Q: What is the Object class and what is the purpose of it?
A: Object is the parent (superclass) of all classes in Java. Every class inherits it. It provides basic
methods like toString(), equals(), hashCode(), etc.
Q: What is the purpose of the toString() method in the Object class?
A: Returns a string representation of an object. Useful for printing objects.
Q: What is the purpose of the equals() method in the Object class?
A: Compares contents of two objects, not memory addresses.
Q: What is the purpose of the hashCode() method in the Object class?
A: Returns an integer (hash value) for the object. Used in hash-based collections (HashMap,
HashSet).
Q: Why is it recommended to override hashCode() method on overriding the equals() method?
A: Because collections use both equals() and hashCode() to find objects. If only equals() is
overridden, objects may not work properly in collections.
Q: What is the purpose of the clone() method and when can it throw a CloneNotSupportedException?
A: Creates a copy of an object. Throws CloneNotSupportedException if class does not implement
Cloneable interface.
Q: Explain the purpose and working of the finalize() method.
A: Called by Garbage Collector before destroying an object. Rarely used.
Q: What is the purpose and working of wait(), notify() and notifyAll() methods?
A: wait(): makes a thread pause until notified. notify(): wakes up one waiting thread. notifyAll():
wakes up all waiting threads.
Q: Why wait(), notify() and notifyAll() methods are present in Object class instead of Threads class?
A: Because threads wait on object locks (monitors), not on other threads.
Q: What is the difference between == and equals() method?
A: == compares memory addresses (references). equals() compares object contents.
Q: What is the difference between Object and Objects class?
A: Object: Base class of all classes. Objects: Utility/helper class with static methods like equals(),
hash().
Q: Explain Hashcode and equals method relation.
A: If equals() is true, hashCode must be same. If hashCode is same, equals() may or may not be
true.
Q: Explain Equals method and == difference.
A: == checks reference (same memory). equals() checks value/content.
Q: What is the difference between Iterator and Iterable?
A: Iterable: Interface that says object can be iterated. Iterator: Actually used to iterate through
elements.
Q: Why does the Collection interface inherit from the Iterable interface?
A: So that all collections can be looped using for-each or Iterator.
Q: Explain how iteration happens with the help of Iterator and why it is called universal iterator.
A: Iterator works for all collection types (List, Set, Queue), so it's called universal iterator.
Q: Explain how the remove() method in the Iterator interface works.
A: Removes the last element returned by next(). Safe removal while iterating.
Q: What is the use of forEachRemaining(Consumer action) Iterator interface?
A: Runs an action on all remaining elements of iterator.
Q: What is the use of forEach(Consumer action) in the Iterable interface and how can it be used?
A: Runs an action on each element of a collection.
Q: What is the purpose of spliterator() in the Iterable interface and how can it be used?
A: Used for parallel iteration (splitting work). Mostly used with Streams API.
Q: What is the difference between contains(Object o) and containsAll(Collection c) method in the
Collection interface?
A: contains(o): checks if single object is present. containsAll(c): checks if all objects in collection are
present.
Q: What is the difference between remove(Object o) and removeAll(Collection c) method in the
Collection interface?
A: remove(o): removes one object. removeAll(c): removes all objects of another collection.
Q: What is the use of the iterator() method in the Collection interface?
A: Returns an Iterator to loop over elements.
Q: How can we convert a Collection type object to an array?
A: By using toArray(). Example: String[] arr = list.toArray(new String[0]);
