Interview Question

1. What is meant by the term OOPs?

OOPs refers to Object-Oriented Programming. It is the programming paradigm that is

defined using objects. Objects can be considered as real-world instances of entities like
class, that have some characteristics and behaviors.

2. What is the need for OOPs?

There are many reasons why OOPs is mostly preferred, but the most important among
them are:

 OOPs helps users to understand the software easily, although they don’t know the actual
implementation.
 With OOPs, the readability, understandability, and maintainability of the code increase
multifold.
 Even very big software can be easily written and managed easily using OOPs.

3. What are some major Object Oriented Programming languages?

The programming languages that use and follow the Object-Oriented Programming
paradigm or OOPs, are known as Object-Oriented Programming languages. Some of the
major Object-Oriented Programming languages include:

 Java
 C++
 Javascript
 Python
 PHP

And many more.

4. What are some other programming paradigms other than

OOPs?

Programming paradigms refers to the method of classification of programming languages

based on their features. There are mainly two types of Programming Paradigms:

 Imperative Programming Paradigm

 Declarative Programming Paradigm

Now, these paradigms can be further classified based:

 1. Imperative Programming Paradigm: Imperative programming focuses on HOW to
execute program logic and defines control flow as statements that change a program state.
This can be further classified as:
a) Procedural Programming Paradigm: Procedural programming specifies the steps a
program must take to reach the desired state, usually read in order from top to bottom.
b) Object-Oriented Programming or OOP: Object-oriented programming (OOP)
organizes programs as objects, that contain some data and have some behavior.
c) Parallel Programming: Parallel programming paradigm breaks a task into subtasks and
focuses on executing them simultaneously at the same time.

2. Declarative Programming Paradigm: Declarative programming focuses on WHAT

to execute and defines program logic, but not a detailed control flow. Declarative
paradigm can be further classified into:
a) Logical Programming Paradigm: Logical programming paradigm is based on formal
logic, which refers to a set of sentences expressing facts and rules about how to solve a
problem
b) Functional Programming Paradigm: Functional programming is a programming
paradigm where programs are constructed by applying and composing functions.
c) Database Programming Paradigm: Database programming model is used to manage
data and information structured as fields, records, and files.

. What is meant by Structured Programming?

Structured Programming refers to the method of programming which consists of a

completely structured control flow. Here structure refers to a block, which contains a set
of rules, and has a definitive control flow, such as (if/then/else), (while and for), block
structures, and subroutines.

Nearly all programming paradigms include Structured programming, including the OOPs
model.

6. What are the main features of OOPs?

OOPs or Object Oriented Programming mainly comprises of the below four

features, and make sure you don't miss any of these:

 Inheritance
 Encapsulation
 Polymorphism
 Data Abstraction

7. What are some advantages of using OOPs?

 OOPs is very helpful in solving very complex level of problems.

 Highly complex programs can be created, handled, and maintained easily using object-
oriented programming.
 OOPs, promote code reuse, thereby reducing redundancy.
 OOPs also helps to hide the unnecessary details with the help of Data Abstraction.
 OOPs, are based on a bottom-up approach, unlike the Structural programming paradigm,
which uses a top-down approach.
 Polymorphism offers a lot of flexibility in OOPs.

8. Why is OOPs so popular?

OOPs programming paradigm is considered as a better style of programming.

Not only it helps in writing a complex piece of code easily, but it also allows
users to handle and maintain them easily as well. Not only that, the main pillar
of OOPs - Data Abstraction, Encapsulation, Inheritance, and Polymorphism,
makes it easy for programmers to solve complex scenarios. As a result of
these, OOPs is so popular.

Advanced OOPs Interview Questions

1. What is a class?

A class can be understood as a template or a blueprint, which contains some

values, known as member data or member, and some set of rules, known as
behaviors or functions. So when an object is created, it automatically takes the
data and functions that are defined in the class.
Therefore the class is basically a template or blueprint for objects. Also one can
create as many objects as they want based on a class.

For example, first, a car’s template is created. Then multiple units of car are
created based on that template.

2. What is an object?

An object refers to the instance of the class, which contains the instance of the
members and behaviors defined in the class template. In the real world, an
object is an actual entity to which a user interacts, whereas class is just the
blueprint for that object. So the objects consume space and have some
characteristic behavior.
For example, a specific car

3. What is encapsulation?

One can visualize Encapsulation as the method of putting everything that is required to
do the job, inside a capsule and presenting that capsule to the user. What it means is that
by Encapsulation, all the necessary data and methods are bind together and all the
unnecessary details are hidden to the normal user. So Encapsulation is the process of
 binding data members and methods of a program together to do a specific job, without
revealing unnecessary details.

Encapsulation can also be defined in two different ways:

1) Data hiding: Encapsulation is the process of hiding unwanted information, such as

restricting access to any member of an object.

2) Data binding: Encapsulation is the process of binding the data members and the
methods together as a whole, as a class.

4. What is Polymorphism?

Polymorphism is composed of two words - “poly” which means “many”, and “morph”
which means “shapes”. Therefore Polymorphism refers to something that has many
shapes.

In OOPs, Polymorphism refers to the process by which some code, data, method, or
object behaves differently under different circumstances or contexts. Compile-time
polymorphism and Run time polymorphism are the two types of polymorphisms in
OOPs languages.

6. How does C++ support Polymorphism?

C++ is an Object-oriented programming language and it supports Polymorphism as well:

 Compile Time Polymorphism: C++ supports compile-time polymorphism with the help
of features like templates, function overloading, and default arguments.
 Runtime Polymorphism: C++ supports Runtime polymorphism with the help of features
like virtual functions. Virtual functions take the shape of the functions based on the type
of object in reference and are resolved at runtime.

7. What is meant by Inheritance?

The term “inheritance” means “receiving some quality or behavior from a parent to an
offspring.” In object-oriented programming, inheritance is the mechanism by which an
object or class (referred to as a child) is created using the definition of another object or
class (referred to as a parent). Inheritance not only helps to keep the implementation
simpler but also helps to facilitate code reuse.

8. What is Abstraction?

If you are a user, and you have a problem statement, you don't want to know how the
components of the software work, or how it's made. You only want to know how the
software solves your problem. Abstraction is the method of hiding unnecessary details
from the necessary ones. It is one of the main features of OOPs.
For example, consider a car. You only need to know how to run a car, and not how the
wires are connected inside it. This is obtained using Abstraction.

9. How much memory does a class occupy?

Classes do not consume any memory. They are just a blueprint based on which objects
are created. Now when objects are created, they actually initialize the class members and
methods and therefore consume memory.

10. Is it always necessary to create objects from class?

No. An object is necessary to be created if the base class has non-static methods. But if
the class has static methods, then objects don’t need to be created. You can call the class
method directly in this case, using the class name.

11. What is a constructor?

Constructors are special methods whose name is the same as the class name. The
constructors serve the special purpose of initializing the objects.
For example, suppose there is a class with the name “MyClass”, then when you
instantiate this class, you pass the syntax:
MyClass myClassObject = new MyClass();

Now here, the method called after “new” keyword - MyClass(), is the constructor of this
class. This will help to instantiate the member data and methods and assign them to the
object myClassObject.

12. What are the various types of constructors in C++?

The most common classification of constructors includes:

Default constructor: The default constructor is the constructor which doesn’t take any
argument. It has no parameters.

class ABC
{
int x;

ABC()
{
x = 0;
}
}

Parameterized constructor: The constructors that take some arguments are known as
parameterized constructors.

class ABC
{
int x;

ABC(int y)
{
x = y;
}
}

Copy constructor: A copy constructor is a member function that initializes an object

using another object of the same class.

class ABC
{
int x;

ABC(int y)
{
x = y;
}
// Copy constructor
ABC(ABC abc)
{
x = abc.x;
}
}

13. What is a copy constructor?

Copy Constructor is a type of constructor, whose purpose is to copy an object to another.

What it means is that a copy constructor will clone an object and its values, into another
object, is provided that both the objects are of the same class.

14. What is a destructor?

Contrary to constructors, which initialize objects and specify space for them, Destructors
are also special methods. But destructors free up the resources and memory occupied by
an object. Destructors are automatically called when an object is being destroyed.

15. Are class and structure the same? If not, what's the difference between
a class and a structure?

No, class and structure are not the same. Though they appear to be similar, they have
differences that make them apart. For example, the structure is saved in the stack
memory, whereas the class is saved in the heap memory. Also, Data Abstraction cannot
be achieved with the help of structure, but with class, Abstraction is majorly used.

16. Explain Inheritance with an example?

 Inheritance is one of the major features of object-oriented programming, by which an
entity inherits some characteristics and behaviors of some other entity and makes them
their own. Inheritance helps to improve and facilitate code reuse.

Let me explain to you with a common example. Let's take three different vehicles - a car,
truck, or bus. These three are entirely different from one another with their own specific
characteristics and behavior. But. in all three, you will find some common elements, like
steering wheel, accelerator, clutch, brakes, etc. Though these elements are used in
different vehicles, still they have their own features which are common among all
vehicles. This is achieved with inheritance. The car, the truck, and the bus have all
inherited the features like steering wheel, accelerator, clutch, brakes, etc, and used them
as their own. Due to this, they did not have to create these components from scratch,
thereby facilitating code reuse.

17. Are there any limitations of Inheritance?

Yes, with more powers comes more complications. Inheritance is a very powerful feature
in OOPs, but it has some limitations too. Inheritance needs more time to process, as it
needs to navigate through multiple classes for its implementation. Also, the classes
involved in Inheritance - the base class and the child class, are very tightly coupled
together. So if one needs to make some changes, they might need to do nested changes in
both classes. Inheritance might be complex for implementation, as well. So if not
correctly implemented, this might lead to unexpected errors or incorrect outputs.

18. What are the various types of inheritance?

The various types of inheritance include:

 Single inheritance
 Multiple inheritances
 Multi-level inheritance
 Hierarchical inheritance
 Hybrid inheritance

19. What is a subclass?

The subclass is a part of Inheritance. The subclass is an entity, which inherits from
another class. It is also known as the child class.

20. Define a superclass?

Superclass is also a part of Inheritance. The superclass is an entity, which

allows subclasses or child classes to inherit from itself.

21. What is an interface?

An interface refers to a special type of class, which contains methods, but not their
definition. Only the declaration of methods is allowed inside an interface. To use an
interface, you cannot create objects. Instead, you need to implement that interface and
define the methods for their implementation.

22. What is meant by static polymorphism?

Static Polymorphism is commonly known as the Compile time polymorphism. Static

polymorphism is the feature by which an object is linked with the respective function or
operator based on the values during the compile time. Static or Compile time
Polymorphism can be achieved through Method overloading or operator overloading.

23. What is meant by dynamic polymorphism?

Dynamic Polymorphism or Runtime polymorphism refers to the type of Polymorphism in

OOPs, by which the actual implementation of the function is decided during the runtime
or execution. The dynamic or runtime polymorphism can be achieved with the help of
method overriding.

24. What is the difference between overloading and overriding?

Overloading is a compile-time polymorphism feature in which an entity has multiple

implementations with the same name. For example, Method overloading and Operator
overloading.

Whereas Overriding is a runtime polymorphism feature in which an entity has the same
name, but its implementation changes during execution. For example, Method overriding.
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25. How is data abstraction accomplished?

Data abstraction is accomplished with the help of abstract methods or abstract classes.

26. What is an abstract class?

An abstract class is a special class containing abstract methods. The significance of

abstract class is that the abstract methods inside it are not implemented and only declared.
So as a result, when a subclass inherits the abstract class and needs to use its abstract
methods, they need to define and implement them.

27. How is an abstract class different from an interface?

Interface and abstract classes both are special types of classes that contain only the
methods declaration and not their implementation. But the interface is entirely different
from an abstract class. The main difference between the two is that when an interface is
implemented, the subclass must define all its methods and provide its implementation.
Whereas in object-oriented programming, when a subclass inherits from an abstract class
with abstract methods, the subclass is generally required to provide concrete
implementations for all of those abstract methods in the abstract class unless the subclass
itself is declared as abstract.

Also, an abstract class can contain abstract methods as well as non-abstract methods.

28. What are access specifiers and what is their significance?

Access specifiers, as the name suggests, are a special type of keywords, which are used to
control or specify the accessibility of entities like classes, methods, etc. Some of the
access specifiers or access modifiers include “private”, “public”, etc. These access
specifiers also play a very vital role in achieving Encapsulation - one of the major
features of OOPs.

29. What is an exception?

An exception can be considered as a special event, which is raised during the execution
of a program at runtime, that brings the execution to a halt. The reason for the exception
is mainly due to a position in the program, where the user wants to do something for
which the program is not specified, like undesirable input.

30. What is meant by exception handling?

No one wants its software to fail or crash. Exceptions are the major reason for software
failure. The exceptions can be handled in the program beforehand and prevent the
execution from stopping. This is known as exception handling.
So exception handling is the mechanism for identifying the undesirable states that the
program can reach and specifying the desirable outcomes of such states.
Try-catch is the most common method used for handling exceptions in the program.

31. What is meant by Garbage Collection in OOPs world?

Object-oriented programming revolves around entities like objects. Each object consumes
memory and there can be multiple objects of a class. So if these objects and their
memories are not handled properly, then it might lead to certain memory-related errors
and the system might fail.

Garbage collection refers to this mechanism of handling the memory in the program.
Through garbage collection, the unwanted memory is freed up by removing the objects
that are no longer needed.
32. Can we run a Java application without implementing the OOPs
concept?

No. Java applications are based on Object-oriented programming models or OOPs

concept, and hence they cannot be implemented without it.

However, on the other hand, C++ can be implemented without OOPs, as it also supports
the C-like structural programming model.