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int a = 5;
int b = 5;
Integer c = new Integer(5);
Integer d = new Integer(5);
if (a == b) {
System.out.println("primitives a and b are ==");
}

//Line 1

if (c == d) {
System.out.println("Objects c and d are ==");
}

//Line 2

if (c.equals(d)) {
System.out.println("Objects c and d are equals( )");

//Line 3

335

Objects Essentials
}
if (a == d) {
//Line 4
System.out
.println("Primitive a and Object d are == due to auto unboxing");
}
}
}
A24 Output is:
primitives a and b are ==
Objects c and d are equals( )
Primitive a and Object d are == due to auto unboxing

Line 1 is printed as both a and b are primitive data types.

Line 2 will not get printed as they are comparing the object references
(shallow comparison). Line 3 will get printed as they are comparing the actual
values (deep comparison).
Line 4 is printed because the object reference d is auto-unboxed to a
primitive int value and then compared with the primitive reference a. This
also illustrates a hidden chance of a NullPointerException being thrown if the
reference d were to be null.

Q25 Can you discuss what gets printed? LF COQ

public class EnumEquals {
public enum Action {START, STOP, CONTINUE}
private static Action action = Action.STOP;
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
if(Action.STOP == action){
System.out.println("Enumurations can be compared to ==.");
}
if(Action.STOP.equals(action)){
336

System.out.println("Enumurations can be compared to equals( ) also.");

}
}
}
A25 Output is:
Enumurations can be compared to ==.
Enumurations can be compared to equals( ) also.
The best practice is to use the referential == for enums as they are safer because you
get compile-time errors for incorrect comparisons as described below.
public class EnumSaferComparison {
public enum Action {
START, STOP, CONTINUE
}
public enum Status {
PENDING, PROCESSED
}
private static Action action = Action.STOP;
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// Does not make sense to compare status with action.
if (Status.PENDING.equals(action)) {
// never gets here.
}
// won't compile.
if (Status.PENDING == action) {

//Line 1

//Line 2

}
}
}

337

Objects Essentials
Line 1 has been accepted by the compiler even though that condition will never be
true.
Line 2 forces the compiler to scream that you can't compare apples with oranges.

Working with the String class

Q26 When do you use a String and when do you use a StringBuffer or StringBuilder?
LF PC FAQ COQ
A26 String is immutable: you cant modify a string object, but can replace it by creating a
new instance. Creating a new instance is rather expensive. For example,
//Inefficient version using an immutable String
String output = "Some text"
int count = 100;
for(int i =0; i<count; i++) {
output += i;
}
return output;
The above code would build 99 new String objects, of which 98 would be thrown away
immediately. Creating new objects unnecessarily is not efficient, and the garbage
collector needs to clean up those unreferenced 98 objects.
StringBuffer and StringBuilder: are mutable and use them when you want to modify
the contents. StringBuilder was added in Java 5 and it is identical in all respects to String
Buffer except that it is not synchronized, which makes it slightly faster at the cost of not
being thread-safe.
//More efficient version using a mutable StringBuffer
StringBuffer output = new StringBuffer(110);
output.append("Some text");
for(int i =0; i<count; i++) {
output.append(i);
}
return output.toString( );

338

The above code creates only two new objects, the StringBuffer and the final String that is
returned. BP The StringBuffer expands as it reaches its capacity, which can be costly if
performed frequently. So it would be better to initialize the StringBuffer with the correct
size from the start as shown above with the size of 110 if the initial size is known or
estimate the size appropriately to minimize the number of times it has to expand.
Note: The creation of extra strings is not limited to the overloaded mathematical
operator "+", but there are several other methods like concat( ), trim( ), substring( ), and
replace( ) in the String class that generate new string instances. So use StringBuffer or
StringBuilder for computation intensive operations to get better performance.
Q27 Can you write a method that reverses a given String? COQ FAQ
A27
public class ReverseString {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(reverse("big brown fox"));
System.out.println(reverse(""));
}
public static String reverse(String input) {
if(input == null || input.length( ) == 0){
return input;
}
return new StringBuilder(input).reverse( ).toString( );
}
}
BP It is always a best practice to reuse the API methods as shown above with the
StringBuilder(input).reverse( ) method as it is fast, efficient (uses bitwise operations)
and knows how to handle Unicode surrogate pairs, which most other solutions ignore.
The above code handles null and empty strings, and a StringBuilder is used as opposed
to a thread-safe StringBuffer, as the StringBuilder is locally defined, and local variables are
implicitly thread-safe.
Some interviewers might probe you to write other lesser elegant code using either
recursion or iterative swapping. Some developers find it very difficult to handle
339

Objects Essentials
recursion, especially to work out the termination condition. All recursive methods need
to have a condition to terminate the recursion.
public class ReverseString2 {
public String reverse(String str) {
// exit or termination condition
if ((null == str) || (str.length( ) <= 1)) {
return str;
}
// put the first character (i.e. charAt(0)) to the end. String indices are 0 based.
// and recurse with 2nd character (i.e. substring(1)) onwards
return reverse(str.substring(1)) + str.charAt(0);
}
}
The iterative swapping approach can be demonstrated as shown below.
0

2
v

3
e

5
r

6
s

lhsIdx

rhsIdx

Swap lhsIdx with the rhsIdx, and increment the lhsIdx and decrement the rhsIdx.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
e

lhsIdx

rhsIdx

Repeat the above step as long as the lhsIdx is less than the rhsIdx.
e

lhsIdx
e

rhsIdx
e

lhsIdx
rhsIdx

340

Now the exit (or loop termination) condition has reached since lhsIdx >= rhsIdx.
Let's look at the code:
public class ReverseString3 {
public String reverse(String str) {
// validate
if ((null == str) || (str.length( ) <= 1)) {
return str;
}
char[ ] chars = str.toCharArray( );
int rhsIdx = chars.length - 1;
//iteratively swap until exit condition lhsIdx < rhsIdx is reached
for (int lhsIdx = 0; lhsIdx < rhsIdx; lhsIdx++) {
char temp = chars[lhsIdx];
chars[lhsIdx] = chars[rhsIdx];
chars[rhsIdx--] = temp;
}
return new String(chars);
}
}
Q28 Can you talk through the output of the following code snippet? COQ FAQ
package chapter2.com;
public class String1 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("watering");
sb.replace(2,6, "WATER");
sb.delete(1,4);
String result = sb.substring(2,4);
System.out.println("result=" + result);
}

// Line 7
// Line 8
// Line 9

}
341

Objects Essentials
A28 Remember two things:

The start index is 0 based.

The end index character or value is not included. So replace 2,6 will only
include 't', 'e', 'r', and 'i'. The character 'n' on index 6 is not included. The letters
n and g gets pushed out by the letter R in the replaced string WATER

Indexes

sb [2,6 is highlighted for the w

next step].

Line:7 Replace 2, 6 with w

WATER. [1,4 is highlighted
for the next step].

Line 8: delete 1, 4. [2, 4 is w

highlighted for the next step].

Line 9: substring 2,4

Output:
result=ER
Q29 Can you explain how Strings are interned in Java? LF DP FAQ
A29 String class is designed with the Flyweight design pattern. A pool of Strings is
maintained by the String class. When the intern( ) method is invoked, equals(..) method
is invoked to determine if the String already exist in the pool. If it does then the String
from the pool is returned. Otherwise, a new String object is added to the pool and a
reference to this object is returned. For any two Strings s1 & s2, s1.intern( ) ==
s2.intern( ) only if s1.equals(s2) is true.
Two String objects are created by the code shown below. Hence s1 == s2 returns false.
//Two new objects are created. Not recommended.
String s1 = new String("A");
String s2 = new String("A");

342

Instead use:
String s1 = "A";
String s2 = "A";
s1 and s2 point to the same String object in the pool. Hence s1 == s2 returns true.
Q30 Why String has been made immutable in Java? LF SE
A30
The main reason for immutability is security. In Java you pass file names, host
names, user names, passwords, etc as String. For example, had String been
mutable, 'user1' could log into a Java application using his user-name and
password credentials, and then possibly change the name of his password file
name, which is a String object from 'password1' to 'password2' before JVM
actually places the native OS system call to open the file. This is a serious
security breach allowing 'user1' to open user2's password file.

Immutable classes are ideal for representing values of abstract data (i.e. value
objects) types like numbers, enumerated types, etc. If you need a different
value, create a different object. In Java Integer, Long, Float, Character, BigInteger
and BigDecimal are all immutable objects. Immutable classes are inherently
thread-safe, hence they are less error prone and can be used safely in a multithreaded environment for better scalability. Optimization strategies like
caching, pooling, etc can be easily applied to improve performance.

Q31 Can you list some escape characters in Java? Where are they generally used? LF
A31 Escape characters (also called escape sequences or escape codes) are used to signal an
alternative interpretation of a series of characters.
\n
\t
\b
\r
\f
\\
\'
\"

New line (used below)

Tab
Backspace
Carriage return
Formfeed
Backslash
Single quotation mark
Double quotation mark (used below)

All characters can be specified as hexadecimal Unicode characters (\uxxxx) with some
343

Objects Essentials
as octal characters (\ddd where the first d is limited to 0-3, and the others 0-7 - same
as \u0000-\u00ff).
\d Octal
\ud Unicode character
Most commonly, escape characters are used to solve the problem of using special
characters inside a string declaration.
String str = "The question is \"to be or not to be\""
System.out.print("\nCreate a new line before and after.\n");
System.out.print("\nThe Pound symbol is --> \u00A3");
System.out.print("\n The Yen symbol is --> \u00A5");
Tip: When using a new line character in your code, it is important to understand that it
varies among the different operating systems. For example, Windows uses a \n\r,
Mac uses a \r, and the UNIX based systems uses a \n. So, you need to use the
line.separator property to make your code portable as shown below:
private static final String NEWLINE = System.getProperty("line.separator");
Q32 How will you split the following string of text into individual vehicle types? COQ
Car,Jeep, Wagon Scooter

Truck, Van

A32 package chapter2.com;

public class String3 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String pattern = "[,\\s]+"; //regex pattern a comma or white space
//repeated 1 or more times
String vehicles = "Car,Jeep, Wagon Scooter
Truck, Van";
String[ ] result = vehicles.split(pattern);
for (String vehicle : result) {
System.out.println("Vehicle = \"" + vehicle + "\"");
}
}
344

}
Output:
Vehicle = "Car"
Vehicle = "Jeep"
Vehicle = "Wagon"
Vehicle = "Scooter"
Vehicle = "Truck"
Vehicle = "Van"
Refer to java.util.regex.Pattern class API for regex (i.e. Regular Expression) constructs.
The split( ) method takes a regex pattern to split the given string.
Q33 What are the different ways to concatenate strings? Which approach is most efficient?
LF PC COQ
A33
Plus (+) operator.
String s1 = John + Davies;

Using a StringBuilder or StringBuffer class.

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(John);
sb.append(Davies);

Using the concat(...) method.

John.concat(Davies);

The efficiency depends on what you are concatenating and how you are concatenating
it.

Concatenating constants: Plus operator is more efficient than the other two
as the JVM optimizes constants.
String s1 = John + Davies;

345

Objects Essentials

Concatenating String variables: Any one of the three methods should do

the job.
String s1 = s2 + s3 + s4;
String s1 = name=;
s1 += name;

Concatenating in a for/while loop: StringBuilder or StringBuffer is the most

efficient. Avoid using plus operator as it is the worst offender.
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(250);
for( int i=0; i<SIZE; i++ ) {
sb.append(Item: + i);
}

In summary,

Use plus (+) operator for concatenating constants.

Use concat( ) method for concatenating 2 string variables.
Use StringBuilder or StringBuffer for concatenating a number of String variables,
and most importantly in loops.
Prefer StringBuilder to StringBuffer unless multiple threads can have access to it.

Type safety with Generics

Generics are a big step forward for Java, making it more readable and robust. Having said
that, there are a number of limitations and can be tricky to use it correctly in your code.
Remembering some of the rules will help you better understand generics.
Q34 Why use generics? LF
A34 Generics was introduced in JDK 5.0, and allows you to abstract over types. Without
generics, you could put any object into a collection. This can encourage developers to
write programs that are harder to read and maintain. For example,
List list = new ArrayList( );
list.add(new Integer( ));
list.add(A String);
346

list.add(new Mango( ));

Since you can add any object, you would also not only have to use instanceof
operator, but also have to explicitly cast any objects returned from this list.
package generics;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class WithoutGenerics {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//Bad practice to add any object
List list = new ArrayList( );
list.add(new Integer(5));
//index 0
list.add("A String");
//index 1
list.add(new Float(3.0));
//index 2
//too many unsightly casts & instanceof constructs
Integer i = (Integer)list.get(0);
String s1 = null;
Object o1 = list.get(1);
if(o1 instanceof String){
s1 = (String)o1;
}
//if you use the wrong cast, you can get a ClassCastException at runtime
String s2 = (String)list.get(2); //index 2 is a Float, not a String .
}
}
Now with generics, your code becomes more robust and readable. Rule 1: The type
safety is checked during compile-time.
package generics;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
347

Objects Essentials
public class WithGenerics {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//can only add Integers
List<Integer> list1 = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
list1.add(new Integer(5));
//can only add Strings
List<String> list2 = new ArrayList<String>( );
list2.add("A String");
//can only add Floats
List<Float> list3 = new ArrayList<Float>( );
list3.add(new Float(3.0));
//compile error if you try to add a wrong type
//list1.add("NOT ALLOWED"); //list1 contains Integers NOT String
//no casting is needed
Integer i = list1.get(0);
String s1 = list2.get(0);
Float f1 = list3.get(0);
}
}
The for-each loop that was added in JDK 1.5 works well with generics.
for(String aString : list2){
System.out.println(aString);
}
Q35 What do you understand by the term type erasure with regards to generics? LF
FAQ
A35 Rule 1: Java generics differ from C++ templates. Java generics (at least until JDK 7),
generate only one compiled version of a generic class or method regardless of the
number of types used. During compile-time, all the parametrized type information
within the angle brackets are erased and the compiled class file will look similar to code
348

written prior to JDK 5.0. In other words, Java does not support runtime generics.
Q. Why was it done this way?
A. This was done this way to achieve backward compatibility.
package generics;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
public class TypeErasure {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<String, Integer>( );
map.put("Key1",new Integer(1));
Integer val1 = map.get("Key1");
//casting is not required
System.out.println(val1);
}
}
If you run the compiled class file (i.e. TypeErasure.class) with the help of a Java decom
piler discussed under platform essentials, you will get the following source code.
package generics;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
public class TypeErasure
{
public static void main(String[ ] args)
{
Map map = new HashMap( );
map.put("Key1", new Integer(1));
Integer val1 = (Integer)map.get("Key1");
System.out.println(val1);
}
}

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Objects Essentials
As you can see, all the angle brackets have disappeared, and casting has been added.
Q36 What does the following code fragment print? LF COQ
List<String> list1 = new ArrayList<String>( );
List<Integer> list2 = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
System.out.println(list1.getClass( ) == list2.getClass( ));
A36 It prints true because of type erasure(i.e. Rule 1), all instances of a generic class
have the same runtime class, regardless of their actual type parameter. This also
mean, there is no sense in checking generic information at runtime. The following
code is illegal.
if(list1 instanceof List<String>)

//illegal

The following code will issue a warning.

public void unCheckedCastWarning(Object o) {
List<Integer> l = (List<Integer>)o;
}

//unchecked cast warning

The JVM can actually check to see if it's a List, but it can't check whether it is a list of
Strings or Integers because the type information in angle brackets have been erased.
Never ignore warnings like this from the compiler. You also cannot handle different
versions of the same exception as shown below because type erasure does not allow it.
//illegal
try {
//....
}
catch(MyException<Integer> ex1){
//....
}
catch(MyException<String> ex2){
//....
}
Q37 What are the differences among LF FAQ

350

 raw or plain old collection type e.g. Collection

Collection of unknown e.g. Collection<?>
Collection of type object e.g. Collection<Object>
A37 The plain old Collection: is a heterogeneous mixture or a mixed bag that contains
elements of all types, for example Integer, String, Fruit, Vegetable, etc.
The Collection<Object>: is also a heterogeneous mixture like the plain old
Collection, but not the same and can be more restrictive than a plain old Collection
discussed above. It is incorrect to think of this as the super type for a collection of any
object types.
Rule 2: Unlike an Object class is a super type for all objects like String, Integer, Fruit, etc,
List<Object> is not a super type for List<String>, List<Integer>, List<Fruit>, etc. So it is
illegal to do the following:
List<Object> list = new ArrayList<Integer>( );

//illegal

Though Integer is a subtype of Object, List<Integer> is not a subtype of List<Object>

because List of Objects is a bigger set comprising of elements of various types like
Strings, Integers, Fruits, etc. A List of Integer should only contain Integers, hence the above
line is illegal. If the above line was legal, then you can end up adding objects of any
type to the list, violating the purpose of generics. So how would you go about
adding a method that accepts a collection of any type to iterate through as the
following code would not work.
package generics;
public interface Fruit {
public abstract void peel( );
}
package generics;
public class Mango implements Fruit {
@Override
public void peel( ) {
351

Objects Essentials
System.out.println("peeling " + this.getClass( ).getSimpleName( ));
}
}
package generics;
public class Orange implements Fruit {
@Override
public void peel( ) {
System.out.println("peeling " + this.getClass( ).getSimpleName( ));
}
}
package generics;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Generics3 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>( );
fruitBasket.add(new Orange( ));
fruitBasket.add(new Mango( ));
processFruits(fruitBasket);
//compile-time error
}
//Won't work with List<Object> because a List<Object> is not a super
//type for all fruits (i.e. List<Fruit>).
public static void processFruits(List<Object> fruitBasket){
for (Object object : fruitBasket) {
((Fruit)object).peel( );
}
}
}
The processFruits(...) method can be fixed with the wild card character ? as discussed
next.

352

The Collection<?>: is a homogenous collection that represents a family of generic

instantiations of Collection like Collection<String>, Collection<Integer>, Collection<Fruit>,
etc.
Rule 3: Collection<?> is the super type for all generic collection as Object[ ] is the
super type for all arrays.
List<?> list = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
List<? extends Number> list = new ArrayList<Integer>( );

//legal
//legal

Note: An Integer is a sub type of a Number.

The processFruits(...) method can be fixed as follows to accept any kind of fruit.
public static void processFruits(List<? extends Fruit> fruitBasket){
for (Fruit fruit : fruitBasket) {
fruit.peel( );
}
}
The following code snippet will work with a collection of any type. But very rarely
you may have a requirement to do this. It is a bad practice to mix unrelated object
types into the same collection.
public static void processFruits(List<?> fruitBasket){
for (Object object : fruitBasket) {
((Fruit)object).peel( );
}
}
Q. Why not implement the method as follows? LF COQ
public static void processFruits(List<Fruit> fruitBasket){
for (Fruit fruit : fruitBasket) {
fruit.peel( );
}
}
A. If you use List<Fruit> instead of List<? extends Fruit>, you will not be able to use
353

Objects Essentials
this method for a List<Mango> or List<Orange>. As discussed earlier in Rule 2, a
Mango or Orange might be a sub type of Fruit, but a List<Mango> or List<Orange> is
not a sub type of List<Fruit>. This means the following declaration is illegal.
List<Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Orange>( ); // illegal as per Rule 2.
and also, the following processFruits(List<Fruit> fruitBasket) as shown below
public static void processFruits(List<Fruit> fruitBasket){
for (Fruit fruit : fruitBasket) {
fruit.peel( );
}
}
will only work if you declare your fruitBasket as follows:
List<Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>( );

//legal

But will throw a compile-time error if you pass a List<Orange> as a reference to the
processFruits(List<Fruit> fruitBasket) method due to Rule 2 as shown below:
List<Orange> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Orange>( ); //legal
processFruits(fruitBasket);
//compile-time error
Q. Why was the fruitBasket declared as follows?
List<Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>( );
and not as shown below?
List<?> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<?>( );
List<?> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<? extends Fruit>( );

//illegal
//illegal

A. This is due to the restriction on Collection<?> to be used only as a reference.

Rule 4: The Collection<?> can only be used as a reference type, and you cannot
instantiate it. The following statements are illegal.
List<?> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<?>( );
354

//illegal

List<?> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<? extends Fruit>( );

//illegal

You can use Collection<?> to declare it as follows,

List<?> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>( );
//legal
List<? Extends Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Orange>( ); //legal
Even if you declare it as above, Collection<?> has a restriction (i.e. Rule 5) to add
arbitrary objects as shown below.
List<? extends Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>( );
fruitBasket.add(new Orange( ));
//compile-time error
Rule 5: Hence, Collection<?> is almost a read-only collection allowing only remove( ) and
clear( ) operations.
Here is the final implementation that takes notice of the rules.
package generics;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Generics3 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>( );
fruitBasket.add(new Orange( ));
fruitBasket.add(new Mango( ));
processFruits(fruitBasket);
List<Orange> orangeBasket = new ArrayList<Orange>( );
orangeBasket.add(new Orange( ));
processFruits(orangeBasket);
List<Mango> mangoBasket = new ArrayList<Mango>( );
mangoBasket.add(new Mango( ));
processFruits(mangoBasket);

355

Objects Essentials
}
//I can process any type of Fruit
public static void processFruits(List<? extends Fruit> fruitBasket){
for (Fruit fruit : fruitBasket) {
fruit.peel( );
}
}
}
Output:
peeling Orange
peeling Mango
peeling Orange
peeling Mango
Q38 Is it possible to generify your own Java class? LF
A38 Yes.
package chapter2.com;
public class MyGenericClass<T> {
T objType;
public MyGenericClass(T type) {
this.objType = type;
}
public T getObjType( ) {
return objType;
}
public void setObjType(T objType) {
this.objType = objType;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
356

MyGenericClass<Integer> val1 = new MyGenericClass<Integer>(37);

MyGenericClass<Long> val2 = new MyGenericClass<Long>(250L);
long result = val1.getObjType( ).longValue( ) +
val2.getObjType( ).longValue( );
System.out.println(result);
}
}
If you decompile the converted class file, you will get,
package chapter2.com;
public class MyGenericClass<T>
{
T objType;
public MyGenericClass(T type)
{
this.objType = type;
}
public T getObjType( ) {
return this.objType;
}
public void setObjType(T objType) {
this.objType = objType;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
MyGenericClass val1 =
new MyGenericClass(Integer.valueOf(37));
//auto-box
MyGenericClass val2 =
new MyGenericClass(Long.valueOf(250L));
//auto-box
long result = ((Integer)val1.getObjType( )).longValue( ) +
((Long)val2.getObjType( )).longValue( );
System.out.println(result);
}
}
357

Objects Essentials
If you closely examine the above code, you would notice that the compiler has
performed auto-boxing as generics does not support primitive types. The angle
brackets have been removed for val1 & val2 declarations and appropriate castings have
been added to convert from type T to Integer and Long types.
Tip: If you are not too sure, refer to the compiled class to better understand the code
by decompiling it using a Java decompiler.
Q. What do you understand by the term type argument inference? LF
A. Rule 6: The type inference happens when the compiler can deduce the type
arguments of a generic type or method from a given context information. There are 2
situations in which the type argument inference is attempted during compile-time.
1. When an object of a generic type is created as demonstrated in the
MyGenericClass<T>.
//T is inferred as an Integer
MyGenericClass<Integer> val1 = new MyGenericClass<Integer>(37);
//T is inferred as a Long
MyGenericClass<Long> val2 = new MyGenericClass<Long>(250L);
2. When a generic method is invoked. For example,
package generics;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class MyBasket {
/**
* The 'src' is the inferred type T or its sub type and the 'dest' is the
* inferred type T or its super type.
*/
public static <T> void copy(List<? extends T> src,
List<? super T> dest) {
for (T obj : src) {
dest.add(obj);
358

}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<Orange> orangeBasket = new ArrayList<Orange>(10);
List<Mango> mangoBasket = new ArrayList<Mango>(10);
orangeBasket.add(new Orange());
mangoBasket.add(new Mango());
List<Fruit> fruitBasket = new ArrayList<Fruit>(10);
List<Orange> orangeBasket2 = new ArrayList<Orange>(10);
orangeBasket2.add(new Orange());
List<Mango> mangoBasket2 = new ArrayList<Mango>(10);
mangoBasket2.add(new Mango());
List<Fruit> fruitBasket2 = new ArrayList<Fruit>(10);
fruitBasket2.add(new Mango());
MyBasket.copy(orangeBasket2, orangeBasket); // T is an Orange
MyBasket.copy(mangoBasket2, mangoBasket); // T is a Mango
MyBasket.<Orange> copy(orangeBasket, fruitBasket); // T is an Orange
MyBasket.<Mango> copy(mangoBasket, fruitBasket); // T is a Mango
MyBasket.copy(fruitBasket2, fruitBasket);

// T is a Fruit

MyBasket.copy(fruitBasket, orangeBasket); //compile error - T is a

//Fruit. The 'dest' needs to be
//a Fruit or super type of Fruit
//and Not of type Orange
MyBasket.<Orange> copy(fruitBasket, orangeBasket); //compile error - T
//is an Orange
//The 'src' needs to
//be an Orange or a
//sub type of an
//Orange and
//NOT of type Fruit
for (Fruit fruit : fruitBasket) {
359

Objects Essentials
fruit.peel();
}
}
}
If you comment the 2 lines that result in compile-time error, you will get the following
output,
peeling Orange
peeling Orange
peeling Mango
peeling Mango
peeling Mango
The copy(...) method ensures that fruits from a mixed fruit basket cannot be copied
to a basket that only holds oranges or mangoes. But a mixed fruit basket allows fruits
to be copied from any basket.
Q39 Is the following code snippet legal? If yes why and if not why not? LF COQ
public MyGenericClass( ) {
this.objType = new T( );
}
A39 It is not legal as new T( ) will cause a compile-time error. This is partially because
there's no guarantee that the target class for raw type T has a constructor that takes
zero parameters and partially due to type erasure where the raw type "T" does not have
any way of knowing the type of object you want to construct at runtime due to Rule 1
discussed earlier.
Q40 Is the following code snippet legal? If yes why and if not why not? LF COQ
public class MyGenericClass<T,S> {
static T objType;
public static void process(List<T> list) {
// ...
}
}
360

A41 It is illegal as shown bellow.

public class MyGenericClass<T,S> {
static T objType;
public static void process(List<T> list) {
// ...
}

//compile-time error
//compile-time error

}
Unlike C++, Java uses the same class at runtime for both MyGenericClass<Integer> and
MyGenericClass<Long>. Static members, by definition are bound to the class rather than
the instance. If the code above were allowed, then type safety could be compromised
if an instance of MyGenericClass<Integer> stores an Integer value and an instance of
MyGenericClass<Long> retrieves it as a Long.
Rule 7: Static members are not allowed to have reference to their type parameters due
to Rule 1. Since the static members are not allowed to have reference to their type
parameters, generic enum is also not allowed as enum values are static data members.
enum State <T> {
//....
}

//illegal

Q42 Is it possible to generify methods in Java? LF

A42 Yes.
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class MyGenericMethod {
//Generified method
public static <T> void addValue(T value, List<T> list){
list.add(value);
}

//Line A

361

Objects Essentials
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Integer> listIntegers = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
Integer value1 = new Integer(37);
addValue(value1, listIntegers);
//T is inferred as an Integer
System.out.println("listIntegers=" + listIntegers);
List<String> listString = new ArrayList<String>( );
String value2 = "Test";
addValue(value2, listString);
//T is inferred as a String
System.out.println("listString=" + listString);
}
}
Note: If you had used the wildcard List<?> instead of List<T> on line A, it would
not have been possible to add elements due to Rule 5. You will get a compile-time
error. So how does the compiler know the type of T? It infers this from your use of
the method as discussed in Rule 6. The generated class file looks pretty much the same
as the source file without the <Integer> and <String> angle brackets as shown below
once decompiled.
package chapter2.com;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class MyGenericMethod
{
public static <T> void addValue(T value, List<T> list)
{
list.add(value);
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List listIntegers = new ArrayList( );
Integer value1 = new Integer(37);
addValue(value1, listIntegers);
System.out.println("listIntegers=" + listIntegers);

362

List listString = new ArrayList( );

String value2 = "Test";
addValue(value2, listString);
System.out.println("listString=" + listString);
}
}
Q43 Does the following code snippet compile? What does it demonstrate? LF COQ
public class Generics4<T> {
public <T> void doSomething(T data) {
System.out.println(data);
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Generics4<String> g4 = new Generics4<String>( );
g4.doSomething(123);
}
}
What does public <T> void doSomething(T data) really mean?
A43 Yes, the above code snippet does compile. It demonstrates that the type parameter in
the class name and the type parameter in the method are actually different parameters.
The method signature,
public <T> void doSomething(T data)
really means:
public void doSomething(Object data)
Q44 Can you identify any issues with the following code? COQ
package generics;
import java.util.ArrayList;
363

Objects Essentials
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
public class GenericsWithIterators {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Integer> listIntegers = new ArrayList<Integer>( );
listIntegers.add(5);
listIntegers.add(3);

//1
//2
//3

Iterator it = listIntegers.listIterator( );

//4

while(it.hasNext( )){
Integer i = it.next( );
System.out.println(i);
}

//5
//6
//7

}
}
A44 Line 4 will cause compile-time error on line 6 as the iterator is not generic. To fix this,
replace line 4 with:
Iterator<Integer> it = listIntegers.listIterator( );

// fix 1

or add an explicit cast to line 6.

Integer i = (Integer) it.next( );

// fix 2

The fix 1 is preferred. When you get an iterator, keyset, or values from a collection,
assign it to an appropriate parametrized type as shown in fix 1.

Serializing your objects

Q45 Which Java interface must be implemented by a class whose instances are transported
via a Web service?
a. Accessible
364

b. BeanInfo
c. Remote
d. Serializable
A45 d. Serializable
Q46 What is serialization? How would you exclude a field of a class from serialization or
what is a transient variable? What happens to static fields during serialization? What are
the common uses of serialization? What is a serial version id? Are there any disad
vantages in using serialization?LF FAQ
A46 Object serialization is a process of reading or writing an object. It is a process of
saving an objects state to a sequence of bytes, as well as a process of rebuilding those
bytes back into a live object at some future time. An object is marked serializable by
implementing the java.io.Serializable interface. This simply allows the serialization
mechanism to verify that a class can be persisted, typically to a file. The common
process of serialization is also called marshaling or deflating when an object is
flattened into byte streams. The flattened byte streams can be unmarshaled or
inflated back to an object.

To persist objects, you need to keep 5 rules in mind:

Rule #1: The object to be persisted must implement the Serializable interface
or inherit that interface from its object hierarchy. Alternatively, you can use an
Externalizable interface to have full control over your serialization process. For
365

Objects Essentials
example, to construct an object from a pdf file.

Rule #2: The object to be persisted must mark all non-serializable fields as
transient. For example, file handles, sockets, threads, etc.

Rule #3: You should make sure that all the included objects are also serial
izable. If any of the objects is not serializable, then it throws a NotSerializ
ableException. In the example shown below, the Pet class implements the
Serializable interface, and also the containing field types String and Integer are
also serializable.

Rule #4: Base or parent class fields are only handled if the base class itself is
serializable.

Rule #5: Serialization ignores static fields, because they are not part of any
particular state.

The Pet class shown below can be persisted based on the above mentioned rules.
package serialization;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.Serializable;
public class Pet implements Serializable {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
//classes Integer and String implements serializable
private Integer id;
private String name;
//to show that transient fields are not serialized
private transient File petFile = new File("DummyPet.txt");
//to show that static fields are ignored
private static Integer petCount = new Integer(0);
public Pet(Integer id, String name) {
this.id = id;
this.name = name;
366

}
public Integer getId( ) {
return id;
}
public String getName( ) {
return name;
}
public void incrementCount( ) {
petCount++;
}
@Override
public String toString( ) {
return "[id=" + id + ",name=" + name + ",petFile=" + petFile
+ ",petCount=" + petCount + "]";
}
}
You can serialize the Pet object as shown below:
package serialization;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
public class FlattenPet {
public static void main(String[ ] args) throws IOException {
String filename = "C://temp/pet.ser";
if (args.length > 0) {
filename = args[0];
}
Pet myPet = new Pet(7, "Jimmy");
myPet.incrementCount( );
FileOutputStream fos = null;
367

Objects Essentials
ObjectOutputStream out = null;
try {
fos = new FileOutputStream(filename);
out = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
// serialization takes place here
out.writeObject(myPet);
} finally {
if (out != null) {
out.close( );
}
}
}
}
You can deserialize the pet.ser byte stream file back to an object as shown below:
package serialization;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
public class InflatePet {
public static void main(String[ ] args) throws IOException {
String filename = "C://temp/pet.ser";
Pet myPet = null;
FileInputStream fis = null;
ObjectInputStream in = null;
try {
fis = new FileInputStream(filename);
in = new ObjectInputStream(fis);
//deserialization occur here
myPet = (Pet) in.readObject( );
} catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace( );
368

}
finally {
if (in != null) {
in.close( );
}
}
// print out restored myPet to see what were serialized
// what were not serialized.
System.out.println("Inflated pet: " + myPet);
}
}
Output:
Inflated pet: [id=7,name=Jimmy,petFile=null,petCount=0]
As you can see in the output, even though the petCount was incremented to 1, you got
0 back as static fields will not be serialized. The petFile is null, even though is initialized
as it is marked transient. Only non-transient and non-static fields id and name are
serialized as shown in the output.
Q47 How would you exclude a field of a class from serialization? LF FAQ
A47 By marking it as transient. The fields marked as transient in a serializable object will
not be transmitted in the byte stream. An example would be a file handle, a database
connection, a system thread, etc. Such objects are only meaningful locally. So they
should be marked as transient in a serializable class.
Q48 What happens to static fields during serialization? LF FAQ
A48 Serialization persists only the state of a single object. Static fields are not part of the
state of an object - they're effectively the state of the class shared by many other
instances.
Q49 What are the common uses of serialization? Can you give me an instance where you
used serialization? LF FAQ
A49
allows you to persist objects with state to a text file on a disk, and re-assemble
them by reading this back in. Application servers can do this to conserve
memory. For example, stateful EJBs can be activated and passivated using
369

Objects Essentials
serialization. The objects stored in an HTTP session should be serializable to
support in-memory replication of sessions to achieve scalability.

allows you to send objects from one Java process to another using sockets,
RMI, RPC, etc.

allows you to deeply clone any arbitrary object graph.

Q50 What is a serial version id? LF FAQ

A50 Say you create a Pet class, and instantiate it to "myPet", and write it out to an object
stream. This flattened "myPet" object sits in the file system for some time. Meanwhile,
if the Pet class is modified by adding a new field, and later on, when you try to read
(i.e. deserialize or inflate) the flattened Pet object, you get the java.io.InvalidClassEx
ception because all serializable classes are automatically given a unique identifier. This
exception is thrown when the identifier of the class is not equal to the identifier of the
flattened object. If you really think about it, the exception is thrown because of the
addition of the new field. You can avoid this exception being thrown by controlling
the versioning yourself by declaring an explicit serialVersionUID. There is also a small
performance benefit in explicitly declaring your serialVersionUID because it does not
have to be calculated.
BP So it is a best practice to add your own serialVersionUID to your Serializable classes
as soon as you define them. If no serialVersionUID is declared, JVM will use its own
algorithm to generate a default SerialVersionUID. The default serialVersionUID compu
tation is highly sensitive to class details and may vary from different JVM implement
ation, and result in an unexpected InvalidClassExceptions during deserialization process.
Q51 Are there any disadvantages in using serialization? LF FAQ
A51 Yes. Serialization can adversely affect performance since it:

Depends on reflection.
Has an incredibly verbose data format.
Is very easy to send surplus data.

So don't use serialization if you do not have to.

Q52 What is the difference between Serializable and Externalizable interfaces? How can you
customize the serialization process? LF
370

A52 An object must implement either Serializable or Externalizable interface before it can
be written to a byte stream. When you use Serializable interface, your class is serialized
automatically by default. But you can override writeObject(..) and readObject(...) methods
to control or customize your object serialization process. For example, you can add the
following methods to your Pet class.
private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream out)
throws IOException {
//any write customization goes in this method
System.out
.println("Started writing object .....................");
out.writeObject(this);
}
private void readObject(ObjectInputStream in) throws IOException,
ClassNotFoundException {
//any read customization goes in this method
System.out
.println("Started reading object .....................");
in.readObject( );
}
Note: Both the above methods must be declared private.
No changes are required for FlattenPet and InflatePet classes. If you re-run InflatePet by
including the above methods in the Pet class, you will get,
Output:
Started reading object .....................
Inflated pet: [id=null,name=null,petFile=null,petCount=0]
When you use Externalizable interface instead of the Serializable interface, you have a
complete control over your class's serialization process. This interface contains two
methods namely readExternal(...) and writeExternal(...) to achieve this total customiz
ation. You can change the Pet class to implement the Externalizable interface and then
provide implementation for following 2 methods.
371

Objects Essentials
public void writeExternal(ObjectOutput out) throws IOException;
public void readExternal(ObjectInput in) throws IOException,
ClassNotFoundException;
An example situation for this full control will be to read and write PDF files with a
Java application. If you know how to write and read PDF (the sequence of bytes
required), you could provide the PDF specific protocol in the writeExternal(...) and
readExternal(...) methods.
Just as before, there is no difference in how a class that implements Externalizable is
used. Just call writeObject( ) or readObject and, those externalizable methods will be called
automatically.

Garbage Collection
A number of recorded questions asked in Java interviews were related to garbage collection.
Q53 What is the difference between final, finally and finalize( ) in Java? LF FAQ
A53
final - is a constant declaration.
finally - handles exception. The finally block is optional and provides a
mechanism to clean up regardless of an exception is thrown or not.
finalize( ) - method helps in garbage collection. This method is invoked
before an object is discarded by the garbage collector, allowing it to clean up its
state. Should not be used to release non-memory resources like file handles,
sockets, database connections, etc because Java has only a finite number of
these resources and you do not know when the garbage collection is going to
kick in to release these non-memory resources through the finalize( ) method.
The System.runFinalization( ) is a hint or request to run all the finalizers of
eligible objects, but no guarantee is made that finalization will run immediately
after the request.
Q54 What do you know about the Java garbage collector? When does the garbage collection
occur? LF FAQ

372

A54

Java itself does memory management with a concept known as "garbage

collection", which implies that objects that are no longer needed by a program
are "garbage" and can be thrown away. It is also known as "memory recycling".
You do not need to allocate memory at the time of object creation, and also
you do not need to free memory explicitly.
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Objects Essentials

Objects created with new keyword are placed in heap memory. When an object
is no longer referenced by the program (i.e. unreachable), the heap space it
occupies can be recycled so that the space is made available for subsequent
new objects. The garbage collector must somehow determine which objects are
no longer referenced by the program and make available the heap space
occupied by such unreferenced objects.

Garbage collection helps ensure program integrity and security by preventing

Java programmers from accidentally (or purposely) crashing the Java virtual
machine by incorrectly freeing memory.

Garbage collection is an automatic process and cannot be forced. The call

System.gc( ) does NOT force the garbage collection, but only suggests that the
JVM may make an effort to do a garbage collection.

Garbage collection usually adopts an algorithm, which gives a fair balance

between how quickly garbage collection thread yields and the speed of
memory recovery. It is important for real time systems to use an algorithm
that is responsive by quickly yielding the garbage collection thread.

Q55 Explain different types of references in Java? LF DP

A55 The garbage collector treats strong, soft, weak, and phantom objects differently to
provide different types of services to your application code. The reference classes
include a non-instantiable Reference base class and three subclasses that defines 3
different types of weak references like SoftReference, WeakReference, and PhantomReference.
A Reference is a wrapper around a Java strong reference, using the decorator design
pattern. These reference objects are also immutable.

Strong reference: A strong reference is an ordinary Java reference that is used

every day.
String str = "ABC";
The thing that makes them "strong" is how they interact with the garbage
collector. Specifically, if an object is reachable via a chain of strong references,
it is not eligible for garbage collection because you don't want the garbage
collector to destroy the objects you're working on.

374

Weak reference: A weak reference, simply put, is a reference that isn't strong
enough to force an object to remain in memory. Weak references allow you to
leverage the garbage collector's ability to determine reachability for you, so you
don't have to do it yourself. You create a weak reference like this:
Car c1 = new Car( );
//referent is c1 is a strong reference
WeakReference<Car> wr = new WeakReference<Car>(c1);
A weak reference is a holder for a reference to an object, called the referent.
Weak references and weak collections are powerful tools for heap management,
allowing the application to use a more sophisticated notion of reachability,
rather than the "all or nothing" reachability offered by ordinary (i.e. strong)
references. For example,
A WeakHashMap stores the keys using WeakReference objects, which means that
as soon as the key is not referenced from somewhere else in your program, the
entry may be removed and is available for garbage collection.
package reference;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.WeakHashMap;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
public class WeakerMap {
private static Map<String, String> map;
public static void main(String args[ ]) {
//substitute with HashMap and compare
map = new WeakHashMap<String, String>( );
map.put(new String("John"), "Smith");
Runnable runner = new Runnable( ) {
public void run( ) {
while (map.containsKey("John")) {
try {
TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(1);
} catch (InterruptedException ignored) {

//Line A

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Objects Essentials
}
System.out.println("Checking for John");
System.gc( ); //nicely ask
}
System.out.println("No more John");
}
};
Thread t = new Thread(runner);
t.start( );

//creates a new thread

// starts the thread t

try {
t.join( );
// blocks the main thread until thread t finishes
} catch (InterruptedException ie) {
ie.printStackTrace( );
}
}
}
Output:
Checking for John
No more John
If you replace WeakHasMap with HashMap on line A, you will have an endless
loop printing Checking for empty as the entry John never gets removed
from the HashMap.

Soft reference is similar to a weak reference, except that it is less eager to

throw away the object to which it refers. An object which is only weakly
reachable will be discarded at the next garbage collection cycle, but an object
which is softly reachable will generally stick around for a while as long as there
is enough memory. Hence the soft references are good candidates for a cache.
byte[ ] cache = new byte[1024];
//... populate the cache. The referent is cache
SoftReference<byte[ ]> sr = new SoftReference<byte[ ]>(cache);

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The garbage collector may or may not reclaim a softly reachable object
depending on how recently the object was created or accessed, but is required
to clear all soft references before throwing an OutOfMemoryError.

Phantom reference: Unlike soft and weak reference objects, which can
optionally be created without associating them with a reference queue,
phantom reference objects cannot be instantiated without associating the
referent with a reference queue. You can use the arrival of a phantom
reference in a reference queue to trigger some action before it becomes
unreachable by invoking the clear( ) method. So phantomly reachable objects
are objects that have been finalized( ) but not reclaimed. The garbage collector
will never clear a phantom reference. All phantom references must be explicitly
cleared by the program.
ReferenceQueue<String> referent = new ReferenceQueue<String>( );
String str = "ABC";
PhantomReference<String> ref = new
PhantomReference<String>(str, referent);

Q56 If you have a circular reference of objects, but you no longer reference it from an
execution thread (e.g. main thread), will this object be a potential candidate for garbage
collection? LF
A56

Yes. If you no longer reference it from an executing thread, then this object is
unreachable and potential candidate for garbage collection. An object becomes eligible
for Garbage Collection when no live thread can access it.
Q57 What are the different ways to make an object eligible for Garbage Collection when it
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Objects Essentials
A57

is no longer needed? LF FAQ

Set all available object references to null once the purpose of creating the
object is served:
String str = "Some value";
str = null;

// not eligible for GC

//now eligible for GC

Make the reference variable to refer to another object:

String str1 = Some Value";
String str2 = "Another Value";
str1 = str2;

// not eligible for GC

// not eligible for GC
// str1 points to str2 "Another Value"
// so "Some Value" is eligible for GC

Q58 When does the GC stop? Who controls the GC? Can GC be forced? LF FAQ
A58 GC runs on a low priority daemon thread started by the JVM. This thread stops when
all non-daemon threads stop.
The JVM controls the GC.
No. The Garbage Collection can not be forced, but there are a few ways by which it
can be requested, but there is no guarantee that these requests will be taken care of by
the JVM.
System.gc( ) ;
or
Runtime.getRuntime( ).gc( );
Q59 Which part of the memory is involved in Garbage Collection? Stack or Heap? LF
A59 Heap.
Q60 How do you know if your garbage collector is under heavy use? What are the best
practices to minimize heavy use of garbage collection? LF MC
A60 If you see a jigsaw pattern in your memory profiler, this is an indication of a memory
leak.

378

Strive for immutable objects as they not only keep your design simple and
thread-safe, but also promotes object reuse through caching.

The rule of thumb should be to use object pooling only when their creation
consumes significant resources such as database connection pooling, socket
connection pooling (HTTP, RMI, CORBA, Web Service, etc), thread pooling,
bitmaps or other graphics objects, etc. If it is about creating a new String
object, then code readability, maintainability, and simplicity should have higher
precedence. Object allocation is relatively fast in JDKs 5 and higher as object
creation with the "new" operator is faster ( needing 10 instructions) than it
used to be, and GC efficiency is also much improved.

Premature optimization is the root cause for many other issues. For
example, writing an object pool is not a trivial task. It has its own pitfalls and
complexities like,

The state of the objects returned to the pool is reset back to a sensible
state for the next use of the object.
The presence of stale state causes the object to behave differently.
The security of your system can be compromised if an object contains
confidential data (e.g. credit card numbers) that isn't cleared before the
object is passed to a different client.
If the objects in the pool are not immutable or thread-safe and
accessed concurrently by multiple threads, thread-safety needs to be
properly implemented to prevent parallel threads from grabbing and
trying to reuse the same object concurrently.

So profile your application first to prove that the GC is over worked. If your
GC is over worked, and is using your CPU, then your application will be
starved for CPU, causing it to pause. This situation will require your interven
tions to reduce over working of the garbage collector in one or more of the
following means.

Allocating the right amount of memory to your JVM at program startup. There are many approaches to this, but the best thing is to run your
program with memory diagnostics, and see how much memory you're
really using, then allocate minimum and maximum heap sizes accord
ingly. In general minimum and maximum values are set to the same
value.
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Objects Essentials

Using the right combination of GC algorithm and other JVM related

GC parameters can improve the situation as well. For example, in Java 6
garbage collector, you can use the following combination:
-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC
-XX:+CMSIncrementalMode
-XX:+PrintGCDetails
-XX:+PrintGCTimeStamps
-XX:+CMSIncrementalPacing

If you had decided that object reuse is the way to go then try it with
well proven and tested caching products like, EHCache, Terracotta,
Tangersol, GridGain, etc.

Making use of coding best practices discussed already like:

Reducing the scope of the variables where possible. For example, local
variables are stored in the stack. The stack based allocation is more
efficient.
Based on Brian Goet'z article entitled Java theory and practice: Urban
performance legends, revisited Escape analysis is an optimization
that has been talked about for a long time, and it is finally here -- the
current builds of Mustang (Java SE 6) can do escape analysis and
convert heap allocation to stack allocation (or no allocation) where
appropriate. The use of escape analysis to eliminate some allocations
results in even faster average allocation times, reduced memory
footprint, and fewer cache misses. Further, optimizing away some alloc
ations reduces pressure on the garbage collector and allows collection
to run less often.

Set your collection data structure with the appropriate initial capacity so
that it does not have to resize frequently by discarding the old
collection of objects and creating a new collection.
Map<Integer,String> mYMap =
new HashMap<Integer, String> (250);

380

Q61 Assume that the following utility method is very frequently accessed by parallel
threads, and profiling indicates that this method is causing GC to over work. How
would you go about improving the following implementation? LF COQ
package simpledate;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
public class ConvertDateUtil {
private static final String FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd";
public static void format(Date date) {
DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat(FORMAT);
df.format(date);
}
}
A61 This is only a hypothetical question. For example, the physical memory on the machine
could be limited. The above code in general should not cause any performance issue or
frequent garbage collection with the modern JVMs. The above code is also easy to
read and understand. If the profiler indicates that the GC is being over worked or to
understand what options are available for creation of much more complex objects like
a bitmap or graphic objects, the above method can be implemented with the following
considerations:

Since SimpleDateFormat class is not thread-safe, it was instantiated for each

method call as a local variable in the above code. You cannot declare SimpleD
ateFormat as a static variable since it won't be thread-safe. If you want to define
it as a static variable to minimize object churn, it has to be appropriately
synchronized. Synchronization can introduce thread contention, and is not the
best approach. The better approach is to use a ThreadLocal class to store
dedicated SimpleDateFormat object for each thread. This is also known as perthread caching. This will not only reduce the number of objects created, but
also will ensure thread-safety.

381

Objects Essentials
As you had seen earlier, soft references get garbage collected only in low
memory situations. So it is useful for implementing caches with soft references.

Here is a sample code demonstrating the use of

better object and memory reuse.

ThreadLocal with SoftReference for

package simpledate;
import java.lang.ref.SoftReference;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
public class ConvertDateUtil2 {
private static final String FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd";
private static final ThreadLocal<SoftReference<DateFormat>> repo =
new ThreadLocal<SoftReference<DateFormat>>( );
public static void format(Date date) {
DateFormat df = null;
SoftReference<DateFormat> softRef = repo.get( );
// if softRef is not garbage collected
if (softRef != null) {
df = softRef.get( );
}
// if garbage collected or not initialized
else {
df = new SimpleDateFormat(FORMAT);
softRef = new SoftReference<DateFormat>(df);
repo.set(softRef);
}
df.format(date);
}
}

382

Section-7:

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Java Flow Control

Java Data structures and algorithms
Logic Processing
Exception handling

The data structures and logic processing are prevalently used in programming. It
is important to have a basic understanding of the most common data structures like
arrays, lists, sets, maps, trees, and graphs, and the basics of the big-O algorithmic
complexity analysis. You should know why a particular data structure or an algorithm
needs to be used for a given usage pattern. You should know the abstract data types such
as List, Stack, or Set and the corresponding concrete implementations like ArrayList,
HashSet, HashMap, etc.
It is also imperative to understand the performance versus memory tradeoffs
between two different concrete implementations of an abstract data structure. The data
structures can be traversed iteratively(e.g. arrays, lists, sets) or recursively (e.g. tree).
Various sorting, partitioning, and searching algorithms can be applied to various data
structures. Most data structures internally use an array or a list to provide a more
specialized functionality. Thread-safety and immutability are other two considerations in
using different data structures. The following are some common questions answered in
this section.
If Java did not have a Map or Set implementation, how would you go about
implementing your own?
What are the common data structures, and where would you use them?

383

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Java Flow Control

Q1
A1

Why would you prefer a short circuit &&, || operators over logical & , |
operators? LF COQ
Firstly, NullPointerException is by far the most common runtime exception. If you use a
logical operator, you can get a NullPointerException. This can be avoided easily by using
a short circuit operator as shown below. There are other ways to check for null, but
short circuit && operator can simplify your code by not having to declare separate if
clauses.
if((obj != null) & obj.equals(newObj)) {
.

// can cause a NullPointerException

// obj.equals(newObj) is executed
// even if obj != null returns false.

}
Short-circuiting means that an operator only evaluates as far as it has to, not as far as it
can. If the variable 'obj' is null, it won't even try to evaluate the 'obj.equals(newObj)
clause as shown below. This protects the potential NullPointerException.
if((obj != null) && obj.equals(newObj)) { // cannot get a NullPointerException
...
// because obj.equals(newObj) is
// executed only if obj != null returns true
}
PC Secondly, short-circuit && and || operators can improve performance in
certain situations. For example:
//the CPU intensive method in bold is executed only if number is > 7
if((number <= 7) || (doComputeIntensiveAnalysis (number) <= 13)) {

}
Q2
A2

What can prevent the execution of code in a finally block? LF COQ

An end-less loop.
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
try {

384

System.out.println("This line is printed .....");

//endless loop
while(true){
...
}
}
finally{
System.out.println("Finally block is reached.");
}

// won't reach

System.exit(1) statement.
public class Temp {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
try {
System.out.println("This line is printed .....");
System.exit(1);
}
finally{
System.out.println("Finally block is reached.");
}
}

// won't reach

Q3

Thread death or turning off the power to CPU.

An exception arising in a finally block itself.
Process p = Runtime.getRuntime( ).exec("<o/s kill command>");

What will be the output of the following code snippet? COQ

package flow;
public class Finally1 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println("Entering main( )" );
System.out.println(new Finally1( ).getValue( ));
385

Logic and Data structures Essentials

}
public String getValue( ) {
try {
System.out.println("Entering getValue( )");
return "Returning the value";
} finally {
System.out.println("executing the finally block");
}
}
}
A3

The finally block is executed before returning the value.

Output:
Entering main( )
Entering getValue( )
executing the finally block
Returning the value
Q. What value will the following method return?
public static int getMonthsInYear( ){
try{
return 2;
} finally {
return 1;
}
}
A. 1 is returned because 'finally' has the right to override any exception/returned value
by the try..catch block. It is a bad practice to return from a finally block as it can
suppress any exceptions thrown from a try..catch block. For example, the following
code will not throw an exception.
public static int getMonthsInYear( ){
try{
throw new RuntimeException( );

386

} finally {
return 12;
}
}
Q4

What will be the output of the following code snippet? LF COQ

package flow;
public class Finally2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) throws Exception {
try {
System.out.println("Entered the try block");
if(1==1){
throw new Exception("Some exception");
}
}
finally{
System.out.println("Executing the finally block.");
}
}
}

A4

The finally block is executed before an exception is thrown.

Entered the try block
Executing the finally block.
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.Exception: Some exception
at flow.Finally2.main(Finally2.java:9)

Q5
A5

What is the difference between while and do while loop? LF

Do while loop always executes the body of the loop at least once, since the test is
performed at the end of the body. The while loop always checks the condition first.
while (condition) {
// reached only if the condition is true.
}

387

Logic and Data structures Essentials

do {
// reached at least once even if the condition is false.
} while (condition);
Q6
A6

Write a method to print the odd numbers from 1 to 99? COQ

public static void printOddNumbers( ) {
for ( int i = 1; i < 100; i += 2 ) {
System.out.println ( i );
}
}

Q7
A7

Can you write a method to print out a multiplication table? COQ

static void multiplicationTables ( int max ) {
for ( int i = 1; i <= max; i++ ) {
for ( int j = 1; j <= max; j++ ) {
System.out.print ( String.format ( "%4d", j * i ));
}
System.out.println( );
}
}

Q8
A8

If you have large if-else or switch-case statements, what would come to your mind? LF
COQ
Replacing the procedural statements with an object oriented approach using
polymorphism. Large if-else or switch-case statements are harder to to read, maintain,
and extend.
Q. What will be printed with the following code snippet?
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
double value = 3;
switch (value) {
case 1:
System.out.println("A");
break;
case 2:

388

System.out.println("B");
break;
case 3:
System.out.println("C");
default:
System.out.println("Z");
}
}
A. The above code will result in a compile-time error. Unlike if-then and if-then-else,
the switch statement allows for any number of possible execution paths. But switch
works only with enums and primitive data type int or int convertible primitive data
types such as byte, short, and char. One of the new features added in Java 7 is the
capability to switch on a String. The switch statement when used with a String uses the
equals( ) method to compare the given expression to each value in the case statement
and is therefore case-sensitive and will throw a NullPointerException if the expression is
null.
Q. How will you fix the above switch statement?
A. Change the variable value from type double to type int. Also, the case 3 statement
must have a break statement after printing C, otherwise the default value Z will
be printed as well.
Q9
A9

What is a conditional operator? LF

The conditional operator ?: provides a short-cut to if-else statements. The following ifelse statement,
if (person != null) {
return person.getName( );
}
else {
return null;
}
can be written more concisely as shown below:
return (person != null)) ? person.getName( ) : null;

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Logic and Data structures Essentials

Note: Future versions of Java may improve null handling with a shortened form of
the ternary operator. For example, the code shown below
if (person != null) {
Name name = person.getName( );
if (name != null) {
return name.getFirstname( );
}
}
can be shortened as follows:
return person?.getName( )?.getFirstname( );
Q10 What is a fibonacci sequence? Write a method to compute the N th fibonacci number
without using nested loops? COQ
A10 The fibonacci sequence proceeds with the rule that each number is equal to the sum
of the preceding two numbers. For example
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34
The code can be written using recursion as shown below. A conditional operator is
used as the termination or exit condition for the recursive method calls.
static long fibonacci(int n) {
return n <= 1 ? n : fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2);
}

Java Data structures

Q11 What are the core interfaces of the Java collection framework? LF
A11 Collection, List, Set, SortedSet, Map, SortedMap, ConcurrentMap, Queue, Dequeue, Block
ingQueue, Iterator (for uni-directional traversal), and ListIterator (for bi-directional
traversal).

390

Abstract Data Concrete Implementation

Structure
List

ArrayList, CopyOnWriteArrayList, LinkedList, Stack, etc.

Set

HashSet, EnumSet, CopyOnWriteArraySet, LinkedHashSet, TreeSet,

etc

Map

HashMap, ConcurrentHashMap, EnumMap, WeakHashMap, TreeMap,

etc

SortedSet

TreeSet

SortedMap

TreeMap

ConcurrentMap

ConcurrentHashMap

Queue

ArrayBlockingQueue, PriorityQueue, PriorityBlockingQueue,

SynchronousQueue, etc

BlockingQueue

ArrayBlockingQueue, DelayQueue, PriorityBlockingQueue,

SynchronousQueue, etc.

Iterator

Scanner, etc. The implementing class provides the implementation

using the iterator design pattern. E.g. myList.iterator( )

ListIterator

The implementing class provides the implementation using the

iterator design pattern. E.g. myList.listIterator( )

Q12 What are the common data structures, and where would you use them? LF COQ
OEQ
A12 Arrays are the most commonly used data structure. Arrays are of fixed size, indexed,
and all containing elements are of the same type (i.e. a homogenous collection). For
example, storing employee details just read from the database as EmployeeDetail[ ],
converting and storing a string as a byte array for further manipulation or processing,
etc. BP Wrap an array in a class to protect it from being inadvertently altered. This
would be true for other data structures as well.
Lists are known as arrays that can grow. These data structures are generally backed by
a fixed sized array and they resize themselves as necessary. A list can have duplicate
elements. For example, adding new line items to an order that stores its line items as a
list, removing all expired products from a list of products, etc. BP Initialize them
with an appropriate initial size to minimize the number of resizes.

391

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Sets are like lists but they do not hold duplicate elements. Sets can be used when you
have a requirement to store unique elements.
Stacks allow access to only one data item, which is the last item inserted (i.e. Last In
First Out - LIFO). If you remove this item, you can access the next-to-last item
inserted, and so on. The LIFO is achieved through restricting access only via methods
like peek( ), push( ), and pop( ). This is useful in many programing situations like parsing
mathematical expressions like (4+2) * 3, storing methods and exceptions in the order
they occur, checking your source code to see if the brackets and braces are balanced
properly, etc.
Queues are somewhat like a stack, except that in a queue the first item inserted is the
first to be removed (i.e. First In First Out FIFO). The FIFO is achieved through
restricting access only via methods like peek( ), offer( ), and poll( ). For example, waiting
in a line for a bus, a queue at the bank or super market teller, etc.
LinkedLists are data structures made of nodes, where each node contains data and a
reference to the next node, and possibly to the previous node as well for a doubly
linked list. For example, a stack or queue can be implemented with a linked list or a
doubly linked list because you can insert and delete at both ends. There would also be
other situations where data will be frequently inserted and deleted from the middle.
The Apache library provides a TreeList implementation, which is a good replacement
for a LinkedList as it performs much better than a LinkedList at the expense of using a
little more memory. This means a LinkedList is rarely a good choice of implement
ation.

ArrayList is a good general purpose list implementation. An ArrayList is faster than a

TreeList for most operations except inserting and removing in the middle of the list. A
TreeList implementation utilizes a tree structure internally to ensure that all insertions
and removals are O(log n). This provides much faster performance than both an
ArrayList and a LinkedList where elements are inserted and removed repeatedly from
anywhere in the list.
392

package bigo;
class Link {
public int id;
public Sring name;
public Link next;
}

// data
// data
// reference to next link

HashMaps are amortized constant-time access data structures that map keys to
values. This data structure is backed by an array. It uses a hashing functionality to
identify a location, and some type of collision detection algorithm is used to handle
values that hash to the same location. For example, storing employee records with
employee number as the key, storing name/value pairs read from a properties file, etc.
BP Initialize them with an appropriate initial size to minimize the number of resizes.
Trees are the data structures that contain nodes with optional data elements and one
or more child elements, and possibly each child element references the parent element
to represent a hierarchical or ordered set of data elements. For example, a hierarchy
of employees in an organization, storing the XML data as a hierarchy, etc. If every
node in a tree can have utmost 2 children, the tree is called a binary tree. The binary
trees are very common because the shape of a binary tree makes it easy to search and
insert data. The edges in a tree represent quick ways to navigate from node to node.

393

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Java does not provide an implementation for this but it can be easily implemented as
shown below. Just make a class Node with an ArrayList holding links to other Nodes.
package bigo;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Node {
private String name;
private List<Node> children = new ArrayList<Node>( );
private Node parent;
public Node getParent( ) {
return parent;
}
public void setParent(Node parent) {
this.parent = parent;
}
public Node(String name) {
this.name = name;
}

public void addChild(Node child) {

394

children.add(child);
}
public void removeChild(Node child) {
children.remove(child);
}
public String toString( ) {
return name;
}
}
Graphs are data structures that represent arbitrary relationships between members of
any data sets that can be represented as networks of nodes and edges. A tree structure
is essentially a more organized graph where each node can only have one parent node.
Unlike a tree, a graph's shape is dictated by a physical or abstract problem. For
example, nodes (or vertices) in a graph may represent cities, while edges may
represent airline flight routes between the cities.

To make a Java graph class, you will have to work out the way in which the inform
ation can be stored and accessed. A graph will be using some of the data structures
mentioned above. The Java API does not provide an implementation for this. But
there are a number of third party libraries like JUNG, JGraphT, and JDSL (does not
seem to support generics). The following example shows one of many ways to
represent a graph data structure.

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Logic and Data structures Essentials

A graph must represent its vertices and edges in the code. Two vertices in a graph are
adjacent if they form an edge. The vertex objects can be placed in a Map as shown
above. A map is used for a fast retrieval by vertex name. Edges can be represented
with an adjacency value list as shown above. A path is a sequence of vertices in which
each successive pair is an edge as in LA NY London Sydney LA. To be
more specific, this is a cyclic path because the first and last vertices are the same. The
following code shows a very basic graph class.
package bigo;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;
public class Graph {
protected Map<String, List<String>> adjacencyMap;
public Graph(int size) {
this.adjacencyMap = new HashMap<String, List<String>>(size);
}
public boolean addVertex(String vertex) {
if (adjacencyMap.containsKey(vertex))
return false;
396

adjacencyMap.put(vertex, new ArrayList<String>( ));

return true;
}
public boolean addEdge(String vertexStart, String vertexEnd) {
addVertex(vertexStart);
addVertex(vertexEnd);
List<String> l = (ArrayList<String>) adjacencyMap.get(vertexStart);
l.add(vertexEnd);
return true;
}
public int getVerticesCount( ) {
return adjacencyMap.size( );
}
public int getEdgeCount( ) {
int count = 0;
Set<String> keys = adjacencyMap.keySet( );
for (String key : keys) {
if (key != null) {
List<String> edges = (ArrayList<String>) adjacencyMap
.get(key);
count += edges.size( );
}
}
return count;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Graph g = new Graph(10);
g.addEdge("NY", "London");
g.addEdge("LA", "NY");
g.addEdge("LA", "London");
g.addEdge("LA", "Paris");
g.addEdge("London", "Sydney");
g.addEdge("Paris", "LA");
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Logic and Data structures Essentials

g.addEdge("Sydney", "LA");
System.out.println("no of vertices = " + g.getVerticesCount( ));
System.out.println("no of edges = " + g.getEdgeCount( ));
}
}
The map of string objects shown above can be replaced with a map of Vertex objects
and a graph class with an adjacency matrix. The hasVisited boolean flag can be used in
an algorithm to systematically start at a specific vertex and then move along the edges
to other vertices, and when it is done you know that you have traversed through every
vertex. An adjacency matrix is shown below.
LA

NY

London

Sydney

Paris

LA

NY

London

Sydney

Paris
1
0
0
0
0
Note: 1 means an edge between two vertices (i.e. adjacent), and 0 means not adjacent.
package bigo;
class Vertex {
public String name;
public boolean hasVisited;
public Vertex(String name)
{
this.name = name;
hasVisited = false;
}
}
package bigo;
class Graph2 {
398

//(e.g. "LA", "London", etc)

private final int MAX_VERTICES = 5;

private Vertex vertexList[ ];
// array of vertices
private int adjMat[ ][ ];
// adjacency matrix
private int noVertices;
// current no. of vertices
public Graph2( ) { // constructor
vertexList = new Vertex[MAX_VERTICES];
// adjacency matrix
adjMat = new int[MAX_VERTICES][MAX_VERTICES];
noVertices = 0;
//O (n2) complexity
for (int i = 0; i < MAX_VERTICES; i++)
//set adjacency
for (int j = 0; j < MAX_VERTICES; j++)
// matrix to 0
adjMat[i][j] = 0;
}
public void addVertex(String name) {
vertexList[noVertices++] = new Vertex(name);
}
public void addEdge(int start, int end) {
adjMat[start][end] = 1;
// '1' means an edge between two vertices
adjMat[end][start] = 1;
// '1' means an edge between two vertices
}
}
Note: Many interview candidates fail to mention Tree and Graph data structures.
Q12 What do you know about the big-O notation and can you give some examples with
respect to different data structures? LF OEQ
A12 The Big-O notation simply describes how well an algorithm scales or performs in the
worst case scenario as the number of elements in a data structure increases. The BigO notation can also be used to describe other behavior such as memory consumption.
At times you may need to choose a slower algorithm because it also consumes less
memory. Big-o notation can give a good indication about performance for large
399

Logic and Data structures Essentials

amounts of data, but the only real way to know for sure is to have a performance
benchmark with large data sets to take into account things that are not considered in
Big-O notation like paging as virtual memory usage grows, etc. Although benchmarks
are better, they aren't feasible during the design process, so Big-O complexity analysis
is the choice.
The algorithms used by various data structures for different operations like search,
insert and delete fall into the following performance groups like constant-time O(1),
linear O(n), logarithmic O (log n), exponential O (c n), polynomial O(nc), quadratic O
(n2) and factorial O (n!) where n is the number of elements in the data structure. It is
generally a tradeoff between performance and memory usage. Here are some
examples.
Example 1: Finding an element in a HashMap is usually a constant-time, which is
O(1) . This is a constant time because a hashing function is used to find an element,
and computing a hash value does not depend on the number of elements in the
HashMap.
Example 2: Linear search of an array, list, and LinkedList is linear, which is O(n).
This is linear because you will have to search the entire list. This means that if a list is
twice as big, searching it will take twice as long.
Example 3: An algorithm that needs to compare every element in an array to sort the
array has polynomial complexity, which is O (n 2). A nested for loop is O (n2). An
example is shown under sorting algorithms.
Example 4: Binary search of a sorted array or ArrayList is logarithmic, which is
O(log n). Searching an element in a LinkedList normally requires O(n). This is one of
the disadvantages of LinkedList over the other data structures like an ArrayList or array
offering a O (log n) performance, which offers better performance than O(n) as the
number of elements increases. A logarithmic running times mean, if 10 items take at
most x amount of time, 100 items will take say at most 2x amount of time, and 10,000
items will take at most 4x. If you plot this on a graph, the time decreases as n (i.e.
number of items) increases.

400

Q. What can you tell about the performance of a HashMap compared to a TreeMap?
Which one would you prefer?
A. A balanced tree does have O (log n) performance. The TreeMap class in Java
maintains key/value objects in a sorted order by using a red-black tree. A red-black
tree is a balanced binary tree. Keeping the binary tree balanced ensures the fast
insertion, removal, and lookup time of O (log n). This is not as fast as a HashMap,
which is O(1) , but the TreeMap has the advantage of that the keys are in sorted order
which opens up a lot of other capabilities.
Which one to choose? PC
The decision as to using an unordered collection like a HashSet or HasMap versus
using a sorted data structure like a TreeSet or TreeMap depends mainly on the usage
pattern, and to some extent on the data size and the environment you run it on. The
practical reason for keeping the elements in sorted order is for frequent and faster
retrieval of sorted data if the inserts and updates are frequent. If the need for a sorted
result is infrequent like prior to producing a report or running a batch process, then
maintaining an unordered collection and sorting them only when it is really required
with Collections.sort(...) could sometimes be more efficient than maintaining the ordered
elements. This is only an opinion, and no one can offer you a correct answer. Even the
complexity theories like Big-O notation like O(n) assume possibly large values of n.
In practice, a O(n) algorithm can be much faster than a O(log n) algorithm, provided
the data set that is handled is sufficiently small. One algorithm might perform better
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Logic and Data structures Essentials

on an AMD processor than on an Intel. If your system is set up to swap, disk
performance need to be considered. The only way to confirm the efficient usage is to
test and measure both performance and memory usage with the right data size.
Measure both the approaches on your chosen hardware to determine, which is more
appropriate.
Q13 What is the tradeoff between using an unordered array versus an ordered array? OEQ
A13 The major advantage of an ordered array is that the search times are much faster with
O (log n) than an unordered array, which is O (n) for larger values of n. The disad
vantage of an ordered array is that the insertion takes longer (i.e. O (n) ) because all
the data with higher values need to be moved to make room. The insertion for an
unordered array takes constant time of O(1). This means, it does not depend on the
number of elements. The following code snippet demonstrates adding an element to
both ordered and unordered array.
Inserting an element into an unsorted array
package bigo;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class InsertingElementsToArray {
public static void insertUnsortedArray(String toInsert) {
String[ ] unsortedArray = { "A", "D", "C" };
String[ ] newUnsortedArray = new String[unsortedArray.length + 1];
System.arraycopy(unsortedArray, 0, newUnsortedArray, 0, 3);
newUnsortedArray[newUnsortedArray.length - 1] = toInsert;
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(newUnsortedArray));
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
insertUnsortedArray("B");
}
}
Inserting an element into a sorted array

402

package bigo;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class InsertingElementsToArray {
public static void insertSortedArray(String toInsert) {
String[ ] sortedArray = { "A", "C", "D" };
/*
* Binary search returns the index of the search item
* if found, otherwise returns the minus insertion point. This example
* returns index = -2, which means the elemnt is not found and needs to
* be inserted as a second element.
*/
int index = Arrays.binarySearch(sortedArray, toInsert);
if (index < 0) {

// not found.

// array indices are zero based. -2 index means insertion point of

// -(-2)-1 = 1, so insertIndex = 1
int insertIndex = -index - 1;
String[ ] newSortedArray = new String[sortedArray.length + 1];
System.arraycopy(sortedArray, 0, newSortedArray, 0, insertIndex);
System.arraycopy(sortedArray, insertIndex,
newSortedArray, insertIndex + 1, sortedArray.length - insertIndex);
newSortedArray[insertIndex] = toInsert;
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(newSortedArray));
}
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
insertSortedArray("B");
}
}
So the decision depends on the usage pattern. Ask yourself the following questions.
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Logic and Data structures Essentials

Do I have more inserts/deletes or search? What is the maximum number of elements
likely to be stored in this array? How often do I need the sorted data? And finally what
does my performance benchmark show?
Q. How would you choose between a LinkedList and an ArrayList? PC
A. It depends on the use case, and the following table summarizes it.
Access at

Insert at

Algorithm

front

back

middle

front

back

middle

ArrayList

O (1)

O (1)

O (1)

O (N)

O (1)

O (N)

LinkedList

O (1)

O (1)

O (n)

O (1)

O (1)

O (1)

Unless you have lots of inserts in the front and middle and the performance bench
marks clearly shows that LinkedList is the way to go, it is better to use an ArrayList.
Q14 Describe typical use cases or examples of common uses for various data structures
provided by the Collection framework in Java? LF OEQ
A14 You choose data structures based on your projected usage patterns, memory and
performance considerations.
Usage patterns :

404

Use arrays when the amount of data is reasonably small and the amount of
data is predictable in advance. If insertion speed is important, use an
unordered array. An array cannot be used for everything because searching an
unordered array is slow with O(n), and deletion of both ordered and
unordered array takes O(n) to fill the hole.

If the initial collection size cannot be determined upfront, the primary imple
mentations like ArrayList, HashMap, or HashSet should do the job unless you
require a special usage pattern. Those special usage patterns are like access
sequences like FIFO, LIFO, etc, duplicates are allowed or not, and ordering
needs to be maintained or not, etc.

Use a List if duplicates are allowed, and a Set if duplicates are not allowed.

Use a stack for Last In First Out (LIFO) access. For example, you may want to
track online forms as a user opens them and then be able to back out of the
open forms in the reverse order. That is, you may want to store form refer
ences in the stack and then, as the user clicks the OK button on each form,
bring the correct form to the top by popping out the most recent form from
the stack. You could also build your own application profiler by storing the
current time in the stack for each method as you push it on to the stack and
then subtracting that from the current time as you pop it out from the stack to
find out how long it took to execute that method. The Stack implementation
class in Java extends the Vector class, which has all methods synchronized.
Hence it is not recommended to use the Stack implementation. A more
complete and consistent set of LIFO stack operations is provided by the
Dequeue interface, which stands for double-ended queue and its imple
mentations.

If you conceptually have a producer-consumer pattern, for example a

producer thread produces a list of jobs for a number of consumer threads to
pick up, then a Queue implementation is more appropriate. This of course
could be done with a synchronized LinkedList, but a queue will provide a better
concurrency optimization by eliminating random access. The BlockingQueue is
an efficient implementation of a typical Queue interface. There are other
specific implementations like DelayQueue, PriorityQueue, SynchronousQueue, etc. to
cater for the variations in the usage.

If you need to frequently insert and remove elements at arbitrary positions in a

sequence, you could choose a LinkedList. For example, If you have a very large
collection where many elements need to be added to both the beginning and
end of a collection, a LinkedList should be faster than an ArrayList. However,
an ArrayBlockingQueue is even faster. Generally use an array, List, or a Block
ingQueue (this is from the java.util.concurrent package) depending on the other
needs, and use a LinkedList only if your performance tests show that a
LinkedList can offer a better performance. Practically, this is very rare, if not
never.

Use a TreeSet or TreeMap if you like your objects to be in sorted order by using
a balanced red-black tree. A red-black tree is a balanced binary tree, meaning a
parent node has maximum 2 children and as an entry is inserted, the tree is
monitored as to keep it well-balanced. Balanced binary tree ensures fast lookup
405

Logic and Data structures Essentials

time of O(log n). A HashSet or a HashMap has a much faster access time of
O(1), but won't maintain the entries in a sorted order.

A WeakHashMap is good to implement canonical maps. If you want to

associate some extra information to a particular object that you have a strong
reference to, you put an entry in a WeakHashMap with that object as the key,
and the extra information as the map value. Then, as long as you keep a strong
reference to the object, you will be able to check the map to retrieve the extra
information. Once you release the strong reference to the key object, the map
entry will be cleared and the memory used by the extra information will be
released.

A cache is a memory location where you can store data that is otherwise
expensive to obtain frequently from a database, ldap, flat file, or other external
systems. A WeakHashMap is not good for caching because a WeakHashMap
stores the keys using WeakReference objects that means as soon as the key is not
strongly referenced from somewhere else in your program, the entry may be
removed and be available for garbage collection. This is not good, and what
you really want to have is your cached objects removed from your map only
when the JVM is running low on memory. This is where a SoftReference comes
in handy. A SoftReference will only be garbage-collected when the JVM is
running low on memory and the object that the key is pointing to is not being
accessed from any other strong reference. The standard Java library does not
provide a Map implementation using a SoftReference, but you can implement
your own by extending the AbstractMap class.

Implementing your own cache mechanism is often not a trivial task. Cache
needs to be regularly updated, and possibly distributed. A better option would
be to use one of the third-party frameworks like OSCache, Ehcache, JCS and
Cache4J.

Use an immutable collection (aka unmodifiable collection) if you don't want to

allow accidental addition or removal of elements once created. The objects
stored in a collection needs to implement its own immutability if required to
be prevented from any accidental modifications.

Threading considerations: CC

406

If accessed by a single thread, synchronization is not required, and arrays, lists, sets,
stacks, etc can be used as a local variable. If your collections are used as a local
variables, the synchronization is a complete overkill, and degrades performance
considerably. On the contrary, it is a bad practice to assume that the application is
always going to be single threaded and use data structures in a thread unsafe manner,
for example declaring it as an instance or static variable. What if the application needs
to scale to handle concurrent access from multiple threads?
If accessed by multiple threads, prefer a concurrent collection like a copy-on-write
lists and sets, concurrent maps, etc over a synchronized collection for a more
optimized concurrent access. Stay away from the legacy classes like Vectors and HashT
ables. In a multi-threaded environment, some operations may need to be atomic to
produce correct results. This may require appropriate synchronizations (i.e. locks).
Improper implementation in a multi-threaded environment can cause unexpected
behaviors and results.
Performance and memory considerations: PC MC
The choices you make for a program's data structures and algorithms affect that
program's memory usage (for data structures) and CPU time (for algorithms that
interact with those data structures). Sometimes you discover an inverse relationship
between memory usage and CPU time. For example, a one-dimensional array occupies
less memory than a doubly linked list that needs to associate links with data items to
find each data item's predecessor and successor. This requires extra memory. In
contrast, a one-dimensional array's insertion/deletion algorithms are slower than a
doubly linked list's equivalent algorithms because inserting a data item into or deleting
a data item from a one-dimensional array requires data item movement to expose an
empty element for insertion or close an element made empty by deletion. Here are
some points to keep in mind.

The most important thing to keep in mind is scalability. Assuming that a

collection will always be small is a dangerous thing to do, and it is better to
assume that it will be big. Don't just rely on the general theories (e.g. Big-O
theory) and rules. Profile your application to identify any potential memory or
performance issues for a given platform and configuration in a production or
production-like (aka QA) environment.

Initialize your collection with an appropriate initial capacity to minimize the

407

Logic and Data structures Essentials

number of times it has to grow for lists and sets, and number of times it has to
grow and rehash for maps.
List list = new ArrayList(40);
Map map = new HashMap((int) (40/ 0.75 + 1));
Q15 What method(s) should you override for objects you plan to add to sets or maps? LF
FAQ
A15 equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods.
Q16 How do you get an immutable collection? LF DP
A16 This functionality is provided by the Collections class, which is a wrapper implement
ation using the decorator design pattern.
public class ReadOnlyExample {
public static void main(String args[ ]) {
Set<String> set = new HashSet<String>( );
set.add("Java");
set.add("JEE");
set.add("Spring");
set.add("Hibernate");
set = Collections.unmodifiableSet(set);
set.add("Ajax");
}
}

// not allowed.

What is the difference between Collection and Collections? LF

Q17
A17 The Collection is a super interface for the other interfaces like Set, List, Queue, SortedSet,
etc, and implemented by many classes like HashSet, ArrayList, LinkedList, BlockingQueue,
Stack, etc.
The Collections class is a utility class like the Arrays class. Whilst the Arrays class
provides a series of static factory methods for working with fixed size indexed data
structures, the Collections class provides static factory methods for different collections
that can grow. The Collections class provides wrapper implementations using the
decorator design pattern for flexibility, performance, and robustness. It supports,

408

Polymorphic algorithms sorting, shuffling, reversing, binary search, etc.

Set algebra - such as finding subsets, intersections, and unions between

objects.
Immutability - when immutability is required, wrapper implementations are
provided for making a collection immutable.

For example, to prevent addition and removal of elements:

Collections.unmodifiableSet(set);
To return an empty set:
shoppingBasket.assignNewBasket(Collections.emptySet( ));
To remove all occurrences of SHOE from a list.
shoppingBasket.removeAll(Collections.singleton(SHOE));
To add 12 copies of cereal boxes:
shoppingBasket.addAll(Collections.nCopies(12, "CerealBox"));
To sort a given list naturally:
Collections.sort(shoppingBasket);
To custom sort a given list:
Collections.sort(shoppingBasket, new Comparator<List<String>>( ) {
public int compare(List<String> o1, List<String> o2) {
return o2.size( ) - o1.size( );
}
});
To search for a specific item:
int pos = Collections.binarySearch(shoppingBasket, itemToSearch);
Note: Refer to the Collections API for more useful utility methods like reverse, copy, fill,
409

Logic and Data structures Essentials

addAll, swap, min, max, etc.
Q18 What does the following code do? Can the LinkedHashSet be replaced with a HashSet?
COQ
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
import java.util.List;
public class CollectionFunction {
public <E> List<E> function (List <E> list) {
return new ArrayList<E>(new LinkedHashSet<E>(list));
}
}
A18 The above code removes duplicates from a supplied list by passing it through an
implementation of a Set interface. In this case, a LinkedHashSet is used to honor the
ordering by implementing a SortedSet interface. If ordering is not required, the Linked
HashSet can be replaced with a HashSet.
Q19 What are some of the best practices relating to the Java Collection framework? BP
A19
Choose the right type of data structure based on usage patterns like fixed
size or required to grow, duplicates allowed or not, ordering is required to be
maintained or not, traversal is forward only or bi-directional, inserts at the end
only or any arbitrary position, more inserts or more reads, concurrently
accessed or not, modification is allowed or not, homogeneous or hetero
geneous collection, etc. Also, keep multi-threading, atomicity, memory usage
and performance considerations discussed earlier in mind.

Don't assume that your collection is always going to be small as it can

potentially grow bigger with time. So your collection should scale well.

Program in terms of interface not implementation: For example, you

might decide a LinkedList is the best choice for some application, but then later
decide ArrayList might be a better choice for performance reason.
Bad:

410

ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<String>(100);

Good:
// program to interface so that the implementation can change
List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>(100);
List<String> list2 = new LinkedList<String>(100);

Return zero length collections or arrays as opposed to returning a null in the

context of the fetched list is actually empty. Returning a null instead of a zero
length collection is more error prone, since the programmer writing the calling
method might forget to handle a return value of null.
List<String> emptyList = Collections.emptyList( );
Set<Integer> emptySet = Collections.emptySet( );

Use generics for type safety, readability, and robustness.

Encapsulate collections: In general, collections are not immutable objects.

So care should be taken not to unintentionally expose the collection fields to
the caller. The caller may not perform any necessary validation.
Bad Approach:
package encapsulation;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Set;
public class BadCarYard {
//no duplicates allowed, hence use a Set
private Set<Car> carsCol = new HashSet<Car>(10);
//exposes the carsCol to the caller
public Set<Car> getCars( ) {
return carsCol;
}
...
}
411

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Good Approach:
package encapsulation;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Set;
public class GoodCarYard {
private Set<Car> carsCol = new HashSet<Car>( );
public void addCar(Car car) {
// throw exception early
if (car == null) {
new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot add null");
}
//more checks here to add a valid Car
carsCol.add(car);
}
public void removeCar(Car car) {
if (car == null) {
new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot add null");
}
//... more checks here before removing a car
carsCol.remove(car);
}
public Set<Car> getCars( ) {
// prevent addition or removal from outside this class
return Collections.unmodifiableSet(carsCol);
}
}

412

Immutable objects should be used as keys for the HashMaps: Generally you
use java.lang.Integer or java.lang.String class as the key, which are immutable Java
objects. If you define your own key class, then it is a best practice to make the

key class an immutable object. If you want to insert a new key, then you will
always have to instantiate a new object as you cannot modify an immutable
object. If the keys were made mutable, you could accidentally modify the key
after adding to a HashMap, which can result in you not being able to access the
object later on. The object will still be in the HashMap, but you will not be able
to retrieve it as you have the wrong key (i.e. a mutated key).

Use copy-on-write classes and concurrent maps for better scalability. It

also prevents ConcurrentModificationException being thrown while preserving
thread safety.

Memory usage and performance can be improved by setting the appro

priate initial capacity when creating a collection. For example,
If you are likely to have an ArrayList with say 11 elements, but if you initialize
the ArrayList as follows,
List<String> myList = New ArrayList<String>( );
By default, the capacity is 10. When you add the 11th element to the array list,
it will have to resize or grow using the following formula (oldCapacity * 3)/2
+ 1. This will be equal to 10*3/2+1=16. So it creates a new array with size of
16 and and copies all the old 10 elements to the new array and adds the 11 th
element to the new array. The old array with 10 elements become eligible for
garbage collection. So resizing too many times can adversely impact
performance and memory. So it is a best practice to set the initial capacity to
an appropriate value so that the lists don't have to resize too often. The above
declaration for 11 elements can be improved by setting the initial capacity to
either 11 or greater.
List<String> myList = new ArrayList<String>(11);
Same is true for HashMaps as well. As a general rule, the default load factor of
0.75 offers a good tradeoff between time and space costs. Higher load factor
values decrease the space overhead, but increases the lookup cost through
methods like get( ), put( ), etc. The expected number of entries in the map and
its load factor should be taken into account when setting its initial capacity, so
as to minimize the number of rehash operations. If the initial capacity is
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Logic and Data structures Essentials

greater than the maximum number of entries divided by the load factor, no
rehash operations will ever occur. This means the load factor should not be
changed from 0.75, unless you have some specific optimization you are going
to do. Initial capacity is the only thing you want to change, and set it according
to number of items you want to store. You should set the initial capacity to
(no. of likely items / 0.75) + 1 to ensure that the table will always be large
enough, and no rehashing will occur. For 11 items it will be (11/0.75) + 1 =
16.
Map<String> myMap = new HashMap<String>(16);
Q20 If Java did not have a HashMap implementation, how would you go about writing your
own one? SBQ COQ
A20 Writing a HashMap is not a trivial task. It is also not a good practice to reinvent the
wheel. The interviewer is trying to evaluate your level of technical knowledge and
thought process. What really important here are, how you approach the problem?, how
good your understanding of the data structures are?, and how well you can logically
think and code?.

Firstly, decide on the backing data structure. Arrays are fast and memory
efficient. Hence an array can be used to back up the map. This will be an
indexed bucket.
Decide on a hashing algorithm to index the array and store the entries in a
particular slot of the array.
Decide on a strategy to store two or more keys that result in the same hash
code value. More objects can be linked with each other occupying the same
index. This means each bucket can contain 0..N entries. This linking strategy is
shown in the diagram.
Decide on an approach to evaluate the hash code, which determines the array
bucket index to use.
int index = Math.abs(key.hashCode( ) % buckets.length);

414

Come up with a strategy for resizing the backing array when the capacity is
reached. This process is known as rehashing whereby existing items are
mapped to new bucket locations.
Consider implementing the Map interface and fill in the empty methods that
need to be implemented.

The following code snippets demonstrate how you could go about implementing your
own HashMap class.
package bigo;
public class MapEntry <K, V> {

// K --> Key, V--> Value

private final K key;

private V value;
private MapEntry<K, V> next;

//mutating the key is bad

//next entry in the same bucket

public MapEntry(K key, V value){

this.key = key;
this.value = value;
}
// getters and setters are ignored for brevity
}
Next, the HashMap class that is composed of the MapEntry.
package bigo;

415

Logic and Data structures Essentials

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;
public class MyHashMap<K, V> implements Map<K, V> {
private MapEntry<K, V>[ ] buckets = null;
public MyHashMap( ) {
this(10);
}
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public MyHashMap(int capacity) {
buckets = new MapEntry[capacity];
}
@Override
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public V get(Object key) {
// check for pre-condition.
if (key == null)
throw new IllegalArgumentException( "The key cannot be null");
MapEntry<K, V> entry = getMatchingEntry((K) key);
return entry != null ? entry.getValue( ) : null;
}
@Override
public V put(K key, V value) {
// check for pre-condition.
if (key == null)
throw new IllegalArgumentException("The key cannot be null");
MapEntry<K, V> entry = getMatchingEntry((K) key);
if (entry != null) {
entry.setValue(value);
}
416

//if the key is found

else {
//if the key is not found
int index = evalBucketIndex(key);
if (buckets[index] != null) {
//if the bucket is already allocated
entry = linkEntry(buckets[index] , key, value); //link it to an entry already
//attached to that bucket
} else {
//if the bucket is not allocated
entry = new MapEntry<K, V>(key, value); //allocate a new bucket
buckets[index] = entry;
}
}
return entry.getValue( );
}
/**
* Hashing function. The more spaced out the indices are, the better the
* performance is. Only positive values can be used as an array index.
*/
private int evalBucketIndex(K key) {
int index = Math.abs(key.hashCode( ) % buckets.length);
return index;
}
/**
* Return the matching entry if found, otherwise return null
*/
private MapEntry<K, V> getMatchingEntry(K key) {
MapEntry<K, V> entry = buckets[evalBucketIndex((K) key)];
// same index can have more entries linked by "next" attribute
// in the MapEntry class. So find the one where key matches
while (entry != null && !key.equals(entry.getKey( ))) {
entry = entry.getNext( );
}
// conditional operator
return entry != null ? entry : null;
}

417

Logic and Data structures Essentials

/**
* Create a new entry and link it to the given bucket entry
*/
private MapEntry<K, V> linkEntry(MapEntry<K, V> entry, K key, V value){
boolean linked = false;
while(!linked){
if(entry.getNext( ) == null){
//if not linked
entry.setNext(new MapEntry<K, V>(key, value)); //Create a new entry &
// link it
linked = true;
}
else{
entry = entry.getNext( );
}
}
return entry;
}
//other methods that need to be implemented for the
//Map interface not shown for brevity.
}
Q20 If Java did not have a Stack implementation, how would you go about implementing
your own? SBQ COQ
A20
Determine the backing data structure (e.g. array, linked list, etc).
Determine the methods that need to be implemented like pop( ), push( ),
peek( ), clear( ), empty( ), etc.
Determine how you are going to keep track of the last item added. For
example, keeping track with an index variable topIndex.
Determine what to do if the capacity is reached? Double the capacity of the
backing array.
Drawing a diagram as shown below could make things clearer.

418

Here are some code snippets to get started. Define the interface first.
package bigo;
public interface Stack<E> {
E push(E item);
E pop( );
boolean empty( );
//other methods like peek( ), etc omitted for brevity
}
Now provide the implementation class.
package bigo;
public class MyStack<E> implements Stack<E> {
419

Logic and Data structures Essentials

private Object[ ] backingArray;
private int topIndex;
private static final int DEFAULT_CAPACITY = 10;
public MyStack( ) {
this.backingArray = new Object[DEFAULT_CAPACITY];
topIndex = -1;
}
@Override
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public E pop( ) {
if (empty( )) {
throw new RuntimeException("No data is found");
}
// return the index element and reset the index by -1
return (E) backingArray[topIndex--];
}
@Override
public E push(E item) {
doubleTheArrayIfLimitIsReached( );
//increment the index and store the item
this.backingArray[++topIndex] = item;
return item;
}
@Override
public boolean empty( ) {
return topIndex == -1;
}
/**
* If the array capacity is reached, double it
*/
private void doubleTheArrayIfLimitIsReached( ) {
if (topIndex + 1 == this.backingArray.length) {
Object[ ] newArray = new Object[backingArray.length * 2];
420

// copy the existing elements to the new expanded array

System.arraycopy(backingArray, 0, newArray, 0,
backingArray.length);
// set the backingArray to the expanded array
backingArray = newArray;
System.out.println(
"The backing array has been expanded to " + backingArray.length);
}
}
}
Note: A queue can be implemented in a similar fashion by declaring a backingArray, a
frontIndex, a backIndex, and a currentSize. Initialize the frontIndex to 0 and the backIndex to
-1. You will have to provide the relevant methods like enque( ), deque( ), etc.
enqueue( ):

If the currentSize == backingArray.length extend the backing array capacity by

doubling it.
Increment the backIndex by 1. If the incremented index is equal to the array
length (backingArray.lenth), set the backIndex to 0 (i.e. imagine it as an endless
circular array).
Set the element to the backIndex (i.e. bacckingArray[backIndex] = element ).
Increment the currentSize by 1 (i.e. currentSize++).

dequeue( ):

Decrement the currentSize by 1 (i.e currentSize-- ).

Return the value that frontIndex points to (i.e. backingArray[frontIdex] ).
Increment the frontIndex by 1. If the frontIndex == backingArray.length, set the
frontIndex to 0 (i.e. imagine it as an endless circular array).

Note: Use the LIFO operations provided by the Deque interface and its implementa
tions as opposed to the Stack implantation, which extends the legacy Vector class.

421

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Sorting Elements
Q21 If I mention the interface names Comparable or Comparator, what does come to your
mind? Why do we need these interfaces? LF
A21 Sorting. SortedSet and SortedMap interfaces maintain sorted order. The elements are
sorted as you add or remove them. The other interfaces like List or Set don't sort
elements as you add or remove. So you need to sort them on a as needed basis.
If you store objects of type String or Integer in a List or Set, and would like to occasionally sort
them, say for reporting purpose, you can do so as shown below as String or Integer by default
implements the Comparable interface and provides a compareTo(..) method to be called while
sorting.
package sorting;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
public class Sorting1 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<String> myShoppingList = new ArrayList<String>( );
myShoppingList.add("Cereal");
myShoppingList.add("Apples");
myShoppingList.add("Soap");
myShoppingList.add("Brush");
System.out.println("Before sorting: " + myShoppingList);
// invokes compareTo method implemented in the String class.
Collections.sort(myShoppingList);
System.out.println("After sorting: " + myShoppingList);
}
}
Output:
Before sorting: [Cereal, Apples, Soap, Brush]
After sorting: [Apples, Brush, Cereal, Soap]
422

As you can see that the items are sorted lexicographically. This is the default imple
mentation provided by the compareTo(...) method in the java.lang.String class. What if you
have a special reporting requirement to sort by length of the item name. This is where
the Comparator interface comes in handy by giving you more control over ordering.
You can define your own ordering logic through the compare(...) method as shown
below using the Comparator interface.
package sorting;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
public class Sorting2 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<String> myShoppingList = new ArrayList<String>( );
myShoppingList.add("Cereal");
myShoppingList.add("Apples");
myShoppingList.add("Soap");
myShoppingList.add("Brush");
myShoppingList.add(null);
System.out.println("Before sorting: " + myShoppingList);
//Anonymous inner class.
Collections.sort(myShoppingList, new Comparator<String>( ) {
@Override
public int compare(String o1, String o2) {
if(o1 == null) {
o1 = "";
}
if(o2 == null) {
o2 = "";
}
return new Integer(o1.length( )).compareTo(o2.length( ));
}
});
423

Logic and Data structures Essentials

System.out.println("After sorting: " + myShoppingList);
}
}
Output:
Before sorting: [Cereal, Apples, Soap, Brush]
After sorting: [Soap, Brush, Cereal, Apples]
Note: The above class is using an anonymous class to sort, but if you require to reuse
the sorting in a number of places, you must move the compare(...) method to its own
class as shown below.
import java.util.Comparator;
public class NameLengthComparator implements Comparator<String> {
public int compare(String o1, String o2) {
//implementation goes here. same as above
}
}
You can use it as follows
Collections.sort(myShoppingList, new NameLengthComparator( ));
Q. What if your collection contains custom objects like a Pet class?
A. You can provide the default sorting behavior by having the Pet class implement the
Comparable interface and implementing the compareTo(...) method as shown below:
public class Pet implements Comparable<Pet> {
int id;
String name;
public Pet(int id, String name) {
this.id = id;
this.name = name;
}
424

// getters and setters go here

//invoked during sorting
public int compareTo(Pet o) {
Pet petAnother = o;
// natural alphabetical ordering by name
return this.name.compareTo(petAnother.name);
}
//invoked when the list is printed
public String toString( ) {
return "[id=" + id + ", name=" + name + "]";
}
}
Take note of generics being used above. The above Pet class can be used as shown
below.
package sorting;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
public class Sorting3 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Pet> myPetList = new ArrayList<Pet>( );
myPetList.add(new Pet(1, "Dog"));
myPetList.add(new Pet(2,"Rabit"));
myPetList.add(new Pet(3,"Cat"));
myPetList.add(new Pet(2, "Hamster"));
System.out.println("Before sorting: " + myPetList);
//compareTo method gets invoked on Pet.class
Collections.sort(myPetList);
System.out.println("After sorting: " + myPetList);
}
}
425

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Output:
Before sorting: [[1,Dog], [2,Rabit], [3,Cat], [2,Hamster]]
After sorting: [[3,Cat], [1,Dog], [2,Hamster], [2,Rabit]]
So far so good. What if you have an additional special sorting requirement to sort first
by id and then by name. You can use the Comparator interface to sort based on multiple
attributes as shown below.
package sorting;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
public class Sorting4 {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
List<Pet> myPetList = new ArrayList<Pet>( );
myPetList.add(new Pet(1, "Dog"));
myPetList.add(new Pet(2, "Rabit"));
myPetList.add(new Pet(3, "Cat"));
myPetList.add(new Pet(2, "Hamster"));
System.out.println("Before sorting: " + myPetList);
Collections.sort(myPetList, new Comparator<Pet>( ) {
@Override
public int compare(Pet o1, Pet o2) {
int byIds = o1.getId( ).compareTo(o2.getId( ));
// if ids are same, compare by name
if (byIds == 0) {
return o1.getName( ).compareToIgnoreCase( o2.getName( ));
}
return byIds;
}
});
System.out.println("After sorting: " + myPetList);
}
426

}
Output:
Before sorting: [[1,Dog], [2,Rabit], [3,Cat], [2,Hamster]]
After sorting: [[1,Dog], [2,Hamster], [2,Rabit], [3,Cat]]
Note: The above class is using an anonymous class to sort, but if you require to reuse
the sorting in a number of places, you must move the compare(...) method to its own
class.
Q. What contract do you need to watch out for when writing your own comparator?
A. As per the Java API for java.util.Comparator, caution should be exercised when
using a comparator capable of imposing an ordering inconsistent with the
equals(...) method.
if compare(o1,o2) == 0 then o1.equals(o2) should be true.
if compare(o1,o2) != 0 then o1.equals(o2) should be false.

Algorithms
Q22 Can you write an algorithm to.....? COQ
A22 Swap two variables?
package algorithms;
public class Swap {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int x = 5;
int y = 6;
//store 'x' in a temp variable
int temp = x;
x = y;
y = temp;
427

Logic and Data structures Essentials

System.out.println("x=" + x + ",y=" + y);
}
}
Bubble sort { 30, 12, 18, 0, -5, 72, 424 }?
package algorithms;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class BubbleSort {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Integer[ ] values = { 30, 12, 18, 0, -5, 72, 424 };
int size = values.length;
System.out.println("Before:" + Arrays.deepToString(values));
for (int pass = 0; pass < size - 1; pass++) {
for (int i = 0; i < size - pass - 1; i++) {
// swap if i > i+1
if (values[i] > values[i + 1])
swap(values, i, i + 1);
}
}
System.out.println("After:" + Arrays.deepToString(values));
}
private static void swap(Integer[ ] array, int i, int j) {
int temp = array[i];
array[i] = array[j];
array[j] = temp;
}
}
Q. Is there a more efficient sorting algorithm? COQ
A. Although bubble-sort is one of the simplest sorting algorithms, it's also one of the
slowest. It has the O(n2) time complexity. Faster algorithms include quick-sort and
heap-sort. The Arrays.sort( ) method uses the quick-sort algorithm, which on average
428

has O(n * log n) but can go up to O(n 2) in a worst case scenario, and this happens
especially with already sorted sequences.
package algorithms;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class QuickSort {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Integer[ ] values = { 30, 12, 18, 0, -5, 72, 424 };
System.out.println("Before:" + Arrays.deepToString(values));
Arrays.sort(values);
System.out.println("After:" + Arrays.deepToString(values));
}
}
Q. How will you partition the following numbers 7 3 6 8 2 9 5 4 around the pivotal
number of 5 so that the lower values are in front of it and higher values are behind it?
COQ
7

5 (pivot)

^
^
Start two pointers, one at array index 0 and the other at array index 7, which is the last
element in the array. Advance the left pointer forward until a value greater than the
pivot (i.e. 5) is encountered. Advance the right pointer backwards until a value less
than the pivot (i.e 5) is encountered. In this case, the current left pointer value 7 is
greater than pivot (i.e. 5) and the right pointer value 4 is less than the pivot (i.e. 5), so
swap them as shown below before advancing as shown below with the shading. The
pointers have also advanced to the next position. Also note that the left pointer has
skipped the value 3 as it is less than pivot value5. The right pointer has skipped
the values 5 and 9 as they are equal and greater than the pivot value of 5
respectively.
4

5 (pivot)

^
^
The left pointer value 6 is greater than pivot (i.e. 5) and the right pointer value 2 is less
than the pivot (i.e. 5), so swap them as shown below before advancing.

429

Logic and Data structures Essentials

4

5 (pivot)

^ ^
When the pointers are pointing to the same value as shown above, swap it with the
pivot value as shown below.
4

5 (pivot)

^^
As you can see now, the smaller values (or numbers) are in front of the pivot value 5
and higher values are behind it. This array is now called partitioned. The partitioning
is used recursively by the quick sorting algorithm to sort elements. The above parti
tioning algorithm can be applied as shown below.
package algorithms;
public class Partition {
public static int partition(int[ ] values, int leftIndex,
int rightIndex, int pivotIndex) {
int i = leftIndex;
int j = rightIndex;
while (i < j) {
//moving from left to right
while (i <= j && values[i] <= values[pivotIndex])
i++;
//moving from right to left
while (j >= i && values[j] >= values[pivotIndex])
j--;
if (i < j)
swap(values, i, j);
}
//swap the current index value with the pivot index value
swap(values, i, pivotIndex);
return i;
// return the pivot index
}
430

public static void swap(int[ ] values, int i, int j) {

int temp = values[i];
values[i] = values[j];
values[j] = temp;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int[ ] values = { 7, 3, 6, 8, 2, 9, 5, 4};
//pivot value is 5, left index value is 7 and right index value is 4
partition(values, 0, values.length -1, values.length - 2 );
//prints 4,3,2,5,6,9,8,7
for ( int i = 0; i < values.length; i++ ) {
System.out.print(values[i]);
if(i < values.length-1)
System.out.print(",");
}
}
}
Alternatively, a single pointer can be used by moving from left to right by ensuring that
the pivot index is always the last index (i.e. at the end) as demonstrated below:
7

5 (pivot)

5 (pivot)

Send the pivot item to the back.

7

^
Move from left to right, and swap with the pointer if the current value is less than the
pivot value 5. 3 is less than the pivot value of 5, so swap it with the pointer value.
After swapping, move the pointer forward one index.
3

5 (pivot)

^
Skipping values 6 and 8 as they are greater than the pivot value of 5. 2 is less
than the pivot value, so swap it with the current pointer value. After swapping, move
the pointer forward one index.
431

Logic and Data structures Essentials

5 (pivot)

^
4 is less than the pivot value, so swap it with the current pointer value and move the
pointer forward one index.
3

5 (pivot)

^
No more smaller values than the pivot value of 5 can be found, so swap the pivot
value with the current pointer value.
3

5 (pivot)

^
The code for the above explanation can be written as shown below:
package algorithms;
public class Partition2 {
public static int partition(int[ ] values, int leftIndex,
int rightIndex, int pivotIndex) {
int pivotValue = values[pivotIndex];
// send pivot item to the back
swap(values, pivotIndex, rightIndex);
// keep track of where the front is
int index = leftIndex;
// check from the front to the back
for (int i = leftIndex; i < rightIndex; i++)
{
// swap if the current value is less than the pivot
if (values[i] < pivotValue) {
swap(values, i, index);
index++;
}
}
432

// put pivot item in the middle

swap(values, rightIndex, index);
return index;

// return the current index

}
public static void swap(int[ ] values, int i, int j) {
int temp = values[i];
values[i] = values[j];
values[j] = temp;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int[ ] values ={ 7, 3, 6, 8, 2, 9, 5, 4};
partition(values, 0, values.length - 1, values.length - 2);
//prints 3,2,4,5,7,9,6,8
for (int i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
System.out.print(values[i]);
if(i < values.length-1)
System.out.print(",");
}
}
}
Q. How would yo go about applying the QuickSort algorithm to sort the values 7 3 6 8
2 9 5 4 without using the Arrays.sort( ...).
A. The key steps involved are:

Partition the array with respect to a random element.

Partition the left part of the array.
Partition the right part of the array.
Recursively perform the above steps until the exit condition is reached.

Since this is a recursive algorithm, you need a terminating or exit condition that does
not make a recursive call. The terminating condition is when the rightIndex is less than
or equal to the leftIndex.
package algorithms;
433

Logic and Data structures Essentials

public class QuickSort2 {
//... partition and swap methods as shown before omitted for brevity.
public static int[ ] quicksort(int[ ] values, int leftIndex, int rightIndex) {
// This is a recursive algorithm and the terminating condition is
if (rightIndex > leftIndex) {
// partition the array with respect to a random element
int pivotIndex = (leftIndex + rightIndex) / 2;
int newPivotIndex = partition(values, leftIndex, rightIndex, pivotIndex);
// partition the left part of the array, using quicksort( ).
quicksort(values, leftIndex, newPivotIndex - 1);
// patition the right part of the array, using quicksort( ).
quicksort(values, newPivotIndex + 1, rightIndex);
}
return (int[ ]) values;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
int[ ] values = { 7, 3, 6, 8, 2, 9, 5, 4 };
quicksort(values, 0, values.length - 1);
// prints 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
for (int i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
System.out.print(values[i]);
if (i < values.length - 1)
System.out.print(",");
}
}
}
Q. Did you make any assumptions in the above code? COQ
A. Yes, the supplied array is not already sorted, it is a large array, and the sorting is
always in ascending order.

434

Q. Can you write a function that checks if a given array is already sorted either in
ascending or descending order? COQ
A.
package algorithms;
public class AlgorithmUtils {
public static boolean sorted(int[ ] input) {
if (input == null || input.length == 0) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid Input.");
}
boolean ascending = false;
int first = input[0];
int second = input[1];
// ascending
if (first < second)
ascending = true;
for (int i = 0; i < input.length-1; i++) {
if ((ascending && input[i] > input[i + 1])
|| (!ascending && input[i] < input[i + 1]))
return false;
}
return true;
}
//...
}
Q. How will you ensure that the above code is functioning it correctly? COQ BP
A. By writing unit tests that cover positive scenarios like an array sorted in ascending
order and an array sorted in descending order and also a negative scenario like an
unsorted array. Also, test for exceptional conditions like a null or empty array.
Q. Can you write a code to search for number 5 in 7 3 6 8 2 9 5 4? COQ
435

Logic and Data structures Essentials

A. The code below uses the linear search algorithm. The linear search algorithm's two
advantages are simplicity and the ability to search either sorted or unsorted one-dimen
sional arrays. Its sole disadvantage is the time spent in examining the elements. The
average number of elements to examine is half the array size, and the maximum is to
examine the entire array. For example, a one-dimensional array with 1 million elements
requires a linear search to examine an average of 0.5 million elements and a maximum
of 1 million elements. The linear search has the complexity of O(n).
package algorithms;
public class LinearSearch {
public static boolean found(int[ ] input, int number){
if(input == null || input.length == 0){
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid Input");
}
for (int i = 0; i < input.length; i++) {
if(number == i){
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
//...
}
For very large values of n, the binary search gives a better complexity of O(log n). It
uses the divide and conquer strategy to achieve better performance for very large
arrays. For example, a one-dimensional array with 1,048,576 elements requires binary
search to examine a maximum of 20 elements. Binary search algorithm's two disad
vantages are increased complexity and the need to presort the one dimensional array
prior to searching. To search for the value of 5:
Unsorted values.
7

Firstly sort it, using the quick sort algorithm discussed earlier.
436

left idx

mid idx

right idx

Divide the array into two halves around the center (left idx + right idx)/2 = (0 + 7)/2
= 3. In this case, the idx 3 (which has the value of 5) is the middle index. Compare the
search value of 5 with the mid idx. If the search value (i.e. 5) is greater than mid idx
value, then the search value may or may not be on the RHS of the mid idx. The LHS
can be safely ignored. If the search value is less than the mid idx, then the search value
may or may not be on the LHS of the idx. The RHS can be safely ignored. If the
search value is neither less than or greater, then the search value is the mid idx. In this
example, the value of 5 is in the mid idx, and hence will be found immediately. To
illustrate this, search for a value of 8 as shown below.
0

left idx

mid idx

right idx

The search value (i.e. 8 ) is greater than the mid idx value of 5, so set the left idx to
mid idx + 1 = 4, and then recompute the new mid idx to (left idx + right idx)/2 = (4
+ 7)/2 = 5
0

left idx

mid idx

right idx

The search value of 8 is still greater than the mid idx, hence the left idx becomes mid
idx + 1 = 5 + 1 = 6, and the new mid idx becomes (left idx + right idx) / 2 = (6 +
7) / 2 = 6.
0

left idx
mid idx

right idx

The search value of 8 is equal to the value of the mid idx, hence the value is found.
Also, note that the if the value were not be found, the terminating condition is the left
437

Logic and Data structures Essentials

idx > right idx. The code snippet below demonstrates the binary search.
package algorithms;
public class BinarySearch {
public static boolean found(int[ ] input, int number) {
if (input == null || input.length == 0) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid Input");
}
int leftIdx = 0;
int rightIdx = input.length - 1;
int midIdx;
while (leftIdx <= rightIdx) {
midIdx = (leftIdx + rightIdx) / 2;
if (number > input[midIdx])
leftIdx = midIdx + 1;
else if (number < input[midIdx])
rightIdx = midIdx - 1;
else
return true;
}
return false;
}
//...
}
Q. Is there a way to improve the above code snippet? COQ
A. The above code snippet only handles int values, and the code can be made more
reusable by making it handle binary search of any Comparable object as shown below:
package algorithms;
public class BinarySearch2<T>{

438

@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public static boolean found(Comparable[ ] input, Comparable compare) {
if (input == null || input.length == 0) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid Input");
}
int leftIdx = 0;
int rightIdx = input.length - 1;
int midIdx;
while (leftIdx <= rightIdx) {
midIdx = (leftIdx + rightIdx) / 2;
if (compare.compareTo(input[midIdx]) > 0)
leftIdx = midIdx + 1;
else if (compare.compareTo(input[midIdx]) < 0)
rightIdx = midIdx - 1;
else
return true;
}
return false;
}
// ....
}
The above code can be used with an Integer, BigDecimal, String, and any custom class
that implements the interface Comparable.
Note: There are other algorithms for sorting like merge sort, heap sort, insert sort,
etc. Also do your research on the interpolation search, which is a slight variation from
the binary search algorithm. This algorithm is a bit more complex and efficient than
the binary search algorithm.
Q23 What are the different binary tree traversal mechanisms? COQ
A23 Traversing a tree means visiting all the nodes of a tree in order. Many different binary
tree algorithms involve traversals. For example, if you wish to count the number of
employees in an organizational chart you must visit each node. If you wish to find the
439

Logic and Data structures Essentials

highest salary or add all the salaries of your employees by department, you must
examine the value contained in each node. Report generation is an important task of
Web based applications. A tree structure can be used to model the layout of nested
reports and traverse the tree to produce nested results and offer aggregation functions.
There are two fundamentally different kinds of binary trees traversals - those that are
depth-first and those that are breadth-first. There are three different types of depthfirst traversals, which are preorder, inorder, and postorder. There is only one kind of
breadth-first traversal, which is the level order traversal. Trees can be traversed recurs
ively or iteratively. Recursive traversal is the best known and most frequently used.
Recursive algorithm uses method call stack in order to keep the state of the traversal
for every level of a tree.
Preorder traversal
Preorder traversal gets its name from the fact that it visits the root first. In the case of
a binary tree, the algorithm is visit the root first, and then traverse the left subtree,
and then traverse the right subtree.
Depth = 0

A
1

Depth = 1

Depth = 2

Depth = 3

Prints: ABDCEGHFI
In preorder traversal, each node is visited before any of its children. The code snippet
for recursion is shown below.

440

//preorder traversal for a binary tree

public void traverse(Node node) {
//Exit condition for recursion
if (node == null) {
return;
}

//otherwise this will be an endless loop

System.out.println(node.getName( ));
traverse(node.getLeft( ));
traverse(node.getRight( ));

//recurse left node

//recurse right node

}
The above algorithm can be achieved iteratively without recursion as shown below by
using a Dequeue (i.e. LIFO using a double-ended queue).
public static void preorderIterative(Node node) {
Deque<Node> s = new ArrayDeque<Node>(10);
s.push(node); // push the root node
while (!s.isEmpty( )) {
node = s.pop( );
System.out.print(node.getValue( ));
if (node.getRight( ) != null) { // push the right node first,
s.push(node.getRight( ));
// as a stack is LIFO
}
if (node.getLeft( ) != null) { // push the left node last,
s.push(node.getLeft( ));
// as a stack is LIFO
}
}
}
The diagram below shows how a double ended queue is used for traversal. Each pass
within the while loop will have a value popped up (e.g. A), and its children pushed in
(e.g. B and C).

441

Logic and Data structures Essentials

The values that are popped out of the stack and printed .
A

G
B
A
Start

Pass 1

Pass 2

Pass 3

Pass 4

Pass 5

Pass 6

Pass 7

I
Pass 8

Pass 9

In-order traversal
In a binary tree in-order traversal, left child tree is visited first, then visit the parent
node, and then visit the right child tree.
Depth = 0

Depth = 1

3
7

Prints: BDAGEHCFI
The recursive approach is shown below.
//inorder traversal for a binary tree
public void traverse(Node node) {
//Exit condition for recursion
if (node == null) {
442

Depth = 2

Depth = 3

return;

//otherwise this will be an endless loop

}
traverse(node.getLeft( ));
System.out.println(node.getName( ));
traverse(node.getRight( ));

//recurse left node

//recurse right node

}
The iterative approach is shown below using a LIFO approach:
public static void inorderIterative(Node node) {
Deque<Node> s = new ArrayDeque<Node>(10);
while (!s.isEmpty() || null != node) {
if (null != node) {
s.push(node);
node = node.left;
} else {
node = s.pop();
System.out.print(node.getValue());
node = node.right;
}
}
}
The diagram below shows how a double ended queue is used for traversal. All depends
on how the elements are popped in and popped out.

The values that are popped out of the stack and printed .
B

D A

G E

H C

G
A

B
D
A A A A

2 3

4 5

E E E
H
C C C C C C

13 14 15 16

9 10 11 12

I
17 18 19

443

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Postorder traversal
In a binary tree postorder traversal, the left and right subtrees are visited before the
parent node.
Depth = 0

A
8

C
7

F
5

Depth = 1

Depth = 2

Depth = 3

Prints: DBGHEIFCA
//postorder traversal for a binary tree
public void traverse(Node node) {
//Exit condition for recursion
if (node == null) {
return;
//otherwise this will be an endless loop
}
traverse(node.getLeft( ));
//recurse left node
traverse(node.getRight( ));
//recurse right node
System.out.println(node.getName( ));
}
Q. What is an expression tree?
A. An expression tree is a binary tree that represents a mathematical expression. It is
shown below to demonstrate tree traversals discussed above.

444

+
3

*
4

+
5

Preorder traversal: + 3 * 4 + 52
Inorder traversal: 3 + 4 * 5 + 2
Postorder traversal: 3452+*+
Note: Check the sample classes treetraversal.Node and treetraversal.NodeTest to
try the non-recursive approach for inorder and postorder traversals.
Q. Can you give some real life examples of these tree traversals?
A.
Preorder traversal can be used to create or clone an existing tree. The parent needs to
exist before the children can be added. Evaluation of expressions in prefix notation
and processing of the abstract syntax trees by compilers (e.g. JavaCC, ANTLR, etc) are
based on preorder traversal. The DefaultMutableTreeNode is a general purpose tree data
structure in the package javax.swing.tree. The getNextNode( ) method in this class returns
the node that follows a preorder traversal. A JavaScript method like getElementsBy
TagName(...) could use a preorder traversal to return the elements from a HTML
DOM (Document Object Model) tree. It can also be used in your web pages for the
site map, menus, and the bread crumb navigation due to its simplicity of retrieving
parents and children.
Postorder traversal is used for evaluating of expressions in post-fix, and by the
Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), which is used by the compilers. For example, a
machine language will require a notation like 2 3 +. A postorder is required for
destroying a tree. All the children needs to be destroyed before the parent can be
destroyed.
445

Logic and Data structures Essentials

public void destroy(Node node) {
if (node == null)
return;
// exit condition
destroy(node.left)
destroy(node.right)
freeCurrentNode(node)
}
Any situations where sub tasks need to be performed before the parent tasks. For
example, nested pop up menus where child menus need to be closed before the
parent menus can be closed. In a build process or a Gantt chart, sub tasks or
processes need to be completed before the parent tasks or processes can be
completed.
Inorder traversal can be used to search for an item in a balanced binary tree using
the binary search algorithm. You can also print all of their data in alphanumeric
order.

The WHERE clause SQL expressions can be parsed using inorder tree traversal. For
example the SQL expression
SELECT * from employees WHERE emp.name = 'john' and emp.age > 10
can be parsed for WHERE clause using an in-order traversal as shown below:

446

emp.name = 'john' and emp.age > 10

Note: The level-order is another traversal option that will be discussed next.
Q24 What are the different searching methodologies for trees that may not have any
particular ordering? Which approach will you use if you are likely to find the element
near the top of the tree? Which approach will you be using if you are likely to find the
element near the bottom of the tree? COQ SBQ
A24 There are 2 types of searches known as BFS and DFS.

Breadth First Search (BFS) aka level-order traversal.

The BFS searches through a tree from the root and moves from nodes left to right at
each level (i.e depth 0, depth 1, etc) until either the search element has been found or
447

Logic and Data structures Essentials

all the nodes have been looked at. As per the diagram, it will be searched in the order
of a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. The preorder traversal uses a stack, and the BFS uses a
queue. The queue (FIFO) and stack (LIFO) are pretty much opposite. The LinkedList
class can be used as a queue for storing children on the same level. The code snippet
below demonstrates the BFS for a binary tree.
public boolean bfsSearch(Node root, String search) {
if (root == null) {
return false;
}
Queue<Node> q = new LinkedList<Node>( );
q.add(root);

// FIFO

Node tmp;
while (q.size( ) > 0) {
tmp = q.remove( );

//removes from head of the queue

if (tmp.getName( ).equals(search)) {
return true;
}
if (tmp.getLeft( ) != null) {
q.add(tmp.getLeft( ));
}

//add to the end of the queue

if (tmp.getRight( ) != null) {
q.add(tmp.getRight( ));
}

//add to the end of the queue

}
return false;
}
Depth First Searching (DFS)
A DFS searches through a tree starting at the root, and goes straight down a single
branch until a leaf is reached. Then, it repeats the same process with its nearest
448

ancestor that has not been searched through yet. As per the diagram, it will be
searched in the order of a, b, d, h, e, c, f, and g.
The code snippet below demonstrates the DFS for a binary tree.
public boolean dfsSearch(Node node, String search) {
//exit condition for recursion
if (node == null) {
return false;
}
//exit condition for recursion
if (node.getName( ).equals(search)) {
return true;
}
//recursive calls
return dfsSearch(node.getLeft( ), search) || dfsSearch(node.getRight( ), search) ;
}

Logic Processing
The interviewers are not only looking for your logic processing and coding capability, but
also your reasoning ability and engineering skills. Think aloud where possible with the logical
steps and key considerations like readability, maintainability, performance, memory utiliz
ation, possible test scenarios both positive and negative unit tests, alternative approaches,
pros, and cons for each alternative, etc. Don't compromise on readability, extendability, and
maintainability for a small performance gain.
Your approach is as important if not more important than getting it right. The interviewers
will also be looking to see if you are willing to change your code without the I know it all
attitude and your willingness to learn. Time limitation and nervousness can play a part in
arriving at the most efficient solution, but your approach and engineering skills can give
interviewers the confidence that you are on the right track and can get the job done if they
know how you are thinking.

449

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Q25 Write a program that allows you to create an integer array of 5 elements with the
following values: int numbers[ ]={5,2,4,3,1}. The program computes the sum of first
5 elements and stores them at element 6, computes the average and stores it at element
7 and identifies the smallest value from the array and stores it at element 8. COQ
A25 Remember that the arrays are zero based.
package chapter2.com;
public class Numbers {
public static void main(String args[ ]) {
// last three zeros are for the result
int numbers[ ] = { 5, 2, 4, 3, 1, 0, 0, 0 };
//set the minimum to a max value
numbers[7] = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
// sum the numbers
numbers[5] += numbers[i];
// track the lowest
if (numbers[i] < numbers[7]) {
numbers[7] = numbers[i];
}
}
// average the numbers
numbers[6] = numbers[5] / 5;
System.out.println("Total is " + numbers[5]);
System.out.println("Average is " + numbers[6]);
System.out.println("Minimum is " + numbers[7]);
}
}
Output:
Total is 15
Average is 3
Minimum is 1

450

Q26 Write a program that will return whichever value is nearest to the value of 100 from
two given int numbers. COQ
A26 You can firstly write the pseudo code as follows:

Compute the difference to 100.

Find out the absolute difference as negative numbers are valid.
Compare the differences to find out the nearest number to 100.
Write test cases for +ve, -ve, equal to, > than and < than values.

package chapter2.com;
public class CloseTo100 {
public static int calculate(int input1, int input2) {
//compute the difference. Negative values are allowed as well
int iput1Diff = Math.abs(100 - input1);
int iput2Diff = Math.abs(100 - input2);
//compare the difference
if (iput1Diff < iput2Diff) return input1;
else if (iput2Diff < iput1Diff) return input2;
else return input1;
//if tie, just return one
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//+ve numbers
System.out.println("+ve numbers=" + calculate(50,90));
//-ve numbers
System.out.println("-ve numbers=" + calculate(-50,-90));
//equal numbers
System.out.println("equal numbers=" + calculate(50,50));
//greater than 100
System.out.println(">100 numbers=" + calculate(85,105));
System.out.println("<100 numbers=" + calculate(95,110));
}
}
451

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Output:
+ve numbers=90
-ve numbers=-50
equal numbers=50
>100 numbers=105
<100 numbers=95
Q27 Write a program that will return factorial of n (usually written as n!), which is the
product of all integers up to and including n (1 * 2 * 3 * ... * n). Can you explain both
recursive and iterative approaches? Which approach would you prefer? COQ
[Hint: if n=5, n!= 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 and 0! == 1! == 1]
A27 Considerations:

n! can be written as n * (n-1) * (n-2) .... * 1.

factorials for negative numbers are undefined.
0! is equal to 1.
Should be able to handle factorials for large numbers like 20.
Write test scenarios for 0, a larger value like 20, and a negative value.

Recursive approach:
package chapter2.com;
public class Factorial1 {
public static int evaluate(int input) {
if (input < 0) {
throw new RuntimeException("Undefined for -ve: " + input);
}
//0! == 1! == 1
if (input <= 1) {
return 1;
}
return input * evaluate(input - 1);
452

//recursion exit condition.

}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// zero
System.out.println("0! = " + evaluate(0));
// non-zero +ve number
System.out.println("5! = " + evaluate(5));
// Large +ve number
System.out.println("20! = " + evaluate(20));
}

// wrong - data over flows

}
Output:
0! = 1
5! = 120
20! = -2102132736

//wrong data over flows

Improved recursive approach:

The above solution will not work for large numbers as the maximum limit will reach
quickly, and will over-flow after 12! (i.e. 12! = 479001600 ). The above issue can be
fixed by using a BigInteger where the values are limited only by the amount of memory.
The revised code is as shown below.
package chapter2.com;
import java.math.BigInteger;
public class Factorial2 {
public static BigInteger evaluate(int input) {
if(input < 0) {
throw new RuntimeException("Undefined for -ve: " + input);
}
BigInteger result = BigInteger.valueOf(input);
//0! == 1! == 1
if (result.intValue( ) <= 1) {
453

Logic and Data structures Essentials

return BigInteger.ONE;
//recursion exit condition.
}
return result.multiply(evaluate(result.intValue( ) -1));
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//zero
System.out.println("0! = " + evaluate(0));
//non-zero +ve number
System.out.println("5! = " + evaluate(5));
//Large +ve number
System.out.println("20! = " + evaluate(20));
}

//right

}
Output:
0! = 1
5! = 120
20! = 2432902008176640000
Iterative approach:
MC Writing a recursive factorial method may not be the recommended approach as
recursive solution's memory usage is O(N) instead of O(1). Recursive functions are
more suited in situations where the iterative approach will either be more complex or
harder to understand. For example, nested loops that are more than 2 levels deep.
Recursive functions are more suited for composite objects having a tree or hierarchical
structure. Since recursion takes stack memory space, it should be used carefully. If
your tree is very large, the traversal function should be implemented iteratively. The
iterative approach is illustrated below.
package chapter2.com;
import java.math.BigInteger;
public class Factorial3 {
public static BigInteger evaluate(int input) {
if(input < 0) {
454

throw new RuntimeException("Undefined for -ve: " + input);

}
if(input == 0) {
return BigInteger.ZERO;
}
BigInteger result = BigInteger.ONE;
while(input != 0) {
result = result.multiply(BigInteger.valueOf(input));
input = input - 1;
}
return result;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
//zero
System.out.println("0! = " + evaluate(0));
//non-zero +ve number
System.out.println("5! = " + evaluate(5));
//Large +ve number
System.out.println("20! = " + evaluate(20));
}
}
Output:
0! = 1
5! = 120
20! = 2432902008176640000
Q28 Write a method which takes the parameters (int[ ] inputNumbers, int sum) and checks
input to find the pair of integer values which totals to the sum. If found returns true,
else returns false? COQ
A28 Considerations:

Should it work for negative integers?

How big is the inputNumbers array? How often does this method gets called?
455

Logic and Data structures Essentials

What scenarios need to be tested? +ve numbers, negative numbers, positive

sum, negative sum, etc.?
What are the possible approaches to achieve this?

Approach 1: using nested loops:

Pick one number from the array of inputNumbers and compare against other
numbers in the array of inputNumbers to see if 2 numbers add up to the given
sum.
If the picked number adds up to the given sum with at least one other number
from the array, return true. Otherwise repeat this process by picking the next
number from the array of inputNumbers to see if it adds up to the given sum.
If none of the 2 numbers in the array add up to the given sum, return false.

package chapter2.com;
public class FindPairWithSum1 {
public static boolean hasSum(int[ ] inputNumbers, int sum) {
//nested for loops.
//int n = inputNumbers.length. max loops --> O(n2)
for (int i = 0; i < inputNumbers.length; i++) {
for (int j = i + 1; j < inputNumbers.length; j++) {
if (inputNumbers[i] + inputNumbers[j] == sum) {
return true;
}
}
}
return false;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9},8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9},7));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9,8,9,7,8,9},3));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,5,3},8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,3},4));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,-3},-8));
456

System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,-3},5));

}
}
Output:
true
false
false
true
true
true
true
Pros: Works for negative numbers as well. Easy to read and understand.
Cons: Not suited for larger arrays and frequent invocations of the method as its
maximum loop count is O(n2). Say for an array with 500 numbers, max loop count is
500*500 = 250000 times. Hence not at all efficient for larger arrays.
Note: If negative numbers are not required to be supported, you can add a check to
speed things up a bit further as shown below:
for (int i = 0; i < inputNumbers.length; i++) {
/negative numbers are not supported.
//fail fast and throw exception early.
//class invariant must be satisfied
if(inputNumbers[i] < 0){
throw new RunTimeException(No -ve numbers);
}
if(inputNumbers[i] > sum){
continue;
}
for (int j = i + 1; j < inputNumbers.length; j++) {
if (inputNumbers[i] + inputNumbers[j] == sum) {
return true;
}
457

Logic and Data structures Essentials

}
}
Approach 2: using another collection:

Pick one number from the array of inputNumbers.

Evaluate the requiredNumber (sum picked number) to add up to the given sum.
Store this requiredNumber in a set (e.g. a HashSet) for later use.
Pick the next number, and see if it is one of the requiredNumbers by checking it
in the previously stored set (i.e. setNumbers). If found return true.
Continue this process for all the numbers in the inputNumbers array.
If all the numbers are processed, and no match was found, return false.

package chapter2.com;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Set;
public class FindPairWithSum2 {
public static boolean hasSum(int[ ] inputNumbers, int sum) {
//using a set.
//int n = inputNumbers.length. max loops --> n
Set<Integer> setNumbers = new HashSet<Integer>( );
for (int i = 0; i < inputNumbers.length; i++) {
int requiredNumber = sum - inputNumbers[i];
if(setNumbers.contains(inputNumbers[i])) {
return true;
}
else{
setNumbers.add(requiredNumber);
}
}
return false;
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9},8));
458

System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9},7));

System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9,8,9,7,8,9},3));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,5,3},8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,3},4));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,-3},-8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,-3},5));
}
}
Output:
true
false
false
true
true
true
true
Pros: Easy to read and understand. More efficient than nested loops for larger arrays.
Its maximum loop count is n. Say for an array with 500 numbers, max loop count is
500 times.
Cons: Require additional memory consumption to store requiredNumbers in a separate
collection.
Note: If negative numbers are not required to be supported, an additional optimiz
ation can be made by adding the following line just after the for loop line.
//class invariant check
if(inputNumbers[i] < 0){
throw new RunTimeException(No -ve numbers);
}
if(inputNumbers[i] > sum){
continue;
}
Approach 3: using two pointers:

459

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Sort the array of inputNumbers in ascending order.

Define two pointers one starts from the beginning and the other starts from
the end.
Loop through the array of inputNumbers until either numbers pointed by start
and end pointers add up to the given sum or both the pointers point to the
same element in the array.
If the elements pointed by the start and end pointers add up to the given sum,
return true. If the given sum is greater, move the start pointer forward to the
next element. If the given sum is lesser, move the end pointer backwards to the
previous element.
If sum is found, return true, and otherwise return false.
A simple diagram as demonstrated in the algorithms section would make
things clearer.

package chapter2.com;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class FindPairWithSum3 {
public static boolean hasSum(int[ ] inputNumbers, int sum) {
//using two pointers.
//int n = inputNumbers.length. max loops --> n-1
int start = 0;
//left pointer
int end = inputNumbers.length -1;
//right pointer
Arrays.sort(inputNumbers);
//sort the array
while (start != end) {
if(sum == inputNumbers[start] + inputNumbers[end]) {
return true;
}
else if(sum > inputNumbers[start] + inputNumbers[end] ) {
++start;
// move forward the lhs pointer
}
else {
--end;
// move backward the rhs pointer
}
}
return false;
460

}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9},8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9},7));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{3,5,8,9,8,9,7,8,9},3));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,5,3},8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,3},4));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,-3},-8));
System.out.println(hasSum(new int[ ]{9,8,-5,-3},5));
}
}
Output:
true
false
false
true
true
true
true
Pros: Easy to read and understand. More efficient than nested loops for larger arrays.
Its maximum loop count is n-1. Say for an array with 500 numbers, max loop count is
499. Can be used for negative numbers.
Cons: Array of numbers must be sorted prior to use. Using a quick sort algorithm will
incur an additional O(N * log N) performance.
Which approach to choose? Using another collection or two pointers. Incorporate
performance and memory usage benchmarks.
Q29 Can you write a code to evaluate( ) a simple mathematical calculation as shown below
using a binary tree? COQ
3 + 4 * ( 5 + 2 ) = 31
A29 A binary tree is made of nodes, where each node contains a "left" pointer, a "right"
461

Logic and Data structures Essentials

pointer, and a data element (e.g. operand, operator, etc). The "root" pointer points to
the topmost node in the tree. The left and right pointers recursively point to smaller
"subtrees" on either side. A null pointer represents a binary tree with no elements (i.e.
an empty tree).

= 31

+
3

= 28

+
5

=7

package binarytree1;
public class Node {
enum OPERATOR { ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, DIVIDE };
//store the values
private Integer lhsValue, rhsValue;
// operator node that links value nodes
private OPERATOR operator = null;
private Node lhsNode, rhsNode;
public Node( ) {}
public void link(Node lhsNode, Node rhsNode) {
this.lhsNode = lhsNode;
this.rhsNode = rhsNode;
}
// ... relevant getters & setters
462

public int evaluate( ) {

int result = 0;
int lhs = 0, rhs = 0;
if (lhsNode != null) {
lhs = lhsNode.evaluate( );
}
if (rhsNode != null) {
rhs = rhsNode.evaluate( );
}
if(lhsNode == null && lhsValue != null){
return lhsValue;
}
if(rhsNode == null && rhsValue != null){
return rhsValue;
}
if (operator == null) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid Operator: " + operator);
}
switch (operator) {
case ADD:
result = lhs + rhs;
break;
case SUBTRACT:
result = lhs - rhs;
break;
case MULTIPLY:
result = lhs * rhs;
break;
case DIVIDE:
463

Logic and Data structures Essentials

result = lhs / rhs;
break;
}
return result;
}
}
The above code can be used as shown below:
package binarytree1;
public class TreeCalculator {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// 3 + 4 * (5+2)
Node five = new Node( );
five.setLhsValue(5);
Node two = new Node( );
two.setRhsValue(2);
Node operation1 = new Node( );
operation1.setOperator(Node.OPERATOR.ADD);
operation1.link(five, two);
System.out.println("operation1=" + operation1.evaluate( )); // 7
Node four = new Node( );
four.setLhsValue(4);
Node operation2= new Node( );
operation2.setOperator(Node.OPERATOR.MULTIPLY);
operation2.link(four, operation1);
System.out.println("operation2=" + operation2.evaluate( )); // 28
Node three = new Node( );
three.setLhsValue(3);
Node operation3= new Node( );
operation3.setOperator(Node.OPERATOR.ADD);
operation3.link(three, operation2);
464

System.out.println("operation3=" + operation3.evaluate( )); // 31

}
}
The above solution is not ideal. The biggest problem with the Node class is that all the
code and logic are enclosed in a single method. What if you need to add another
operation like a modulus operation? A cleaner solution is to use polymorphism instead
of if/else or switch conditionals as shown below. The above code is not open for
extension. When ever you see large switch or if/else statements, polymorphism and
open-closed principle should come to mind. The following solution is also more
testable.
package binarytree2;
public interface Node {
int evaluate( );
}
package binarytree2;
public abstract class AbstractOperationNode implements Node {
protected Node left, right;
public AbstractOperationNode(Node left, Node right){
this.left= left;
this.right = right;
}
}
package binarytree2;
public class OperandNode implements Node {
Integer value;
public OperandNode(Integer value){
this.value = value;
}
465

Logic and Data structures Essentials

@Override
public int evaluate( ) {
return value;
}
}
package binarytree2;
public class AddOperationNode extends AbstractOperationNode {
public AddOperationNode(Node left, Node right){
super(left, right);
}
@Override
public int evaluate( ) {
return left.evaluate( ) + right.evaluate( );
}
}
package binarytree2;
public class MultiplyOperationNode extends AbstractOperationNode {
public MultiplyOperationNode(Node left, Node right){
super(left, right);
}
@Override
public int evaluate( ) {
return left.evaluate( ) * right.evaluate( );
}
}
//... similar code for the other operational nodes
The above code can be used as shown below with polymorphism in action. If a new
466

operation was added, all you have to do is to add a new operation node and provide an
appropriate implementation via the the evaluate( ) method. This shows that the above
code is open for extension and closed for modification. It also harnesses the power of
OO concept known as polymorphism.
package binarytree2;
public class TreeCalculator {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
// 3 + 4 * (5+2)
Node five = new OperandNode(5);
Node two = new OperandNode(2);
Node result1 = new AddOperationNode(five, two);
System.out.println("node result1=" + result1.evaluate( )); // 7
Node four = new OperandNode(4);
Node result2 = new MultiplyOperationNode(four, result1);
System.out.println("node result2=" + result2.evaluate( )); // 28
Node three = new OperandNode(3);
Node result3 = new AddOperationNode(three,result2);
System.out.println("node result3=" + result3.evaluate( )); // 31
}
}
Q30 Can you suggest the most appropriate data structure for each of the following
scenarios given below?
A30 Q. A Java program to read a text file and print each of the unique words in alpha
betical order together with the number of times the word occurs in the text?
A. A TreeMap automatically sorts new keys on insertion, no sorting after wards is
needed. So it can store the words in alphabetical order. Alternatively, you can use a
TreeBag, which is an implementation of a Bag interface provided by the Apache
Commons' collection framework. A bag can hold a number of copies of each object.
For example,

467

Logic and Data structures Essentials

public static void main(String[ ] args) {
Bag bag = new TreeBag( );
String text = "A small cat jumped over a small fence";
String[ ] wordArray = text.split("\\s");
// split on white space
for (String string : wordArray) {
bag.add(string.toLowerCase());
}
// iterate over the unique set
for (Object word : bag.uniqueSet()) {
System.out.println("word '" + (String) word + "' has " + bag.getCount(word) + "
occurrence(s).");
}
}
Output:
word 'a' has 2 occurrence(s).
word 'cat' has 1 occurrence(s).
word 'fence' has 1 occurrence(s).
word 'jumped' has 1 occurrence(s).
word 'over' has 1 occurrence(s).
word 'small' has 2 occurrence(s).
Q. A Java program to undo a last n number of tasks performed on a user interface?
A. Use a Stack implementation like a Dequeue that gives a LIFO capability.
Q. A Java program to represent a bus network for a travel company?
A. Cities can be model as nodes in a graph and the roads connecting the cities as
edges. It will be a directed graph as you need to show the direction of the edges as
either unidirectional or bidirectional. In this example, it is important to associate some
cost with the connection from one node to another. The travel cost will vary between
the cities .If you wanted to determine the shortest distance and route from one city to
another, you first need to assign a cost from traveling from one city to another. The
logical solution would be to give each edge a weight, such as how many kilo meters it
is from one city to another. So, it will be a directed weighted graph to be more specific.
The directionality and weightedness of a graph can have one of the following four
468

arrangements of edges,
Directed, weighted edges
Directed, unweighted edges
Undirected, weighted edges
Undirected, unweighted edges
Note: There are many other real life examples for a graph data structure like a city
regional telephone network, a flight network, a courier service network, a link
structure of a web page where the nodes are the web pages available at the website
and links from one page to another as directed edges, etc.
Q. How would you represent an image in the form of a bitmap?
A. You need to use a one-dimensional array of pixel data. Each entry in the array
represents a single pixel in the image.
int[ ] pixels = new int [width*height];
The two-dimensional pixel data are flattened into a one-dimensional array by placing
the pixel at position (x, y) into the array at position (y * width+x).
Q. What data structure would you use to store any arbitrary two dimensional data
from a database table?
A. Create a Java bean class named ColumnData that has a Map to represent column
names as Map keys, and column values as Map values. The row data will be represented
as a list of ColumnData.
List<ColumnData> list = new ArrayList<ColumnData>(100);
Q. Customers waiting for a teller in a bank?
A. In real life a line of customers waiting for service of some kind is represented by a
Queue. The rule that determines who goes next is called a queuing discipline. The
simplest queuing discipline is called FIFO, for "first-in-first-out". The other most
common queuing discipline is priority queueing, in which each customer is assigned
a priority, and the customer with the highest priority goes first, regardless of the order
of arrival. The priority can be based on anything: what time a flight leaves, how many
groceries the customer has, how important the customer is, or if you are traveling
with young children, etc.

469

Logic and Data structures Essentials

Note: A printer spooler is another example to use a queue so that the print jobs can
be printed in the order of their arrival.

470

Exception handling
Exception handling is used to prevent application from being stuck due to unusual occur
rences. If the exceptions are handled properly, the application will never get terminated
abruptly. Bad exception handling can make your application harder to read, maintain and
debug.

Q31 Why does Java have exceptions? What is the difference between checked and
unchecked exceptions? LF FAQ
A31 Java does have exceptions to handle exceptional situations.
java.lang.Object
|
+--java.lang.Throwable
|
+--java.lang.Exception
| |
| +--java.lang.ClassNotFoundException
| |
| +--java.io.IOException
| | |
| | +--java.io.FileNotFoundException
| |
| +--java.lang.RuntimeException
|
|
|
+--java.lang.NullPointerException
|
|
|
+--java.lang.IndexOutOfBoundsException
|
|
|
+--java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
|
+--java.lang.Error
|
+--java.lang.VirtualMachineError
|
+--java.lang.OutOfMemoryError

471

Logic and Data structures Essentials

In Java, there are basically two types of exceptions: Checked exceptions and
unchecked exceptions.

A checked exception is any subclass of java.lang.Exception (or java.lang.Exception

itself). An unchecked exception is any subclass of java.lang.RuntimeException
(or java.lang.RuntimeException itself).

A checked exception can throw compile-time errors to force the calling code
to either catch the exception or declare it in a throws clause. For example,
ClassNotFoundException, FileNotFoundException, IOException, SQLException,
PersistenceException, etc are checked exceptions. These exceptions occur mainly
due to conditions that are not in programmer's control. These include condi
tions such as connection errors to database, LDAP servers, external services,
and other network failures.
In case of an unchecked exception, the compiler doesn't force client programs
(aka calling programs) to either catch the exception or declare it in a throws
clause. In fact, client programs may not even have to know that the exception
could be thrown. For example, StringIndexOutOfBoundsException, ClassCastEx
ception, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, NullPointerException, etc are unchecked
exceptions. If you wish, you can handle them. Unchecked exceptions occur
mainly due to programming errors like invoking a method on a null object
(NullPointerException), an invalid argument is passed to a method (IllegalArgu
mentException), trying to access an array index beyond the allocated memory
(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException), etc.

Checked exception example:

package exceptions;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
public class CheckedDemo {

472

//must throw or catch checked IOException.

//Otherwise you will get a compile-time error
public void writeFile( ) throws IOException {
File file = new File("C://temp/demo.txt");
FileWriter fw = new FileWriter(file);
//Can throw IOException
fw.write("test");
fw.close( );
//Can throw IOException
}
//must throw or catch checked IOException.
//Otherwise you will get a compile-time error
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
try {
new CheckedDemo( ).writeFile( );
//Can throw IOException
}
catch(IOException ioe) {
ioe.printStackTrace( );
}
}
}
Unchecked exception example:
package exceptions;
public class UnCheckedDemo {
// If you wish, you can handle unchecked exceptions
// but, it will not be necessary as shown here.
public int getValue( ) {
int[ ] i = { 0, 2 };
return i[3];
//throws ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
}
// If you wish, you can handle unchecked exceptions
// but, it will not be necessary as shown here.
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
new UnCheckedDemo( ).getValue( );
//throws runtime exception
//ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
473

Logic and Data structures Essentials

}
}
There are no throws or catch clauses for the unchecked exceptions as shown above.
Q32 Will the following code compile? COQ
public static void writeFile(String filePath, String text) {
try {
//some File handling implementation
} catch (Exception t) {
System.out.println("catch 3");
t.printStackTrace( );
} catch (IOException ioe) {
System.out.println("catch 2");
ioe.printStackTrace( );
} catch (FileNotFoundException fnf) {
System.out.println("catch 1");
fnf.printStackTrace( );
}
}
A32 No. The FileNotFoundException is extended (i.e. inherited) from the IOException, and
IOException is extended from the Exception class as shown below. So subclasses have
to be caught first.
+--java.lang.Exception
| |
| +--java.lang.ClassNotFoundException
| |
| +--java.io.IOException
| | |
| | +--java.io.FileNotFoundException
Exception handling in Java is polymorphic in nature. For example, if you catch or
throw type Exception in your code, then it can catch or throw its descendent types like
474

IOException and FileNotFoundException as well. So if you catch the type Exception before
the type IOException, then the type Exception block will catch all its sub class types as
well, and IOException block will never be reached. In order to catch the type
IOException and handle it differently to type Exception, IOException should be caught
before catching the type Exception. The FileNotFoundException should be caught before
IOException, if you want to handle it differently to type IOException. For example,
package exceptions;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
public class ExceptionsArePolymorphic {
public static void writeFile(String filePath, String text)
throws IOException {
File file = new File(filePath);
FileWriter fw = null;
try {
if (text == null || text.length( ) == 0) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException(
"Nothing to write: text= " + text);
}
fw = new FileWriter(file);
// can throw FileNotFoundException.
fw.write(text);
// can throw IOException.
} catch (FileNotFoundException fnfe) {
throw fnfe;
} catch (IOException ioe) {
throw new RuntimeException("Error writing: " + ioe);
} catch (Exception ex) {
throw new RuntimeException("Unexpected error: " + ex);
} finally {
if (fw != null) {
fw.close( );
//always cleanup in a finally block.
}
475

Logic and Data structures Essentials

}
}
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
try {
// there is no folder called onpurpose
writeFile("c:\\onpurpose\\demo.txt", "Testing...");
} catch (IOException ioe) {
if(ioe instanceof FileNotFoundException){
System.out.println("Check FilePublisher Cron Job: ...");
}
throw new RuntimeException(ioe);
//exception wrapping
}
}
}
Note: When you catch exceptions, subclasses must be caught first. When you throw
an exception, throwing the base class will handle all the subclasses as well. Throwing
an IOException will handle FileNotFoundException as well. But the reverse is not true.
Throwing a FileNotFoundException will not handle an IOException being thrown.
Throwing a base exception type will minimize the need for the client code to change
when a new exception is added or removed as long as
the added or removed
exception extends or implements the base exception type.
Q33 When do you want to use checked exceptions and when do you want to use
unchecked exceptions? LF FAQ BP
A33 There is no obvious answer for this. The industry and the experts are divided in their
opinions. As a general recommendation, checked exceptions should be used when the
calling code can take an alternate action to recover from that exception. For example,
a caller can recover from a TimeOutException in a network call by retrying a number of
times.
Unchecked exceptions are used when there's a critical exception (e.g. NullPointerEx
ception, ClassCastException, SQLException, etc) that the calling code is unlikely to be able
to recover from it. For example, the client code will never come to know why a
particular SQLException occurred as it has no knowledge of underlying implement
ation details and internal database design. So it is not worth forcing a client to handle
an exception it does not know about.

476

When writing exception handling, always ask yourself What action can the client
code take when a particular exception occurs?
Why favor unchecked exceptions? Unchecked exceptions make your code more
readable by not cluttering your code with try-catch blocks and aggregated throws
clauses. The less you handle exceptions, the less chance of writing bad error handling
code like sloppy catch blocks that suppress the exception, using exceptions for flow
control, not properly abstracting throws clauses, etc. Some of the important points to
keep in mind if you take this approach are:

Unlike checked exceptions, unchecked exceptions are not self-documenting.

The client will not have sufficient information as to what exceptions can be
thrown from a given method. Hence document all unchecked exceptions with
the Java-doc.
package exceptions;
public class UncheckedExcDocument {
/**
* @param name
* @param range
* @throws IllegalArgumentException if input is empty
* @throws NegativeAgeException if age is negative
*/
public void someMethod(String name, int age){
if(name == null || name.length( ) == 0){
throw new IllegalArgumentException("input=" + name);
}
if(age <= 0){
throw new NegativeAgeException(age);
}
}
}

Write negative unit tests that can also act as documentation. It will serve as a
documentation that can also be executed as shown below:

477

Logic and Data structures Essentials

package exceptions;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;
public class UncheckedExcDocumentTest {
UncheckedExcDocument ref = null;
@Before
public void setUp( ){
ref = new UncheckedExcDocument( );
}
@Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
public void negativeTestBadName( ){
ref.someMethod(null, 5);
}
@Test(expected=NegativeAgeException.class)
public void negativeTestBadAge( ){
ref.someMethod("John", -1);
}
}

Remember to provide clean up code in a finally block.

public void createUser( ) {
//...
try {
jdbcUtil.createUser(...); //can throw unchecked exceptions
}
finally{
//clean-up code
if(jdbcUtil != null){
jdbcUtil.closeConnection( )
}
}
}

478

Note: No catch blocks as it only throws unchecked exceptions.

Why favor checked exceptions? Checked exceptions are self-documenting with
appropriate throws clauses, but be aware of the following pitfalls and bad practices.

When forced to catch or throw exceptions, developers can write sloppy catch
blocks as shown below:
//Bad practice to suppress exceptions. It hides bugs.
try {
methodCallThatCanTrowException( );
}
//catch and suppress the exception. Very bad.
catch(Exception ex){
}

The above code not only sweeps checked exceptions under the carpet, but also
the unchecked exceptions. It's okay to ignore exceptions that are thrown from
a finally block. This is because the code in the finally block is intended to be
"cleanup" code, and you could decide to treat exceptions occurring there as
secondary, and to put an explicit catch and just log the exception. This is one
of the few cases where it's fairly legitimate to just ignore the exception. A
finally block should also not have a return statement as it can discard excep
tions.

Don't expose implementation details to the client. For example, an SQLEx

ception revealing internal database schema details. This could provide a
potential loop hole for security breach through potential SQL injection attack.
It is better to wrap these exceptions with more appropriate exceptions like
UserNotFoundException, RedrawLimitExceededException, etc. Try not to over do it
as you may end up having long stack traces.

When using checked exceptions, adding or removing an exception from a

method can break the client code. This will make your method signature very
fragile and can cause its own scheduling and versioning nightmares if the code
is already deployed to production. So abstract out the throws clause.

479

Logic and Data structures Essentials

For example, your UserDao interface should throw UserNotFoundException as
opposed to throwing an implementation specific exception like SQLException
if the data is stored in database, IOException if the data is stored in a file
system, or a RemoteException if the data is stored via a RMI call to an EJB. You
can catch the implementation specific exceptions like SQLException in your
UserDaoImpl class by catching them and re-throwing them as a UserNotFoun
dException. This enables your implementation details to change without
impacting the contract with the client. The client will always get a UserNot
FoundException regardless of your implementation using a database server or a
file system.

Don't make your interfaces vague by throwing type Exception. It will be unclear
as to which exceptions can be thrown from the methods. Use classes derived
from the type Exception. For example IOException.

Don't use exceptions for flow control as shown below:

public void processMaxCount( ) {
try {
while(true) {
increment( );
//do something
}
}
catch(CountLimitReachedException e) {}
//continue with rest of the code
}
public void increment( ) throws CountLimitReachedException {
if(count > Constants.MAX_COUNT) {
throw new CountLimitReachedException( );
}
++count;
}
The above code uses an infinite loop to increase the count until the user

480

defined checked exception CountLimitReachedException is thrown. This difficult

to read code can be replaced with a while loop that compares count against the
MAX_COUNT.
while(count <= Constants.MAX_COUNT) {
increment( );
//do something
}

Avoid catch blocks that just re-throw a caught exception. This just increases
your code size without adding any real value.
public void method1( ) {
try {
//Do something
}
catch(SomeException ex){
throw ex;
}
}

If you prefer a balanced approach by mixing both approaches based on its merits,
strive for consistency as mixing exception types often results in confusions and incon
sistent use. For example, on a per package basis as suggested by Rod Johnson.
Q34 What is the difference between exception and error? LF
A34 When a dynamic linking failure or some other hard failure in the JVM occurs, the
JVM throws an Error. Errors are unchecked. Typical Java programs should not catch
Errors. In addition, its unlikely that typical Java programs will ever throw Errors either.
A typical example for this would be an OutOfMemoryError thrown when the JVM
cannot allocate an object because it is out of memory, and no more memory could be
made available by the garbage collector.
Q35 What is a user defined exception? When would you define your own exception? LF
FAQ
A35 User defined exceptions are custom exceptions defined by either extending the
Exception or RuntimeException classes. It can also extend any other subclass of
Exception.
481

Logic and Data structures Essentials

User defined unchecked exception:
package exceptions;
public class NegativeAgeException extends RuntimeException {
// Exception class implements Throwable interface
// and Throwable interface implements Serializable interface
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private int age;
public NegativeAgeException(int age) {
this.age = age;
}
public int getAge( ) {
return age;
}
public String toString( ) {
return "Age cannot be negative" + " " + age;
}
}
User defined checked exception:
package exceptions;
import java.util.Arrays;
public class MyAppException extends Exception {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private String errorCode;
private String errorDescription;
private String[ ] variables;
482

public MyAppException(String errorCode, String errorDescription,

String[ ] variables) {
this.errorCode = errorCode;
this.errorDescription = errorDescription;
this.variables = variables;
}
public String getErrorCode( ) {
return errorCode;
}
public String getErrorDescription( ) {
return errorDescription;
}
public String[ ] getVariables( ) {
return variables;
}
@Override
public String toString( ) {
return "errorCode=" + errorCode + ",erorDesc="
+ errorDescription + ",variables= " + Arrays.deepToString(variables);
}
}
Q. When would you define your own exception? OEQ
A. Provide custom exceptions only if you have useful information to the calling code.
For example, the client code can query for errorCode and other additional variables as
shown above. Alternatively, the calling code can catch a specific exception type like
TimeOutException to recover from it. But if you are not going to add any extra inform
ation or handle it in a special way, then just throw a standard exception like:
throw new RuntimeException (Error processing charge details: + ...);
Q36 What are the best practices in regards to exception handling? BP
A36 In addition to the pitfalls and best practices covered under checked versus unchecked
483

Logic and Data structures Essentials

exceptions,

Throw an exception early because the exception stack trace helps you
pinpoint where an exception occurred by showing you the exact sequence of
method calls that leads to the exception. By throwing your exception early, the
exception becomes more accurate and more specific. Avoid suppressing or
ignoring exceptions. Also avoid using exceptions just to get a flow control.
Instead of:
// assume this line throws an exception because filename == null.
InputStream in = new FileInputStream(fileName);

Use the following code because you will get a more accurate stack trace:

if(filename == null) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException(file name is null);
}
InputStream in = new FileInputStream(fileName);

484

Catch an exception late. You should not try to catch an exception before
your program can handle it in an appropriate manner. The natural tendency
when a compiler complains about a checked exception is to catch it so that the
compiler stops reporting errors. It is a bad practice to sweep the exceptions
under the carpet by catching it and not doing anything with it. The best
practice is to catch the exception at the appropriate layer (e.g. an exception
thrown at an integration layer can be caught at a presentation layer in a catch
{} block), where your program can either meaningfully recover from the
exception and continue to execute or log the exception only once in detail, so
that user can identify the cause of the exception.

Don't lose your stack trace. Throwing a new exception from a catch block
without passing the original exception into the new exception can cause some
part of the stack trace to be lost, and can make debugging less effective.

public void method1( ) {

try {
//Do something
}
catch(SomeException ex){
throw new RuntimeException(ex.getMessage( )); //Bad: stack trace
//will be lost
}
}
public void method1( ) {
try {
//Do something
}
catch(SomeException ex){
throw new RuntimeException("Error " + ex);
}
}

//Good

Note: The Java 7 may have an improved catch clause by allowing you to catch
multiple exceptions and handle them the same way.
try {
return klass.newInstance( );
} catch (InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}

485

Logic and Data structures Essentials

486

Section-8:

Matching patterns with regular expressions

The reason regular expressions are so useful is that they can be used to
target what you need in any string with the flexibility of being able to use your
matches to process the given string. Regular Expressions are integrated into
many programmer tools and programming languages.

Regular expressions are used to search, replace, filter, and validate data.
Each time you use Regular Expressions, you are invoking a powerful search
engine. This search engine is one that searches through text looking for specific
patterns.

Many find regular expressions to be a bit tricky, but if you can learn
how to handle regular expressions you will have one of the most simplest,
cleanest and efficient tools in your arsenal to take on a variety of problems.

Regular Expressions can be used to match just about anything. Regular

expressions are a language study all to themselves.

487

Matching patterns with regular expressions

Matching patterns with Regular Expressions

The regular expressions are very powerful and it can be used in your Java code, shell scripts,
UNIX commands, build scripts like ANT, XSD restrictions, IDEs, TEXT editors, and other
tools. Here are a few reasons to motivate yourself to learn regular expressions (aka regex)

Regex are everywhere. Even many experienced programmers are intimidated by it,
and knowing how to use regexp effectively will help you stand out from the crowd.
Regex help you write short code.
Regex saves time.
Regex are fast if written with performance in mind.

Note: Please refer to the java.util.regex.Pattern class API for the summary of regular
expression constructs.
Q01 How will you go about implementing the following validation rules for a user name?

user name must be between 2 and 17 characters long.

valid characters are A to Z, a to z, 0 to 9, . (full-stop), _ (underscore) and (hyphen)
user name must begin with an alphabetic character.
user name must not end with a . (full stop) or _ (underscore) or - (hyphen).

A01 The above rules can be implemented with a regular expression as shown below:
package regex;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class UserNameRegex {
public static final String PATTERN =
"^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9._-]{0,15}[a-zA-Z0-9]$";
public static final Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN);

488

public static boolean apply(String userName) {

Matcher matcher = p.matcher(userName);
return matcher.find();
}

PC Not compiling the regular expression can be costly if Pattern.matches( ) is used over
and over again with the same expression in a loop or frequent method calls because
the matches( ) method will re-compile the expression every time it is used. You can also
re-use the Matcher object for different input strings by calling the method reset( ).
What does this pattern mean?
^

[a-zA-Z]

[a-zA-Z0-9._-]{0,15}

[a-zA-Z0-9]

Beginning
of a line

Valid start
characters.
Should start
with an
alphabet. Must
occur once.

Valid characters in the

middle. Minimum
occurrences 0 and
max occurrences 15.

Valid end
End of a
characters.
line.
Should not end
with . - or
_. Must
occur once.

How will you test this? Test with JUnit. The junit.jar file must be in the classpath.
package regex;
import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;
public class UserNameRegexTest {
@Test
public void testMinLength() {
Assert.assertFalse("can't be <2", UserNameRegex.apply("P"));
}
@Test
public void testMaxLength() {
Assert.assertFalse("Can't be >17", UserNameRegex
489

Matching patterns with regular expressions

.apply("Jonathon-Christopher"));
}
@Test
public void testCantEndWith() {
Assert.assertFalse("can't end with . - _", UserNameRegex
.apply("s.g.r."));
}
@Test
public void testMustStartWith() {
Assert.assertFalse("Must start with an alphabet",
UserNameRegex.apply("23Lucky"));
}
@Test
public void validNames() {
Assert.assertTrue("Min Length 2", UserNameRegex.apply("Jo"));
Assert.assertTrue("Max Length 17", UserNameRegex
.apply("Peter-Christopher"));
Assert.assertTrue(". - _ allowed in the middle",
UserNameRegex.apply("s.g-h_k.r"));
Assert.assertTrue("end with numeric", UserNameRegex
.apply("Lucky23"));
}
}
Q02 How would you go about validating a supplied password in your code that must
adhere to the following conditions?
Must contain a digit from 0-9.
Must contain one uppercase character.
Must contain one lowercase character.
The length must be between 6 to 15 characters long.
A02 It can be achieved with a regular expression. But unlike the previous question, this is a
bit more complicated than it looks. You might be tempted to write something like,
[0-9A-Za-z]{6,15}
490

But the above regex is not going to meet the requirement. The above regex will only
ensure that the valid characters are used and the password is of correct length (i.e.
between 6 and 15 characters). But it won't ensure that there is at least one digit from 09, one lower case and one uppercase. So, the above regex will return true for
passwords like

Johnpwd
john123

//no digit in the password

//no uppercase character in the password

This is where the regex with look ahead comes to the rescue. The pattern below uses
look ahead with the syntax ?=. The regex pattern with look ahead is shown below:
((?=[A-Za-z]*[0-9])(?=[0-9A-Z]*[a-z])(?=[0-9a-z]*[A-Z])){6,15}
public static void correct() {
String PATTERN =
"((?=[A-Za-z]*[0-9])(?=[0-9A-Z]*[a-z])(?=[0-9a-z]*[A-Z])){6,15}";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher("John123");
System.out.println(matcher.find( ));
//prints true;
matcher = p.matcher("john123");
System.out.println(matcher.find( ));
//prints false;
matcher = p.matcher("johnpwd");
System.out.println(matcher.find( ));
//prints false;
}
Don't be overwhelmed by long regex patterns as shown above. Once you divide them
into smaller chunks as shown below, things become much clearer.
(?=[A-Za-z]*[0-9])

?= means look ahead for

* means 0 to many
[A-Za-z]* means zero to many valid characters like
A-Z and a-z.
[0-9] means followed by a digit. The [0-9] can also be
substituted with \d meaning a digit. When used
within Java, you need to use \\d, the first back slash is
to escape the \ in \d since \ is an escape
491

Matching patterns with regular expressions

character in Java.
(?=[0-9A-Z]*[a-z])

Similar.. Positively look ahead for presence of a-z

followed by 0 or many valid characters like 0-9 and A-Z.

(?=[0-9a-z]*[A-Z])

Similar.. Positively look ahead for presence of A-Z

followed by 0 or many valid characters like 0-9 and a-z.

((?=[A-Za-z]*[0-9])(?=[0- The overall length must be at least 6 characters and

9A-Z]*[a-z])(?=[0-9a-z]*[A- maximum allowed length is 15.
Z])){6,15}
Note: The look ahead and look behind constructs are collectively known as look
around constructs. Unlike the greedy quantifiers discussed in previous Q&A, the
look arounds actually match characters, but then give up the match and only return
the result with match or no match. That is why they are called "assertions". They
do not consume characters in the string like [0-9A-Za-z]{6,15}, but only assert
whether a match is possible or not.
The look ahead constructs are non-capturing. If you want to capture the values
matched, for example to debug or use the captured values, the above regex can be
modified with additional parentheses to capture the matched values. The capturing
parentheses are in bold.
((?=([A-Za-z]*)([0-9]))(?=([0-9A-Z]*)([a-z]))(?=([0-9a-z]*)([A-Z]))){6,15}
You can display the captured values as shown below:
public static void correctWithGroup() {
String PATTERN =
"((?=([A-Za-z]*)([0-9]))(?=([0-9A-Z]*)([a-z]))(?=([0-9a-z]*)([A-Z]))){6,15}";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher("John123");
System.out.println(matcher.find());
int count = matcher.groupCount();
//0, and 1 are outside parentheses, which will be empty
for (int i = 2; i <= count; i++) {
System.out.println(matcher.group(i));
}
492

}
Outputs:
true
John
1
J
o
J
As you can see,

(?=([A-Za-z]*)([0-9])) matches John followed by 1, i.e. presence of a digit.

(?=([0-9A-Z]*)([a-z])) matches J followed by o, i.e. presence of a lower-case
alphabet.
(?=([0-9a-z]*)([A-Z])) matches nothing followed by J, i.e. presence of an uppercase
letter.

Q03 What does .*, +, and ? mean with respect to regular expressions? Where do you look
for the summary of Java regular expression constructs?
A03 *, +, and ? are known as (greedy) quantifiers as they quantify the preceding
character(s). For example,
. matches any character.
.* matches any character repeated 0 or more times.
.+ matches any character repeated 1 or more times.
.? matches any character repeated 0 or 1 time. This means optional.
[a-zA-Z]* Any alphabet repeated 0 or more times.
[a-zA-Z]+ Any alphabet repeated 1 or more times.
[a-zA-Z]? Any alphabet repeated 0 or 1.
Note: These are not wild characters. *, +, and ? are regex repetitions. The {x,y} is
also used for repetition. For example, [a]{3,5} means the letter a repeated at least 3
times or a maximum of 5 times. In fact, internally the Pattaren.java class implements,

493

Matching patterns with regular expressions

a* as a{0, 0x7FFFFFFF}
a+ as a{1, 0x7FFFFFFF}

The values in square brackets (i.e. [ ] ) are known as character sets. The ., *, ?, etc are
escaped and used as literal values within the square brackets. Here are some examples
of the character sets.

[aeiou] matches exactly one lowercase vowel.

[^aeiou] matches a character that ISN'T a lowercase vowel (^ inside [ ]
means NOT) .
^[a-z&&[^aeiou]]*$ matches any character other than a vowel anchored
between start (^) and end ($). This is a character class subtraction regex. The
&& means intersection.
[a-d[m-p]] Matches characters a to d and m to p. This is a union regex.
[a-z&&[d-f]] Matches only d, e, and f. This is an intersection regex.
[x-z[\\p{Digit}]] matches x-z and 0-9. Similar to [x-z0-9] or [x-z[\\d]].
The \p stands for POSIX character classes.
^[aeiou] - matches a lowercase vowel anchored at the beginning of a line
[^^] matches a character that isn't a caret '^' .
^[^^] matches a character that isn't a caret at the beginning of a line.
^[^.]. matches anything but a literal period, followed by "any" character, at
the beginning of a line
[.*]* matches a contiguous sequence of optional dots (.) and asterisks (*)
[aeiou]{3} - matches 3 consecutive lowercase vowels (all not necessarily the
same vowel)
\[aeiou\] matches the string "[aeiou]". "\" means escape.

Q04 What does grouping mean with regards to regular expressions? Would you prefer
capturing or non-capturing group?
A04 A group is a pair of parentheses used to group sub patterns. For example, c(a|u)t
matches cat or cut. A group also captures the matching text within the parentheses.
The groups are numbered from left to right, outside to inside. For example, (x(y*))+
(z*) has 3 explicit and 1 implicit groups. The implicit group 0 is the entire match.

494

implicit group 0: (x(y*))+(z*)

explicit group 1: (x(y*))

explicit group 2: (y*)

explicit group 3: (z*)

Capturing groups are numbered by counting their opening parentheses from left to
right. The captured sub sequence may be used later in the expression, via a back
reference, and may also be retrieved from the matcher once the match operation is
complete. Groups beginning with ?: are pure, non-capturing groups that do not
capture text and do not count towards the group total. For example, (?:x(?:y*))+(?:z*)
will only have group 0 being the entire match.
package regex;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class RegexGroup {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
CharSequence inputStr = "xyyxyyzz";
String patternCapturing = "(x(y*))+(z*)";
String patternNonCapturing= "(?:x(?:y*))+(?:z*)";
System.out.println("====Capturing=====");
apply(inputStr,patternCapturing);
System.out.println("====Non Capturing=====");
apply(inputStr,patternNonCapturing);
}
public static void apply(CharSequence inputStr, String patternStr) {
// Compile and use regular expression
Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(patternStr);
Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(inputStr);
boolean matchFound = matcher.find();
if (matchFound) {
// Get all groups for this match
for (int i = 0; i <= matcher.groupCount( ); i++) {
System.out.println("group " + i + " --> "
+ matcher.group(i));
}
495

Matching patterns with regular expressions

}
}
}
Output:
====Capturing=====
group 0 --> xyyxyyzz
group 1 --> xyy
group 2 --> yy
group 3 --> zz
====Non Capturing=====
group 0 --> xyyxyyzz
The following sample code illustrates substitution, where the captured group numbers
can be used for the subsequent matches. For example, the term marketing and
sales can be captured and reused as these terms appear more than once. Once within
the URL and once outside the URL as per the code snippet shown below.
package regex;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class CapturingParenthesis {
/**
* To match a URI that starts with one of the following:
* http://www.site.com/marketing/ or http://www.site.com/sales/
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
final String input = "You can try either "
+ "http://www.site.com/marketing/ for marketing related "
+ "queries or http://www.site.com/sales/ for sales "
+ "related queries and further information.";
System.out.println("========Capturing=========");
String capPat1 = "http://www.site.com/(marketing|sales)/";
execute(input, capPat1);
496

System.out.println("=====Capturing with substitution====");

String capPat2 = "http://www.site.com/(marketing|sales)/.*\\1";
execute(input, capPat2);
System.out.println("========Non capturing=========");
// can be more efficient
String nonCapPat1 = "http://www.site.com/(?:marketing|sales)/";
execute(input, nonCapPat1);
System.out.println("===Non capturing no substitution==");
// can't use it for substituting the previous match
String nonCapPat2 = "http://www.site.com/(?:marketing|sales)/.*\\1";
execute(input, nonCapPat2);
}
public static void execute(String input, String pattern) {
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(pattern);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher(input);
while (matcher.find()) {
System.out.print("Start index: " + matcher.start( ));
System.out.print(" End index: " + matcher.end( ) + " ");
System.out.println("group= " + matcher.group( ));
}
}
}
Output:
========Capturing=========
Start index: 19 End index: 49 group= http://www.site.com/marketing/
Start index: 83 End index: 109 group= http://www.site.com/sales/
=====Capturing with substitution====
Start index: 19 End index: 63 group= http://www.site.com/marketing/ for
marketing
Start index: 83 End index: 119 group= http://www.site.com/sales/ for sales
========Non capturing=========
Start index: 19 End index: 49 group= http://www.site.com/marketing/
497

Matching patterns with regular expressions

Start index: 83 End index: 109 group= http://www.site.com/sales/
===Non capturing no substitution==
Note: The \1 (group 1) captures either marketing or sales when the capturing
pattern is used. Since \ has to be escaped in Java, it is represented as \\1. The .*
matches the word for as it means match any character 0 or more times.
PC Group capturing incur a small-time penalty each time you use them. If you don't
really need to capture the text inside a group, prefer using non-capturing groups.
Q05 What do you understand by greedy, reluctant, and possessive quantifiers? What do you
understand by the term backtracking?
A05
Greedy
Reluctant
Possessive

498

[a-z][A-Z]*
[a-z][A-Z]+
[a-z][A-Z]?
[a-z][A-Z]{1,2}
[a-z][A-Z]{2,}
[a-z][A-Z]{,6}

[a-z][A-Z]*?
[a-z][A-Z]+?
[a-z][A-Z]??
[a-z][A-Z]{1,2}?
[a-z][A-Z]{2,}?
[a-z][A-Z]{,6}?

[a-z][A-Z]*+
[a-z][A-Z]++
[a-z][A-Z]?+
[a-z][A-Z]{1,2}+
[a-z][A-Z]{2,}+
[a-z][A-Z]{,6}+

As the name implies a

greedy quantifier will first
try to match as many
characters as possible
from an input string, even
if this means that the input
string will not have
sufficient characters left in
it to match the rest of the
regular expression. If this
happens, the greedy
quantifier will backtrack,
returning characters until
an overall match is found
or until there are no more
characters.

As the name implies a

reluctant (or lazy)
quantifier, on the other
hand, will first try to
match as few characters
in the input string as
possible.

As the name implies a

possessive quantifier
always match the entire
input string, trying once
(and only once) for a
match. Unlike the greedy
quantifier, the
possessive quantifiers
never backtrack, even if
doing so would allow the
overall match to succeed.

package regex;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class GreedyReluctantPossessive {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String input = "xfooxxfooxxxxfooxxxxxxxxfoofo";
// this is the default for *, +, and ?.
// fetches the whole String eagerly and then start to backtrack
String eagerPattern = ".*foo";
System.out.println("=======Greedy========");
execute(input, eagerPattern);
// Backtrack to the beginning and start fetching one at a time
String reluctantPattern = ".*?foo";
System.out.println("=======Reluctant========");
execute(input, reluctantPattern);
// fetches the whole String eagerly, but won't let go of what was fetched
String possessivePattern = ".*+foo";
System.out.println("=======Possessive========");
execute(input, possessivePattern);
// possessive pattern is more suited for matching text in quotes.
String input2 = "a=\"xfoo\" some text b=\"xfooo\""
+ "some more text c=\"xfo\"";
possessivePattern = "\"xfoo\"*+";
System.out.println("=====Possessive match for text in quotes=====");
execute(input2, possessivePattern);
}
private static void execute(String input, String pattern) {
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(pattern);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher(input);
499

Matching patterns with regular expressions

while (matcher.find( )) {
System.out.print("Start index: " + matcher.start( ));
System.out.print(" End index: " + matcher.end( ) + " ");
System.out.println("group= " + matcher.group( ));
}
}
}
Output:
=======Greedy========
Start index: 0 End index: 27 group= xfooxxfooxxxxfooxxxxxxxxfoo
=======Reluctant========
Start index: 0 End index: 4 group= xfoo
Start index: 4 End index: 9 group= xxfoo
Start index: 9 End index: 16 group= xxxxfoo
Start index: 16 End index: 27 group= xxxxxxxxfoo
=======Possessive=============Possessive match for text in
quotes=====
Start index: 2 End index: 8 group= "xfoo"
Start index: 21 End index: 26 group= "xfoo
Q. Why did the string xfooxxfooxxxxfooxxxxxxxxfoofo return no match when used
with a possessive quantifier?
A. Even if you try to match xfooxxfooxxxxfooxxxxxxxxfoo without the last fo,
the possessive quantifier would match nothing because the possessive quantifiers will
not give up the matches on a backtrack, and the .*+ matches your entire string
including the last "foo" and then there's nothing for foo to match in the pattern
.*+foo. So use possessive quantifiers only when you know that what you've matched
should never be backtracked. For example, "[^f]*+.*foo" or more importantly
matching text in quotes as demonstrated above with "\"xfoo\"*+".
PC BP Always test your regular expressions with negative and positive test cases.
Generally the possessive quantifiers are more efficient than the reluctant quantifiers,
and the reluctant quantifiers are more efficient than the greedy quantifiers. When a
regex is used in a performance critical area of your application, it would be wise to test
it first. Write a benchmark application that tests it against different inputs. Remember
to test different lengths of inputs, and also inputs that almost match your pattern.
500

Like most regex engines, Java uses NFA (Non deterministic Finite Automaton)
approach. This means the engine scans the regex components one by one, and
progresses on the input string accordingly. However, it will go back in order to explore
matching alternatives when a dead end is found. Alternatives result from regex struc
tures such as quantifiers (*, +, ?) and alternation (e.g. a|b|c|d). This exploration
technique is called backtracking. In a more simpler term, backtracking means return
to attempt an untried option.
PC The .* and alternation (e.g. a|b|c) regexes must be used sparingly. For example, if
you want to retrieve everything between two "@" characters in an input string, instead
of using "@(.*)@", it's much better to use "@([^@]*)@". This regex can be further
optimized by minimizing the backtracking with the help of a possessive quantifier
*+ instead of a greedy quantifier *. Say you are using the pattern "@([^@]*)@"
with a long input string that does not have any @. Because * is a greedy quantifier,
it will grab all the characters until the end of the string, and then it will backtrack,
giving back one character at a time. The expression will fail only when it can't
backtrack anymore. If you change the pattern to use "@([^@]*+)@" with a possessive
quantifier *+, the new pattern fails faster because once it has tried to match all the
characters that are not a @, it does not backtrack; Instead it fails right there. Take
care not to compromise correctness for a small optimization.
PC Regular expressions like "(COLON|COMMA|COLUMN)" have a reputation for
being slow, so watch out for them. Firstly, the order of alternation counts. So, place the
more common options in the front to be matched faster. Secondly, extract out the
more common ones. For example, CO(MMA|L(ON|UMN)). Since COMMA is more
common, it is used first. The "CO" and "L" are extracted out as they are more
common.
Q06 Can your write a function that will replace all tokens delimited by @ with a given
String?
Sample Input = Hello @name@, where are you @name@?
A06
package regex;
import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;

501

Matching patterns with regular expressions

public class RegexDelimiter {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String input = "Hello @name@, Where are you @name@?";
System.out.println(function(input));
}
public static String function(String input) {
if (StringUtils.isEmpty(input)) {
return input;
}
String pattern = "@[^@]*+@";
String output = input.replaceAll(pattern, "John");
return output;
}
}
Output:
Hello John, Where are you John?
Note: The pattern @[^@]*+@ could be written as @.*?@ as well, but where
possible avoid .* as they can backtrack a lot. You could also see possessive quantifier
*+ in action as it is more efficient than the reluctant quantifier *?. The greedy
quantifier cannot be used here as it would provide a wrong result Hello John? by
matching the text between the very first and very last @ characters.
Q07 Can you discuss what the following regular expression does?
<[\s]*a[\s]*[^>]*?href[\s]*=[\"\'\s]*(.*?)[\"\'\s]*[^>]*?> (.*?)<[\s]*/[\s]*a[\s]*>
A07 The above code matches input Strings like:
<a href='#'>My Link</a>
< a href='#'>My Link</a>
< a class=\"myclass\" href = # >My Link< / A >
The code sample below implements the above regular expression. It converts the input
502

to lowercase before matching.

package regex;
import java.io.PrintStream;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
public class AnchorRegularExpr {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
PrintStream out = System.out;
out.println(function("< a HREF = # >My Link< / A >"));
}
public static boolean function(String input) {
if (StringUtils.isEmpty(input)) {
return false;
}
String pattern = "<[\\s]*a[\\s]*[^>]*?href[\\s]*=[\"\'\\s]*"
+ "(.*?)[\"\'\\s]*[^>]*?>"
+ "(.*?)<[\\s]*/[\\s]*a[\\s]*>";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(pattern);
Matcher m = p.matcher(input.toLowerCase( ));
return m.find( );
}
}
It may look complicated, but if you dissect it, it seems very straight forward.
\\s White space character including newline, carriage return, etc.
[ \t\n\x0B\f\r].
[\\s]* Matches one or more white spaces.
[^>]*? This one matches anything thats not >. The ^ character inside
[ ] directs a negative match. Add a '?' after the * to make it a
503

Matching patterns with regular expressions

reluctant quantifier, otherwise it wouldnt stop at href because
the html tags could have attributes like rel, id, class, target, etc
before or after the href attribute. It can be in any order.
(.*?) is used to reluctantly match any characters including spaces and
newlines, which might be present in the anchor text or value. It also
captures the anchor text and value with the group numbers 1 & 2.
Q08 How will you go about matching comments in an XML or HTML file?
A08 It can be achieved using either regex or XPath. Initial instinct for this requirement
would be to write something as shown below:
public static void wrong( ) {
String PATTERN = "^<!--(.*)-->$";
final String COMMENT =
"<!-- <tag-1>abc</tag-1><tag-2>abc</tag-2> -->";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN, Pattern.MULTILINE);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher(COMMENT);
boolean matchFound = matcher.find( );
System.out.println(matchFound);
if (matchFound) {
System.out.println(matcher.group(1));
}
}
Even though the above code snippet returns true, the above pattern will not work if
you have multi-line comments as shown below, which would be the case in real life
XML or HTML comments.
final String COMMENT =
"<!--<tag-1>abc</tag-1>\n<tag-2>abc</tag-2> -->";
This can be corrected with the help of negative look ahead construct as shown
below to assert that a - is not followed by a ->, which means not the end of
comment tag.
public static void correct( ) {
String PATTERN = "^<!--(([^-]+|-(?!->))*)-->$";
final String COMMENT =
504

"<!--<tag-1>abc</tag-1>\n<tag-2>abc</tag-2> -->";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN, Pattern.MULTILINE);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher(COMMENT);
boolean matchFound = matcher.find();
System.out.println(matchFound);
if (matchFound) {
System.out.println(matcher.group(1));
}
}
Output:
true
<tag-1>abc</tag-1>
<tag-2>abc</tag-2>
^<!--

Starts with <!--

(([^-]+|-(?!->))*)

The outside parenthesis in bold is to

capture the match as group 1.

[^-]

Means Not hyphen (-). A ^ inside a []

means NOT.

([^-]+|-(?!->))

?! means negative look ahead. |

means or. The regex in bold means a -
not followed by a ->.

([^-]+|-(?!->))*

Means 0 to many characters that are either

not a hyphen or if it is a hyphen, then it
must not be followed by a ->.

-->$

Ends with -->

Note: The positive and negative look aheads are very powerful if you want to match
something followed by or not followed by respectively.
Important: It is not a best practice to parse an XML document with regexes. An XML
is not a regular language. You cannot parse it using a regular expression. An expression
that you think will work will break when you get nested tags, then when you fix that it
will break on XML comments, then CDATA sections, then processor directives, then
name spaces, etc. So favor using an XMLParser and XPath to parse XML documents.
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Matching patterns with regular expressions

Q. Write a regex to determine a http URL using a positive look behind?
A. (?<=http://)\\S+
(?<=http://)

?<= positively look behind for http://

\\S+

Zero or more non-white character i.e. [^\s].

Q09 How would you configure the Java regex engine to be case insensitive?
A09 The Pattern class has a number of constants to configure the engine for case insens
itive search, multi-line search, comments included in regex, etc.
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String PATTERN = "john";
final String COMMENT = "John";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN, Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher(COMMENT);
boolean matchFound = matcher.find();
System.out.println(matchFound);
}
The above CASE_INSENSITIVE pattern constant can be re-written with the
configuration flags to be included within the regex pattern as shown below:
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String PATTERN = "(?i)john";
//?i means ignore case
final String COMMENT = "John";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(PATTERN);
Matcher matcher = p.matcher(COMMENT);
boolean matchFound = matcher.find();
System.out.println(matchFound);
}
If you want to include comments for the above pattern, you can configure the
matching engine as shown below:
// i --> ignore case, x --> allow comments
String PATTERN = "(?ix)john #look for john ignoring case";

506

Note: Here are the other configurations that can be used:

(?m) Multi-line mode. Toggle treats newlines as white space. The ^ and $
expressions will no longer match to the beginning and end of a line, respectively, but
will match the beginning and end of the entire input sequence or string.
(?s) Toggle dot (i.e. .) to match any character including the new line characters.
By default a "." matches everything except a new line character.
(?u) Toggle Unicode standard case matching. By default, case-insensitive matching
assumes that only characters in the US-ASCII char-set are being matched.
(?d) Enables UNIX line mode in which only the '\n' line terminator is recognized
in the behavior of ., ^, and $.
The pattern below will ignore case, will set the . character to include newlines, and
allows comments in patterns.
String PATTERN = "(?isx)john.* #look for john ignoring case";
Note: (?idmsux-idmsux) Turns match flags on - off for entire expression.
Q10 Can you give me some real life scenarios where you used regular expressions? OEQ
A10 The generic regular expression concept has been implemented on many different
languages and many different tools. Here are some practical examples. The open ended
questions are a great opportunity to sell your experience.
1. Finding relevant exceptions and counting occurrences of any values in log
files using the UNIX grep command, which stands for "Global Regular Expression
Print".
The command shown below prints all exceptions except the NullPointer.
$ cat error.log | grep -e Exception | grep -v NullPointer
The command below counts the occurrences of SecurityException.
$ cat error.log | grep -c "SecurityException"
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Matching patterns with regular expressions

Note: Refer to "Gauging Your Experience with UNIX" in section entitled "Knowing
your way around Java" for more practical examples using regular expressions in UNIX.
2. Validating user input fields like name, password, phone numbers, email addresses,
social security numbers, tax file numbers, etc. The example below validates the product
codes for presence of invalid characters and length.
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<String> products = new ArrayList<String>(10);
products.add("CFX.GHS");
//valid
products.add("CFX GHS");
//Not valid. Whitespace is not allowed.
products.add("CFXGHSXXXXX"); //Not valid. Longer than 10 characters.
products.add("CFX.GHS.XX");
//valid
for (String product : products) {
if(product.matches("^[a-zA-Z.]{2,10}")){
System.out.println(product + " code is valid");
}
else {
System.out.println(product + " code is NOT valid");
}
}
}
The regex validations can be performed on client side and server side.
3. Regex can be used in URL rewrite filters to convert a RESTful URL to an
application specific URL and vice versa. For example, you could use third-party
frameworks like tucky filter, which allows you to configure URL rewrite rules via
inbound and outbound configurations in XML files. For example,
Inbound rules:
<rule>
<from>^/accounts/$</from>
<to>/account/list.do</to>
</rule>
<rule>
508

<from>^/accounts/([a-z0-9]+)/$</from>
<to>/accounts/display.do?accountId=$1</to>
</rule>
<rule>
<from>^/accounts/([a-z0-9]+)/edit$</from>
<to>/accounts/edit.do?accountId=$1</to>
</rule>
As per the above example, a RESTful URL like /accounts/005678924/ will be
forwarded /accounts/display.do?accountId=005678924
Outbound rules:
<outbound-rule>
<from>^/accounts/list.do$</from>
<to>/accounts/</to>
</outbound-rule>
<outbound-rule>
<from>^/accounts/display.do\?accountId=([a-z0-9]+)$</from>
<to>/accounts/$1/</to>
</outbound-rule>
<outbound-rule>
<from>^/accounts/edit.do\?accountId=([a-z0-9]+)$</from>
<to>/accounts/$1/edit</to>
</outbound-rule>
The outbound URL rule will revert /accounts/display.do?accountId=005678924
back to the RESTful URL /accounts/005678924/ to be displayed on the client side
browser. As you can see the rules are based on regex.
4. Regex can be used to split files containing delimited data. For example,
extracting values from a CSV file (i.e. a file containing comma separated values).
package regex;
public class SplitCSV {
public static void main(String[ ] args) {
String line = "John A, Peter O`Sullivan,\"James, Junior \",\"\"";
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Matching patterns with regular expressions

//the limit is set to -1, if the limit n is greater than zero
//then the pattern will be applied at most n - 1 times
String[ ] tokens = line.split("\\s*,\\s*(?=([^\"]*\"[^\"]*\")*[^\"]*$)");
for (int i = 0; i < tokens.length; i++) {
System.out.println(tokens[i]);
}
}
Output is:
John A
Peter O`Sullivan
"James, Junior "
""
\\s*,\\s*

Look for comma preceded or followed by white

spaces. The \\s will trim any leading or trailing
white spaces. If white spaces are not required to
be trimmed then just use a ',' without the \\s* on
either side of the comma.

(?=([^\"]*\"[^\"]*\")*[^\"]*$)

You can read the regex as a positive look ahead

for zero or more occurrences of "Some text in
double quotes" preceded or followed by some text
without double quotes.
The positive look ahead with construct ?= is
required to eliminate any text within double
quotes with a comma. For example, the comma
within "James, Junior" will fail the positive look
ahead assertion and will not incorrectly split it into
2 separate values as
James
Junior.
The , before the James, Junior will pass the
followed by (i.e. positive look ahead) assertion to

510

correctly split it as a single word James, Junior

[^\"]*

Means 0 or more occurrences of any character

other than double quotes.

\"

Means a double quote. The \ is used to escape

double quotes.

Q. How would you go about implementing the above without using the String.split( )
function?
A. As sown below,
package regex;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class SplitCSV2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String line = "John A, Peter O`Sullivan,\"Peter, James \",\"\"";
Pattern p = Pattern
.compile("\\s*,\\s*(?=([^\"]*\"[^\"]*\")*[^\"]*$)");
Matcher m = p.matcher(line);
int i = 0;
while (m.find( )) {
System.out.println(line.substring(i, m.start( )));
i = m.end( );
}
if(i< line.length( ))
System.out.println(line.substring(i));
}
}
5. Regex can be used in Maven pom.xml or Ant build.xml files. For example,
maven ant-run plug-in can use the ant task replaceregexp to find and replace values
in files using regular expressions as shown below:
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Matching patterns with regular expressions

<replaceregexp file="target/myapp/WEB-INF/web.xml"
flags="m" byline="false"
match="^(\s*)(&lt;!--START--)((?:[^-]+|-(?!-&gt;))*)(--END--&gt;)(\s*)$"
replace="" />
Note: The above regex is similar to the one that was discussed earlier to match XML
or HTML comments with difference being that the above regex is defined in an XML
file. Since the regex is defined within an XML file, the XML characters < and >
are replaced with the corresponding entity references &lt; and &gt; respectively.
6. Regex can be used in text editors like UltraEdit, TextPad, Notepad++, etc to
find and replace values. For example, in notepad++, if you want to swap the link
location and display values from
Some text <a href="display value">http://mytitle.com.au</a> blah blah
to,
Some text <a href="http://mytitle.com.au">display value</a> blah blah
The following quick and dirty regex can be used to achieve the expected results. The \
1 and \2 are captured group numbers used to swap the link location with the display
value.

512

7. Regex can be used to assert data in regression and load testing tools like
selenium and JMeter to assert values. Also note that these tools support assertion
using an XPath, which would be more appropriate than using a regex in many
situations. A selenium based JUnit test in Java would look something like:
boolean result = selenium.isTextPresent("regexp:" + "\\$4,925\\.87");
assertTrue(result);
where $ has a special meaning (i.e. end of line) in regex, hence it is escaped with \$,
and . has a special meaning in regex (i.e. match any character), and it is escaped with
\.. Since \ has a special meaning (i.e. escape character) in Java, it has to be
escaped with an additional \ as shown above with \\$ and \\.. The above
regex verifies presence of amount $4,925.87 in a web page.
In JMeter regex tester, to extract name and value from a web page containing
something like,
<input type="text" name="firstname" value="Peter" />
you could use a regex like,
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Matching patterns with regular expressions

name="([^"]+)".*value="([^"]+)"
Where [^] means NOT quotes. In JMeter, it can be used to extract values from a
response page and pass it on as a query string in the subsequent requests.

The extracted value can be used as a query string for the subsequent request. The $1 is
group 1 that captures the name firstname and $2 is group 2 that captures the value
Peter. The extracted pattern ($1=$2) is stored with the reference name
FIRST_NAME_PARAN to be used later.
As shown below, the value stored in the FIRST_NAME_PARAM is added to the path
as a query string.

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The substituted path will be:

/myapp/client/search?firstname=Peter
8. Modern databases often offer built-in regular expression features that can be
used in SQL statements to filter columns using a regular expression. For example,
MySQL's REGEXP operator works just like the LIKE operator, except that it uses a
POSIX Extended Regular Expression. Oracle Database 10g adds 4 regular expression
functions that can be used in SQL and PL/SQL statements to filter rows and to
extract and replace regex matches.
9. The W3C standard for XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Functions and Operators
defines three functions fn:matches, fn:replace and fn:tokenize that take a regular
expression as one of their parameters.
Note: There are also tools like RegexBuddy and RegexMagic that would assist with
learning, creating, understanding, and testing regular expressions.
Q11 Write a regular expression for the following scenarios? SBQ

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Matching patterns with regular expressions

A11
Q. Replace multiple spaces in a string with a single space?
A.
String str = "String to replace multiple spaces with a single space.";
System.out.println(str.replaceAll("\\s{2,}", " ")); \\ \s means white space
Q. Write a regex to match a hexadecimal color code?
A. The six-digit hexadecimal representation of a color is of the form #RRGGBB,
where RR, GG, and BB are the hexadecimal values for the red, green, and blue values
of the color. Using a hexadecimal code is the most reliable of the several ways you can
define colors in HTML or style sheets.
^#([A-Fa-f0-9]{6}|[A-Fa-f0-9]{3})$
Q. Can you describe what the following replace( ) function does?
public static void main(String[] args) {
String input = "23/06/1954";
String output = replace(input);
System.out.println(output);
};
public static String replace(String input) {
String output = input.replaceAll("(0?[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])/(0?[1-9]|1[012])/
((19|20)\\d\\d)","$2/$1/$3");
return output;
}
A. It replaces a date input in dd/mm/yyyy format to mm/dd/yyyy format.

516

(0?[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])/

Matches dates in the form of 01-09 or 1-9 or 10-19 or

20-29 or 30, 31. Whatever in the parenthesis will be
group 1 denoted in the replace string by $1. The /
divides the day and month fields.

(0?[1-9]|1[012])/

Matches months 01-09 or 1-9, or 10, 11, 12. This will be

group number 2, and denoted in the replace string as

$2. The / divides the month and year fields.
Matches 19[0-9][0-9] or 20[0-9][0-9]. Matches years
starting with 19 or 20. This group will be captured as
group 3, and denoted in the replace string by $3.

((19|20)\\d\\d)

Q. How will you represent time in both 12 hour and 24 hour format using regex?
A.
12 hour format:
(1[012]|[1-9]):([0-5][0-9])\\s?(?i)(am|pm)
(1[012]|[1-9])

The group 1 is the hour. Matches 10, 11, 12 or 1-9.

Hour minute separator

([0-5][0-9])

Matches 00 to 59.

\\s?

Optional white spaces.

(?i)

Next checking is case insensitive

(?i)(am|pm)

Matches am, AM, aM, Am, pm, PM, pM, or Pm.

24 hour format:
([01]?[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]
([01]?[0-9]|2[0-3])

Matches 0 9, 1 9, 00 09, 10 19, or 20 23.

Matches ':' .

[0-5][0-9]

Matches 00 to 59.

Q. Write a regex to match image files?

A.
([^\s]+(\.(?i)(jpg|png|gif|bmp))$)
([^\s]+

Group #1 starts with the parenthesis. 1 or more non white

space characters.
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Matching patterns with regular expressions

(\.(?i)

Group #2 starts, and followed by a dot .. Ignore case

checking (?i).

(jpg|png|gif|bmp)

Group #3 containing possible image file extensions jpg,

png, gif , or bmp.

)$)

End of group #2, end of the string and end of group #1.

Q12 Which of the following will be matched by the regex .*[^ a-zA-Z0-9].* ?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

ON_LINE
ONLINE
online9
on-line
on line

A12 a) and d) will match true due to presence of _ and - respectively. The regex reads
NOT blank space, a-z, A-Z or 0-9 preceded or followed by zero or more characters.
The above regex is looking for presence of any character other than a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and
a blank space.
Q13 Which of the following will be matched by the regex .*[^0-9].* ?
a) 12345678
b) 123-456
c) 123 456
A13 b) and c) will be matched due to presence of - and blank space respectively. The
above regex is looking for presence of anything other than a digit.
Q14 If you had a special requirement to strip out currencies from a specific report, how
would you go about stripping it out?
A14 There are many ways to achieve this like using a Formatter like a DecimalFormatter, etc. It
can also be achieved using a regular expression like:
String output = input.replaceAll("\\p{Sc}", "");
Where,

518

\ Java escape character

\p{Sc} A currency symbol

519

Matching patterns with regular expressions

Section-9

Job Interview Tips

520

Interviews are not technical contests...

Don't wait to be asked .
Think out loud and brainstorm with the interviewers .
Sometimes knowing something is better than knowing nothing
Interviewers place a lot of value in "I don't know" over inventing answers
An interview is a two way street
Open-ended questions are your opportunity to ..
Books can impart knowledge, but cannot give you the much needed
experience

Interviews are not technical contests...

to see who gets the most technical questions right. It is all about hiring the right person who
can get the job done. To get the job done, relevant technical skills must be complemented
with good soft-skills, right attitude, and passion. Open ended questions are your ideal
opportunity for you to make a statement about your technical and non-technical abilities to
get the job done.
Q. Why do you like software development?
A. [Hint:]

Have special interest in pro-actively and re-actively resolving thread-safety issues,

performance issues, design gaps, and general development issues, where I get to
apply and expand technical, analytical, researching, problem-solving, communication,
and people skills.

Enjoy analyzing the pros, cons, and trade-offs of each design and development
alternatives to arrive at an effective and workable solution that can adapt to growing
and changing business needs.

Software development can be complex as there are so many moving parts, and it is
quite satisfying to get your work through the SDLC (Software Development Life
Cycle) phases like design, development, deployment, testing, documentation,
support, and hand-over. There is always a variety of tasks and responsibilities to be
performed. Opportunity to applying agile practices where appropriate, makes your
journey even more enjoyable by interacting more closely with the multidisciplinary
teams.

Motivated by having something new to be learned in every project in terms of

domain knowledge, technologies, frameworks, tools, best practices, anti-patterns,
business processes, development processes, and people. For example, Java 5.0
features like annotations, generics, enhanced for loop, auto-boxing, enums, and
java.util.concurrent packages take ease of development to a new level.

It involves both the technical side as well as the people side to have your project
completed successfully.

521

Job Interview Tips

Q. What do you enjoy the most about your job?
A. [Hint:]

Identifying and fixing issues relating to design, thread-safety, performance, security

and memory management.

Access to plethora of frameworks and libraries that can improve productivity and
quality of a software. There is always something new to learn.

Developing custom frameworks or libraries where appropriate with tools like

annotation processing tool, Java reflection API, ANTLR, Javaassist, etc to improve
productivity.

Working on the first iteration of a typical use case to come up with the full vertical
slice (i.e. end to end), where key decisions need to be made and vital tasks need to be
executed. For example,
Choice of technologies, frameworks, and tools.
Validating the baseline architecture.
Analyzing the pros and cons of design alternatives, and identifying gaps in
requirements and design.
Custom frameworks or utility classes are to be written for ease of devel
opment.
Processes need to be put in place for build management, dependency
management, deployment management, change management, release
management, automated testing, etc.
Writing code for multiple platforms. Separating protocol dependent code from
business logic dependent code to promote code reuse.

Introducing agile practices where appropriate in multidisciplinary team environ

ments.

522

Improving development and build processes through better requirements

management, change management, dependency management, and release
management.

Capturing the existing domain knowledge and managing it systematically. Under

standing the primary business objectives, core assets, organizational units responsible
for these assets, and how they are interrelated.

Getting the work through inception, elaboration, construction, and transition phases,
and to finally see it meeting customers' needs.

Don't wait to be asked .

Many interviewers don't know what questions they will be asking -- it will depend on your
resume, and where you take them to. You can bring up certain topics yourself that are
relevant to the position you are being interviewed for. Open-ended questions give you a
great opportunity to sell your-self.
Q. Tell me about your self ? Can you describe your current and past contributions?
A. [Hint]
These questions are always asked, and be prepared with a unique selling proposition that
meets the job specification. Your unique selling proposition should match your accomplish
ments and strengths to prospective employers' needs. Some employers give more weight to
technical skills. Some other employers take a more balanced approach by giving equal
importance to technical skills, soft skills, and personality. You need to sell your self in all
areas. Pick 4 5 of your top most accomplishments and strengths that are relevant to the
position.
Strengths and accomplishments relevant to the position:

If you know that the position you're applying for might possibly involve managing
others, and you have been working towards management previously, pointing that
out in your answer aligns your plans with the company's goals.

If you have been using the technologies and frameworks required by the employer,
then highlight your experience with those technologies and frameworks.
523

Job Interview Tips

If you have the domain and business knowledge required by your prospective
employer, mention it.

Strengths and accomplishments common to most positions:

Experience and accomplishments in process improvements. This could be devel

opment process, build process, deployment process, requirements and change
management process, and release management process.

Accomplishments in key areas like fixing thread-safety issues, designing and devel
oping custom frameworks to improve productivity, identifying performance bottle
necks and tuning performance, fixing memory leaks, fixing bugs relating to language
fundamentals, etc.

Being proactive in identifying potential gaps in business requirements, functional

requirements, non-functional requirements, architecture, and design. Taking initi
atives to get things moving. Mentoring junior developers.

Your resume should already have a personal statement that discusses your qualities in the most positive terms possible. Make sure you are familiar with your resume. If
you need to learn more about this, refer to my book entitled Java/J2EE Resume
Companion at http://www.lulu.com/java-success, which is full of examples.

Think out loud and brainstorm with the interviewers .

Technologies/frameworks/tools are very vast. Nobody will know everything. The inter
viewer certainly won't know everything either. Interviewers are interested in evaluating how
good your basics are?, what experience and skills you have?, and how well you can think
through a problem?
Q. How would you go about writing your own HashMap?
A. [Hint]

524

It is not a good practice to reinvent the wheel. The interviewer is trying to evaluate

your level of technical knowledge and thought process. He/she is only expecting
you to know the approach. Consider it as a brain storming session.

Firstly, code to interface. Create a class that implements the java.util.Map interface
with empty methods.

Decide on the backing data structure. Arrays are fast and memory efficient. Hence
an array can be used to back up the map. This will be an indexed bucket.

Decide on a hashing algorithm to index into the array and store an object in that slot
of the array.
long bucketIndex = function(key, arrayLength);

Come up with a strategy to detect and resolve collisions. Collisions can be detected
by having each slot of the array point to a LinkedList. That contains key-value pairs.
You can create a class called Entry that has attributes key and value as type Object.

Come up with a strategy for resizing when the capacity is reached. This process is
known as rehashing whereby existing items are mapped to new bucket locations.

Fill in the empty methods that need to be implemented.

Think about performance and thread safety.

Note: An example is provided in the section Logic and Data structures.

Q. If the time is 3.15pm, what is the angle between the hour and minute hands?
A.
The minute hand will be on 3.
The hour hand will be of the way between 3 and 4.
Between 3 and 4, there are 5 minutes (or divisions). The of 5 is 1.25.
One full circle is 360 degrees.
This means each minute (or division) is 360/60 = 6 degrees.
Hence 1.25 minutes (or divisions) = 1.25 * 6 degrees = 7.5 degrees.
Systematically thinking aloud and drawing or making a pictorial

representation can
525

Job Interview Tips

contribute to answers quickly. Even if you don't solve it completely, it shows that you are
prepared to take on the challenge without being put off by it. It reveals your determination
and positive attitude. If you can at least get some of the premises and steps correct, the
interviewer will be convinced that you will eventually get it right if more time is given. Be
prepared to bounce ideas off the interviewer. This shows that you are prepared to solve
things collaboratively.

Sometimes knowing something is better than knowing

nothing
If you are only familiar with something, then be honest about it. You could say that your
familiarity is limited to just working on tutorials and learning the basic concepts. If you are
confident, you could say that you believe that you have a good grasp on it, and happy for the
interviewer to ask any technical questions relating to it.
Q. Do you have any experience with JSF?
A. [Hint:]
My experience with JSF is limited to working with a few tutorials and learning the basics, but
I am happy for you to ask any technical questions on it.
But, I do have 2 year commercial hands on experience with similar component based Web
development using the Tapestry framework. I am a quick learner, and will be motivated to
learn JSF, if given the opportunity.

Interviewers place a lot of value in "I don't know" over

inventing answers ...
Many interviewers strongly believe that a smart and experienced developer can pickup new
frameworks, APIs, tools, etc. So, be honest.
Q. Do you have any experience with JBoss Seam?
A. [Hint:]
Sorry, I have not used it before. It will be a good skill to have and I am motivated to learn it.
526

An interview is a two way street

You will have to ask intelligent questions as well. Questions that will determine if a
particular job is inline with your career goals and aspirations. Questions that will bring out
your strengths and achievements relevant to the job requirements. Questions that will show
that you are passionate about what you do. Questions that can hand back the control to you
in a nicer way. Don't over do it. Don't come across as inflexible, arrogant, or someone with a
wrong attitude.
Q. Do you have any questions for us?
A. Yes.
[Hint:]
You: If I am successful, what technologies/frameworks/architectures will I be exposed to?
Interviewer: You will be using Java 6, EJB3, JAX-WS, and ANT.
You: I am currently using all those technologies/frameworks in a Service Oriented Archi
tecture. I was instrumental in developing a service delivery framework that improves
developer productivity. If you like, I am happy to elaborate on this service delivery
framework.
[Hint:]
You: The job specification states that experience with Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
would be an advantage, and I do have hands-on experience with the SOA technologies like
XML, XSD, WSDL, JAX-WS, Services Bus, XQuery, and XPath. Would this experience
considered favorably?
Other questions that can be asked are:

How will you assess that Im doing a good job? Would there be opportunities to
grow if I can prove myself ?
What are the key challenges in the first few months of the role?
What are the reasons that the job came about? What is the size of the current team?
527

Job Interview Tips

Do you follow any agile practices or have plans to introduce them?

What are the prospects for growth and advancement?
Is there any areas of my skills and experience you would like me to further clarify?
What kind of work can I expect to be doing in the first year?
If I am extended a job offer, how soon would you like me to start?
What is the next step in the selection process from here and when should I expect to
hear from you next?

Open-ended questions are your opportunity ..

to make a statement about your ability to get the job done.

to prove based on your past experience, achievements, and extra-curricular activities
that:
You are technically capable.
You can analyze, research, and solve problems.
You can work as a team.
You can communicate at all levels. Both oral and written communication.
You can learn quickly, mentor, and take initiatives.
You can look at things from both business & technology perspective.
You can look at both the bigger picture and also have the attention to details.
You are flexible, and have the right attitude and enthusiasm to get things
done.

Books can impart knowledge, but cannot give you the

much needed experience
This book has highlighted potential problems, best practices, do's and don'ts. You can read
them and understand them. Most accomplished professionals are self-taught. If you want to
really master them, you need to pro-actively apply them to experience it. Once you exper
ience it, you will remember it, and be good at what you do. I have included so many
examples for you to try and experience it. In many cases the decisions have to be made from
528

a number of choices. Firstly, you need to have the knowledge to come up with the valid
choices. You will have to work out the pros and cons for each choice. Nothing is black and
white in real world. There are trade-offs to be made. Only experience can give you the
expertise to make the the right decision under a given circumstance. So, I urge you to not
just read it, but apply it. Once you experience it, you may not even agree with some of my
reasoning. When you start to do so, you start to think and act like an experienced profes
sional. If you are already an experienced professional, use it as a quick refresher as it is not
easy to remember everything. Whether you are already an accomplished professional or not,
always remember that good technical skills must be complemented with good soft skills and
right attitude. Be passionate about what you do, but don't be inflexible. Understand the
importance of good communication skills, and remember that the software development is
a team sport.

529

Glossary & Index

Glossary & Index

Abbreviation

Description

aka

Also Known As

ANTLR

ANother Tool for Language Recognition

AOP

Aspect Oriented Programming

API

Application Programming Interfaces

APT

Annotation Processing Tool

BCEL

Byte Code Engineering Library

EE

Enterprise Edition

ETL

Extract Transform Load

FIFO

First In First Out

i.e.

That is

IDE

Integrated Development Environment

JAR

Java ARchive

JAX-WS

Java API for XML Web Services

JAXB

Java Architecture for XML Binding

JAXP

Java API foe XML Processing

JDK

Java Development Kit

JIT

Just In Time

JMX

Java Management eXtension

JPA

Java Persistence API

JRE

Java Runtime Environment

JSR

Java Specification Request

JVM

Java Virtual Machine

LIFO

Last In First Out

MBean

Managed Bean

ME

Micro Edition

530

NPE

NullPointerException

OO

Object Oriented

OOA

Object Oriented Analysis

OOD

Object Oriented Design

OS

Operating System

POJO

Plain Old Java Object

Regex

Regular Expressions

SAAJ

SOAP with Attachments API for Java

SE

Standard Edition

SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol

SQL

Structured Query Language

531

Glossary & Index

Index
Classes and Interfaces Essentials..................................................................................................
Applying the design principles....................................................................................................
Can you list some of the key principles to remember while designing your classes?.................................281
How can you improve on the following code snippet?...................................................................................276
How will you improve on the following code snippets with appropriate design principles?....................268
Is there anything wrong with the following code snippet?.............................................................................272
What is your understanding of some of the following most talked terms like Dependency Inversion
Principle (DIP), Dependency Injection (DI) and Inversion of Control (IoC)?..........................................279

Class invariant and design by contract........................................................................................

What do you understand by the term design by contract?.........................................................................289
What is a class invariant?...................................................................................................................................... 285

Designing an application or a system..........................................................................................

How would you go about designing a car parking station?............................................................................284
How would you go about designing a system as described below................................................................281
What is a class invariant?...................................................................................................................................... 285

Designing your classes and interfaces.........................................................................................

Can you explain if the following classes are badly designed?.........................................................................234
How do you know that your classes are badly designed?................................................................................234
What are the 3 main concepts of OOP?........................................................................................................... 241
What are the principles of class design used in regards to OOD?................................................................240
What do you achieve through good class and interface design?...................................................................240
What problem(s) does abstraction and encapsulation solve?.........................................................................244

Inheritance versus composition...................................................................................................

Can you give an example of the Java API that favors composition?............................................................267
Can you give an example where composition is favored over implementation inheritance?.....................267
How do you achieve code reuse in your application?......................................................................................260
How do you achieve polymorphic behavior? .................................................................................................. 260
What is the difference between implementation inheritance and composition?.........................................260
What questions do you ask yourself to choose composition (i.e. has-a relationship) for code reuse over
implementation inheritance (i.e. is-a relationship)?.......................................................................................... 261

Packaging your classes to avoid conflicts....................................................................................

How do you go about designing good packages?............................................................................................ 300
What are the usages of Java packages? How do you go about designing good packages?........................300

Subclassing, overriding, and hiding (aka shadowing)..................................................................

What can you do in a subclass?........................................................................................................................... 227
What happens when a parent class and a child class each have a static method with the same signature?
................................................................................................................................................................................. 233
What is a subclass?................................................................................................................................................ 227
What is the output of the following code snippet? Give your reasons and recommendations?..............228

Working with abstract classes and interfaces...............................................................................

Can interfaces have constant declarations?....................................................................................................... 259
Can you give an example of an interface driven framework in the Java API?.............................................259
What are marker interfaces in Java? Why to have marker interfaces?...........................................................259

532

What can an interface do that an abstract class cannot? What are the differences between abstract classes
and interfaces?....................................................................................................................................................... 256
What do you understand by abstract classes and interfaces?..........................................................................247
What is the significance of abstract classes & interfaces with respect to OO design?...............................256
What modifiers can be used in an interface?.................................................................................................... 259
When would you prefer one over the other?.................................................................................................... 258

Working with classes and interfaces............................................................................................

What is a class? What are the valid modifiers of a top level class?................................................................226
Which class declaration is correct if A and B are classes and C and D are interfaces? ............................226

Working with inner classes..........................................................................................................

Can you have an inner class inside a method and what variables can you access?......................................295
What is a callback method?................................................................................................................................. 296
What is an inner class? Can you provide an example from the Java API? When to use inner classes?...290

Knowing your way around Java....................................................................................................

Documenting your Java applications...........................................................................................
In your experience, why is it important to have relevant APIs handy while coding?.................................117
What are the different types of documents you refer to while designing or coding your system? .........115
What do you expect to see in a high level or detailed business requirements document?........................121
What do you expect to see in a high level or detailed technical specification document?.........................120
What tips do you give to someone who wants to write a technical documentation?.................................122

Ensuring code quality..................................................................................................................

Can you list some of the key aspects you keep in mind while coding to ensure quality & robustness?.129
Do you use test driven development? Why / Why not?.................................................................................122
How will you ensure quality of your design and code?...................................................................................125
What are mock objects and when do you use them?.......................................................................................131
What development methodologies are you comfortable with?......................................................................132
What tips do you give someone who is writing the unit testing?...................................................................122

Exposure to tools, technologies, and frameworks........................................................................

Can you name some tools, technologies, or frameworks you had to use in Java for source code
generation, byte code manipulation, or assembling code at runtime?..........................................................103
How would you go about......? questions like ................................................................................................... 114
What other languages have you used?................................................................................................................ 112
What tools do you generally need to get your job done?................................................................................108

Gauging Your Experience with Unix...........................................................................................

Can you answer the following Unix questions?.................................................................................................. 98
Can you brief on a shell script that you had worked on?...............................................................................102
Can you give some examples of where you used sed and awk utilities?.................................................93
Can you list some of the UNIX commands Java developers use very frequently?...................................88

Judging Experience.....................................................................................................................
Can you explain thread-safety and atomicity with an example? What do you understand by optimistic
versus pessimistic locking?..................................................................................................................................... 74
Can you list some of the Java features you used recently?................................................................................52
Can you list the Java SE features you dislike and why?.....................................................................................58
Can you list the Java SE features you like to be added in the future?.............................................................62
Can you list the Java SE features you really love and why?...............................................................................55
Give me a high level description of your experience with the Java platform?..............................................67

533

Glossary & Index

In your experience, what are some of the most common errors Java programmers make?.......................82
What are some of the very common runtime (or unchecked) exceptions you have come across in Java?
When is a ConcurrentModificationException thrown?....................................................................................73
What are your favorite areas of the Java APIs and why?..................................................................................69
What open source libraries/frameworks do you have experience with?........................................................78
Who are your role models? What books really inspired you? What was the recent Java book you read?
What websites do you use to keep your knowledge current?...........................................................................54

Language Essentials.......................................................................................................................
Choosing the right data types......................................................................................................
How would you go about choosing the right data types for your application? What are wrapper classes,
and why do you need them?................................................................................................................................ 144
When working with floating-point data types, what are some of the key considerations?........................147

Class, instance, and local variables..............................................................................................

What are the different kinds of variables in Java? What are some of the best practices relating to usage
of these types of variables?................................................................................................................................. 217
What will be the output for the following code?.............................................................................................. 221

Constants and static imports........................................................................................................

What is a constant interface anti-pattern? How will you avoid it?.................................................................182

Initializing your data correctly....................................................................................................

Can you tell me what is the use of a static block in a class with an example? Is it a good practice to use
static blocks?.......................................................................................................................................................... 179
How will you provide a member variable named dueDate with an initial default value set to first day of
the following month?............................................................................................................................................ 181
Is there anything wrong with the following code snippet?.............................................................................181
What would happen when the following code is compiled and run?...........................................................176

Java is pass-by-value...................................................................................................................
Explain the statement Java is always pass by value?......................................................................................... 211
The value of Point p before the following method calls is (10,20). What will be the value of Point p after
executing the following method calls?............................................................................................................... 213

Methods and constructors............................................................................................................

Can you extend a class with a private constructor? For example, a singleton class may have a private
constructor. What would you do, if you want to extend a singleton class?.................................................201
How many ways can an argument be passed to a subroutine and explain them?.......................................207
There is a class X.java and it has a public method. Class Y extends class X. How would you prevent a
method in class X from being accessed in class Y using Y's instance?.........................................................205
What are some of the do's and don'ts with respect to constructors in order to write more testable code?
What tip would you give your fellow developers to make their code more testable?.................................203
What are static factory methods? Can you give examples from the Java API? What design patterns does
it use? Can you describe the benefits of static factory methods and usefulness of private constructors?
................................................................................................................................................................................. 199
What are varargs?.................................................................................................................................................. 207
What do you understand by the term co-variant in Java?...........................................................................206
What is the difference between an argument and a parameter?.....................................................................209
What is the difference between constructors and other regular methods? What happens if you do not
provide a constructor? Can you call one constructor from another? Are constructors inherited? How do
you call a super class's constructor?................................................................................................................... 196
When is a method said to be overloaded and when is a method said to be overridden? What are their

534

differences? What is a co-variant return type?.................................................................................................. 204

Where and how can you use a private constructor? .......................................................................................198

Modifiers and where are they applicable?...................................................................................

Are 'volatile' and 'const' valid modifiers in Java?.............................................................................................. 192
Discuss the significance of the modifiers used in the following class?........................................................186
How would you go about determining what access levels to use in your code?.........................................194
If you want to extend the java.lang.String class, what methods will you override in your extending class?
................................................................................................................................................................................. 192
If you were to give some tips on modifiers, what would they be?................................................................195
What are the valid access modifiers?.................................................................................................................. 186
Why use modifiers? Why can't you declare a class as both abstract and final?............................................186

Recursive functions.....................................................................................................................
How would you take advantage of Java being a stack based language? What is a re-entrant method?...214
What are idempotent methods?.......................................................................................................................... 216

Thinking in binary and bitwise operations...................................................................................

Can you convert the decimal value of 127 to binary, octal, and hexadecimal values?................................163
Can you list some practical applications where the bitwise operations can be applied?............................171
How do you represent negative numbers in Java? What is the negative binary value for the number 37?
................................................................................................................................................................................. 165
What are the common bitwise operations?....................................................................................................... 166

Understanding the operator precedence.......................................................................................

Do you think the following code will throw a compile-time exception? If yes, how will you fix it?.......159
What do you understand by operator precedence in Java?.............................................................................159
What is the output of the following code snippet?......................................................................................160p.
What will be the output of following operations?........................................................................................... 162

Valid identifiers and reserved keywords......................................................................................

What are identifiers in Java? What does the following code do? Can you talk us through the code
highlighting some of the key language and design features?..........................................................................135
Which of the following are keywords in Java?................................................................................................. 142
Which of these are legal Identifiers?.................................................................................................................. 139
Why is it a best practice to adhere to naming conventions and what are they?...........................................143

Widening versus narrowing conversions.....................................................................................

Can you explain why the code snippet under (a) gives a compile-time error and code snippet under (b)
compiles and runs with an output of 20?......................................................................................................... 153
What are the dangers of explicit casting?.......................................................................................................... 153
What is wrong with the following code, and how will you fix it?..................................................................157
What is your understanding of widening versus narrowing conversions of primitive data types? Can you
explain explicit and implicit casting?.................................................................................................................. 150

Logic and Data structures Essentials............................................................................................

Algorithms..................................................................................................................................
Can you write an algorithm to.....?...................................................................................................................... 427
What are the different binary tree traversal mechanisms?..............................................................................439
What are the different searching methodologies for trees that may not have any particular ordering?
Which approach will you use if you are likely to find the element near the top of the tree? Which
approach will you be using if you are likely to find the element near the bottom of the tree?................447

Java Data structures.....................................................................................................................

535

Glossary & Index

Describe typical use cases or examples of common uses for various data structures provided by the
Collection framework in Java?............................................................................................................................. 404
How do you get an immutable collection?........................................................................................................ 408
If Java did not have a HashMap implementation, how would you go about writing your own one?......414
If Java did not have a Stack implementation, how would you go about implementing your own?.........418
What are some of the best practices relating to the Java Collection framework?.......................................410
What are the common data structures, and where would you use them?....................................................391
What are the core interfaces of the Java collection framework?...................................................................390
What do you know about the big-O notation and can you give some examples with respect to different
data structures?...................................................................................................................................................... 399
What does the following code do? Can the LinkedHashSet be replaced with a HashSet?........................410
What is the difference between Collection and Collections?.........................................................................408
What is the tradeoff between using an unordered array versus an ordered array?.....................................402
What method(s) should you override for objects you plan to add to sets or maps?..................................408

Java Flow Control.......................................................................................................................

Can you write a method to print out a multiplication table?..........................................................................388
If you have large if-else or switch-case statements, what would come to your mind?...............................388
What can prevent the execution of code in a finally block?...........................................................................384
What is a conditional operator?.......................................................................................................................... 389
What is a fibonacci sequence? Write a method to compute the Nth fibonacci number without using
nested loops?.......................................................................................................................................................... 390
What is the difference between while and do while loop?..............................................................................387
What will be the output of the following code snippet?........................................................................385, 387
Why would you prefer a short circuit &&, || operators over logical & , | operators?.....................384
Write a method to print the odd numbers from 1 to 99?...............................................................................388

Sorting Elements.........................................................................................................................
If I mention the interface names Comparable or Comparator, what does come to your mind? Why do
we need these interfaces?..................................................................................................................................... 422

Matching patterns with Regular Expressions..............................................................................

Can you discuss what the following regular expression does?..............................................502
Can you give me some real life scenarios where you used regular expressions? ..................507
Can your write a function that will replace all tokens delimited by @ with a given String? .501
How will you go about implementing the following validation rules for a user name?.........488
How will you go about matching comments in an XML or HTML file?...............................504
How would you configure the Java regex engine to be case insensitive?..............................506
How would you go about validating a supplied password in your code that must adhere to the
following conditions?...........................................................................................................490
If you had a special requirement to strip out currencies from a specific report, how would you
go about stripping it out?.......................................................................................................518
What do you understand by greedy, reluctant, and possessive quantifiers? What do you
understand by the term backtracking? ..............................................................................498
What does .*, +, and ? mean with respect to regular expressions? Where do you look for the
summary of Java regular expression constructs?...................................................................493
What does grouping mean with regards to regular expressions? Would you prefer capturing or
non-capturing group?.............................................................................................................494

536

Which of the following will be matched by the regex .*[^ a-zA-Z0-9].* ?........................518
Which of the following will be matched by the regex .*[^0-9].* ?....................................518
Write a regular expression for the following scenarios?........................................................515
Objects Essentials...........................................................................................................................
Casting Objects...........................................................................................................................
If you have a reference variable of a parent class type, and you assign a child class object to that variable,
and then you invoke a static method that is present in both parent and child classes, which method will
be invoked?............................................................................................................................................................ 316
What do you understand by variable shadowing?............................................................................................ 315
What is type casting? Explain up casting vs. down casting? When do you get ClassCastException?......314

Cloning Objects...........................................................................................................................
What is the main difference between shallow cloning and deep cloning of objects?................................312

Garbage Collection......................................................................................................................
Assume that the following utility method is very frequently accessed by parallel threads, and profiling
indicates that this method is causing GC to over work. How would you go about improving the
following implementation?.................................................................................................................................. 381
Explain different types of references in Java?.................................................................................................. 374
How do you know if your garbage collector is under heavy use? What are the best practices to minimize
heavy use of garbage collection?........................................................................................................................ 378
If you have a circular reference of objects, but you no longer reference it from an execution thread (e.g.
main thread), will this object be a potential candidate for garbage collection?...........................................377
What are the different ways to make an object eligible for Garbage Collection when it is no longer
needed?................................................................................................................................................................... 377
What do you know about the Java garbage collector? When does the garbage collection occur?...........372
What is the difference between final, finally and finalize( ) in Java?..............................................................372
When does the GC stop? Who controls the GC? Can GC be forced?........................................................378
Which part of the memory is involved in Garbage Collection? Stack or Heap?........................................378

Immutable Objects......................................................................................................................
How will you prevent the caller from adding or removing elements from pets? How will you make this
code fully immutable?........................................................................................................................................... 324
How would you defensively copy a Date field in your immutable class?.....................................................323
What about data that changes sometimes? Is there any way to obtain the benefits of immutability with
the added benefit of thread-safety for data that changes less frequently?...................................................325
What is an immutable object? How do you create an immutable type? What are the advantages of
immutable objects?............................................................................................................................................... 318
Why is it a best practice to implement the user defined key class as an immutable object?......................319

Serializing your objects...............................................................................................................

Are there any disadvantages in using serialization?.......................................................................................... 370
How would you exclude a field of a class from serialization?........................................................................369
What are the common uses of serialization? Can you give me an instance where you used serialization?
................................................................................................................................................................................. 369
What happens to static fields during serialization?.......................................................................................... 369
What is a serial version id?................................................................................................................................... 370
What is serialization? How would you exclude a field of a class from serialization or what is a transient
variable? What happens to static fields during serialization? What are the common uses of serialization?
What is a serial version id? Are there any disadvantages in using serialization?..........................................365

537

Glossary & Index

What is the difference between Serializable and Externalizable interfaces? How can you customize the
serialization process?............................................................................................................................................ 370
Which Java interface must be implemented by a class whose instances are transported via a Web service?
................................................................................................................................................................................. 364

Type safety with Generics...........................................................................................................

Can you identify any issues with the following code?......................................................................................363
Does the following code snippet compile? What does it demonstrate?.......................................................363
Is it possible to generify methods in Java?........................................................................................................ 361
Is it possible to generify your own Java class?.................................................................................................. 356
Is the following code snippet legal? If yes why and if not why not?............................................................360
Is the following code snippet legal? If yes why and if not why not? ...........................................................360
What are the differences among ........................................................................................................................ 350
What do you understand by the term type erasure with regards to generics?.........................................348
What does the following code fragment print?................................................................................................ 350
Why use generics?................................................................................................................................................. 346

Understanding "==" versus equals()............................................................................................

Can you discuss the output of the following code?......................................................................................... 335
Can you discuss what gets printed?.................................................................................................................... 336
What happens when you run the following code?........................................................................................... 334
What is the difference between "==" and equals(..) method? What is the difference between shallow
comparison and deep comparison of objects?................................................................................................. 332

Working with Enumerations........................................................................................................

Are enums immutable?......................................................................................................................................... 330
Can enums be used in switch statements?......................................................................................................... 328
Do you have to override equals( ) and hashCode( ) methods for enum?.....................................................330
How will you convert a String value to an enum value?..................................................................................329
How will you get an integer equivalent of an enum value?............................................................................329
Why is it a best practice to use enums over static final int or String constants?..........................................326
Would you use equals( ) or == to compare enum values?..............................................................................329

Working with Objects..................................................................................................................

Can you override clone( ) and finalize( ) methods in the Object class? How do you disable a clone( )
method?.................................................................................................................................................................. 310
If a class overrides the equals( ) method, what other method it should override? What are some of the
key considerations while implementing these methods?.................................................................................306
What are the non-final methods in Java Object class, which are meant primarily for extension? Are these
methods easy to implement correctly? What are the implications of implementing them incorrectly?..306
When should you override a toString( ) method?............................................................................................ 309

Working with the String class......................................................................................................

Can you explain how Strings are interned in Java?........................................................................................... 342
Can you list some escape characters in Java? Where are they generally used?.............................................343
Can you talk through the output of the following code snippet?.................................................................341
Can you write a method that reverses a given String?.....................................................................................339
How will you split the following string of text into individual vehicle types?.............................................344
What are the different ways to concatenate strings? Which approach is most efficient?...........................345
When do you use a String and when do you use a StringBuffer or StringBuilder?.....................................338
Why String has been made immutable in Java?................................................................................................ 343

Platform Essentials.........................................................................................................................

538

Compile-time versus runtime......................................................................................................

Are marker or tag interfaces obsolete with the advent of annotations (i.e. runtime annotations)?...........44
Can you differentiate compile-time inheritance and runtime inheritance with examples and specify which
Java supports?.......................................................................................................................................................... 43
Does this happen during compile-time, runtime, or both?...............................................................................39
Explain compile-time versus runtime?................................................................................................................. 39
What is a Java debugger? What are the different ways to debug your code?.................................................48
What is the difference between line A & line B in the following code snippet?...........................................47

Handling Exceptions...................................................................................................................
What are the best practices in regards to exception handling?......................................................................483
What is a user defined exception? When would you define your own exception?......................................481
What is the difference between exception and error?.....................................................................................481
When do you want to use checked exceptions and when do you want to use unchecked exceptions?...476
Why does Java have exceptions? What is the difference between checked and unchecked exceptions?. 471
Will the following code compile?........................................................................................................................ 474

How are your classes loaded?......................................................................................................

Explain Java class loaders? If you have a class in a package, what do you need to do to run it? Explain
dynamic class loading?............................................................................................................................................ 34
Explain static vs. dynamic class loading?............................................................................................................. 36
What tips would you give to someone who is experiencing a class loading or Class Not Found
exception?................................................................................................................................................................. 37

Java platform basics JDK, JRE, JVM, etc................................................................................

Can you briefly describe the JDK and JRE file structures?..............................................................................28
How do you monitor the JVMs?........................................................................................................................... 25
How would you differentiate JDK, JRE, JVM, and JIT?..................................................................................22
What are some of the JVM arguments you have used in your projects?........................................................27
What are the two different bits of JVM? What is the major limitation of 32 bit JVM?..............................24
What are the two flavors of JVM?....................................................................................................................... 24
What does jar stand for? How does it differ from a zip file?...........................................................................29
What is the main difference between the Java platform and the other software platforms?.......................21

Logic Processing.........................................................................................................................
Can you write a code to evaluate( ) a simple mathematical calculation as shown below using a binary
tree?......................................................................................................................................................................... 461
Write a method which takes the parameters (int[ ] inputNumbers, int sum) and checks input to find the
pair of integer values which totals to the sum. If found returns true, else returns false?.........................455
Write a program that allows you to create an integer array of 5 elements with the following values: int
numbers[ ]={5,2,4,3,1}. The program computes the sum of first 5 elements and stores them at element
6, computes the average and stores it at element 7 and identifies the smallest value from the array and
stores it at element 8............................................................................................................................................. 450
Write a program that will return factorial of n (usually written as n!), which is the product of all integers
up to and including n (1 * 2 * 3 * ... * n). Can you explain both recursive and iterative approaches?
Which approach would you prefer?................................................................................................................... 452
Write a program that will return whichever value is nearest to the value of 100 from two given int
numbers.................................................................................................................................................................. 451

Setting up and running Java........................................................................................................

How do you create a class under a package in Java?.......................................................................................... 32
What do you need to develop and run Java programs? How would you go about getting started?...........30

539

Glossary & Index

What do you need to do to run a class with a main( ) method in a package?................................................32

Why use Java? ...........................................................................................................................

Give a few reasons for using Java?....................................................................................................................... 16
Is Java 100% object oriented? If yes, why? And if not, why not?...................................................................18
What does Java comprise of ?................................................................................................................................ 20
What is the difference between C++ and Java?................................................................................................. 17

540

Please email any suggestions or errors to [email protected]. For other

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a
touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
- Albert Einstein
If you cant explain it to a six year old, you dont understand it yourself.
- Albert Einstein

541

Glossary & Index

542