Java Interview Questions and Answers 7

What is the difference between the Reader/Writer class hierarchy and the InputStream/OutputStream class hierarchy?
The Reader/Writer class hierarchy is character-oriented, and the InputStream/OutputStream class hierarchy is byte-oriented.

What classes of exceptions may be caught by a catch clause?
A catch clause can catch any exception that may be assigned to the Throwable type. This includes the Error and Exception types.

What is the difference between throw and throws keywords?
The throw keyword denotes a statement that causes an exception to be initiated. It takes the Exception object to be thrown as argument. The exception will be caught by an immediately encompassing try-catch construction or propagated further up the calling hierarchy.
The throws keyword is a modifier of a method that designates that exceptions may come out of the method, either by virtue of the method throwing the exception itself or because it fails to catch such exceptions that a method it calls may throw.

If a class is declared without any access modifiers, where may the class be accessed?
A class that is declared without any access modifiers is said to have package or friendly access. This means that the class can only be accessed by other classes and interfaces that are defined within the same package.

What is the Map interface?
The Map interface replaces the JDK 1.1 Dictionary class and is used associate keys with values.

Does a class inherit the constructors of its super class?
A class does not inherit constructors from any of its superclasses.

Name primitive Java types.
The primitive types are byte, char, short, int, long, float, double, and Boolean.

Which class should you use to obtain design information about an object?
The Class class is used to obtain information about an object's design.

How can a GUI component handle its own events?
A component can handle its own events by implementing the required event-listener interface and adding itself as its own event listener.

How are the elements of a GridBagLayout organized?
The elements of a GridBagLayout are organized according to a grid. However, the elements are of different sizes and may occupy more than one row or column of the grid. In addition, the rows and columns may have different sizes.

What advantage do Java's layout managers provide over traditional windowing systems?
Java uses layout managers to lay out components in a consistent manner across all windowing platforms. Since Java's layout managers aren't tied to absolute sizing and positioning, they are able to accommodate platform-specific differences among windowing systems.

What are the problems faced by Java programmers who don't use layout managers?
Without layout managers, Java programmers are faced with determining how their GUI will be displayed across multiple windowing systems and finding a common sizing and positioning that will work within the constraints imposed by each windowing system.

What is the difference between static and non-static variables?
A static variable is associated with the class as a whole rather than with specific instances of a class. Non-static variables take on unique values with each object instance.

What is the difference between the paint() and repaint() methods?
The paint() method supports painting via a Graphics object. The repaint() method is used to cause paint() to be invoked by the AWT painting thread.

What is the purpose of the File class?
The File class is used to create objects that provide access to the files and directories of a local file system.

Why would you use a synchronized block vs. synchronized method?
Synchronized blocks place locks for shorter periods than synchronized methods.