OOP Interview Questions and Answers

Q: What are the four pillars of OOP?

A: The four pillars of Object-Oriented Programming are:

1. Encapsulation

2. Inheritance

3. Polymorphism

4. Abstraction

Q: Explain the difference between class and object.

A: A class is a blueprint for creating objects, defining their attributes and behaviors. An object is an

instance of a class.

Q: What is encapsulation? How does it improve security?

A: Encapsulation is the bundling of data and methods that operate on the data within one unit, e.g.,

a class. It improves security by restricting direct access to some of an object's components.

Q: Define inheritance and its types.

A: Inheritance allows a class to inherit fields and methods from another class. Types include:

1. Single

2. Multilevel

3. Hierarchical

4. Multiple (via interfaces in Java)

5. Hybrid

Q: What is polymorphism? Explain method overloading and overriding.

A: Polymorphism allows objects to be treated as instances of their parent class. Overloading means

same method name with different parameters. Overriding means redefining a method in a subclass.

Q: What is abstraction? How is it implemented in Java or Python?

A: Abstraction hides implementation details and shows only functionality. In Java, it's implemented
using abstract classes and interfaces. In Python, abstract base classes (ABC) are used.

Q: How is an interface different from an abstract class?

A: An interface defines a contract with no implementation. An abstract class can have both abstract

and concrete methods. Java interfaces can't have instance fields, unlike abstract classes.

Q: What is the difference between static and dynamic polymorphism?

A: Static polymorphism (compile-time) is achieved using method overloading. Dynamic

polymorphism (runtime) is achieved using method overriding.

Q: What is the difference between method overloading and method overriding?

A: Overloading is having multiple methods with the same name but different parameters. Overriding

is redefining a superclass method in a subclass with the same signature.

Q: What is the difference between composition and inheritance?

A: Inheritance represents an 'is-a' relationship, while composition represents a 'has-a' relationship.

Composition is favored for better flexibility and encapsulation.

Q: What is multiple inheritance? Does Java support it?

A: Multiple inheritance is when a class inherits from more than one class. Java does not support it

directly due to the diamond problem but supports it via interfaces.

Q: How does Java achieve abstraction?

A: Java achieves abstraction using abstract classes and interfaces.

Q: What is the diamond problem in OOP, and how is it resolved?

A: The diamond problem occurs in multiple inheritance when two parent classes have a method with

the same name. Java avoids it by not supporting multiple inheritance with classes.

Q: Explain the difference between association, aggregation, and composition.

A: Association: General relationship between classes.

Aggregation: A weak 'has-a' relationship.

Composition: A strong 'has-a' relationship where child cannot exist without parent.
Q: What are access modifiers in OOP? (private, protected, public)

A: Private: Accessible within the class only.

Protected: Accessible in the same package and subclasses.

Public: Accessible from any other class.

Q: What is the use of the 'super' and 'this' keyword?

A: 'super' refers to the parent class and is used to access parent methods/constructors.

'this' refers to the current instance of the class.

Q: Can we override a private or static method? Why or why not?

A: No, private methods are not accessible in subclasses. Static methods belong to the class, not

instances, so they can't be overridden.

Q: What is the difference between deep copy and shallow copy?

A: Shallow copy copies references to objects. Deep copy copies the objects themselves, creating

independent duplicates.

Q: What is a virtual function in C++?

A: A virtual function is a member function that can be overridden in a derived class and is resolved

at runtime.

Q: What is an abstract class, and can it have a constructor?

A: An abstract class is a class that cannot be instantiated and may contain abstract methods. Yes, it

can have a constructor.

Q: What are design patterns? Name a few commonly used ones.

A: Design patterns are typical solutions to common problems in software design. Examples:

Singleton, Factory, Observer, Strategy.

Q: What is SOLID in OOP, and why is it important?

A: SOLID is a set of principles for object-oriented design:

S - Single Responsibility
O - Open/Closed

L - Liskov Substitution

I - Interface Segregation

D - Dependency Inversion

Q: What is dependency injection, and how does it relate to OOP?

A: Dependency Injection is a technique where one object supplies the dependencies of another

object. It promotes loose coupling.

Q: Explain the Law of Demeter (LoD).

A: LoD is a principle that states a method should only interact with its direct friends (limited

knowledge). It promotes low coupling.

Q: What is a singleton class? How do you implement it?

A: A singleton class allows only one instance. It's implemented using a private constructor and a

static method to return the instance.

Q: What is the difference between an interface and a protocol in OOP?

A: An interface defines methods a class must implement (Java). A protocol (Python/Swift) defines a

contract for behavior, optionally with default implementations.

Q: How does garbage collection work in OOP-based languages like Java or Python?

A: Garbage collection automatically frees memory by deleting unreachable objects. Java uses a

generational GC. Python uses reference counting and cycle detection.

Q: What is the difference between final, finally, and finalize in Java?

A: final: Used to declare constants or prevent inheritance/overriding.

finally: Block used after try-catch for cleanup.

finalize: Method called by GC before object destruction.

Q: What are friend functions and friend classes in C++?

A: Friend functions/classes can access private/protected members of another class. Useful for
operator overloading or utility functions.

Q: What is the difference between covariance and contravariance in OOP?

A: Covariance allows a method to return a subtype. Contravariance allows a method to accept

supertypes as arguments.